Silver elk (Elaeagnus commutata) is one of 40 species of the genus of the family Elaeagnus, native to northern and western North America. The shrub was brought to Europe at the beginning of the 19th century, where it began to be cultivated as an ornamental and medicinal plant.
In its homeland, the sucker is also known as “wolf willow” and “silver berry”. Thanks to its hardiness and frost resistance, caring for silver eagles does not require special skills or time, but the benefits of cultivation are beyond doubt.
Sucker: types, reproduction and care
Elaegnaceae is an evergreen or deciduous shrub or tree of the Elaeagnaceae family, growing in China, Japan, Europe, North America, and Russia. Has more than 50 species. Widely used in landscaping parks and gardens.
The meaning of the plant name
The Greek word "elaiagnos" consists of two terms: "elaia" means "olive" and "agnos" means "Abraham's tree." The sucker received this name due to the similarity of the fruits and leaves. In Central Asia, this plant is known as “dzhida”, “dzhigida”, “dzhigda”.
Elf is not only an ornamental plant
Elf trees often grow as bushes. They have beautiful silver leaves, very fragrant flowers and edible fruits. May be prickly. The silvery leaves of the oleaster are short-petiolate, alternate. Flowers can grow singly or in bunches, have no petals, the calyx is tubular-bell-shaped, four-lobed. The fruit is a drupe with an ellipse-shaped stone and tart-sweet pulp. The fruits can be eaten.
Elf is an unpretentious plant, loves light, is resistant to drought, and is a good honey plant. Nodules are formed on the roots of the tree, which contain nitrogen-fixing bacteria, and the sucker is able to grow on very poor soils and improve them.
How the sucker reproduces
Sucker propagates in various ways: root suckers, seeds, cuttings. The seed method is considered the best. Seeds are sown in September-October. If sowing is done in spring, then the seeds will benefit from stratification for 3-4 months at a temperature of 10-150C. Evergreen species are propagated by cuttings.
Common types of sucker
The umbrella sucker (Elaeagnus umbellata Thunb) grows in East Asia. It reaches a height of 4 m. It blooms in June, the fruits ripen in October. The tree begins to bear fruit at the age of 9. When propagated by cuttings, 25% of seedlings take root. Seeds are stratified in peat or sand for 4 months, temperature - 50C.
Japan is the birthplace of Elaeagnus pungens Thunb. This is a deciduous evergreen shrub, reaching a height of 7 m. The branches are spreading and have short thick spines. Shoots often grow with side branches pointing downwards. Thanks to them, the sucker clings to objects or other plants and can climb to a height of 10 m. Young shoots are covered with brown scales. The leaves are elliptical, 10 cm long. The leaves are dark green and shiny on top.
The underside of the leaf is silvery-brown. Small flowers are collected in bunches of 2-3. The flowers are golden inside and silvery-white on the outside. They emit a very fragrant smell. The fruit is greenish-brownish when unripe and turns reddish when ripe. The reddish fruits are spectacular against the backdrop of silvery foliage, this gives the oleaster a fabulous look and makes it an excellent ornamental plant. This is also facilitated by its unpretentiousness to the soil, rapid adaptability to urban conditions, ease of formation, and shade tolerance. It is used as a hedge and for decorating fences and walls.
In Japan and China, you can find multi-flowered oleaster (lat. Elaeagnus multiftora Thunb) in natural conditions. It has another name - gummi. This is a low shrub, no more than 1.5 m tall. Its young shoots have brown-red scales.
The oval leaves on top also have silvery scales, the underside is silvery and brown. Flowers are bell-shaped, yellowish-white. Blooms in June. Large and juicy red fruits, pleasant, slightly sour taste, ripen in August. Fruits abundantly. It tolerates winter very well and is quite drought-resistant.
Silver sucker (Elaeagnus argentea pursh) is native to North America. It is a deciduous shrub or low tree, growing up to 4 m, with a wide crown.
This sucker is not thorny, young shoots are brown-red due to the scales covering them, the old bark is grayish-brown. The ovoid leaves are silvery, leathery on both sides, and have brown scales on the underside. The small flowers are very fragrant; they are silver on the outside and yellow on the inside. Blooms for up to 20 days in June and July. The fruits are spherical or oval, the pulp is sweet, mealy, and dry. The fruits are covered with dense silvery scales. It begins to bear fruit at the age of 8; fruit ripens in September. It has high winter hardiness compared to Eleven angustifolia, but tolerates drought worse. Prefers well-lit places and is unpretentious to the soil; grows well on sandy soils and loams. It tolerates urban conditions better than the narrow-leaved sucker. It grows slowly. This species is propagated by seeds, root suckers and cuttings, and easily tolerates transplanting and pruning. Produces abundant growth, growing into thickets.
Seeds are sown in the spring after stratification or in the fall. When the endocarp is removed, 80-100% of the seeds germinate in 10 days. When planted by cuttings, 30% of roots take root after treatment with phyton.
It is an excellent ornamental plant due to its silver leaves and fruits.
It is planted in groups and singly, and goes well with red-leaved and golden trees, as well as conifers. It is successfully used when securing slopes.
Narrow-leaved sucker (Elaeagnus angustifolia) is common in the Caucasus, southern Russia, Kazakhstan, Asia Minor and Central Asia. It usually grows along the banks of lakes and rivers. It is a low deciduous tree with a spreading asymmetrical crown or shrub. It grows up to 10 m, the red-brown bark is covered with spines 3 cm long. The trunk is usually curved. The shoots are covered with star-scaled silvery hairs.
The leaves are soft, lanceolate with a sharp apex, the length reaches 8 cm. The leaves are gray-green on top, the underside is covered with silver-white scales. The flowers are very fragrant, they are orange-yellow on the outside and silvery on the inside. Narrow-leaved sucker blooms for up to 20 days. At first, the fruit is a drupe of a silvery color, then, when ripe, it becomes yellowish-brown. The pulp is sweetish and mealy.
This species is characterized by rapid growth and a deep root system. It withstands urban conditions well, such as gas pollution and smoke, and is drought-resistant. Tolerates frost quite well. It is used to create hedges, as it produces abundant growth. It tolerates pruning and shearing well. Looks very nice against a background of dark greenery.
Seed germination lasts up to 4 years; they are stored on racks in wooden boxes.
The seeds do not need stratification before planting, but if you sow them in the spring, some will sprout only the next year. Freshly harvested, cleaned seeds germinate best during autumn sowing. When sowing in spring, it is advisable to pre-soak them in water for 4 days or soak them for 3 months in damp sand/peat at 16-20 degrees Celsius.
Where is the sucker used?
All types of oleaster are commonly used as ornamental plants. It goes well with golden and red deciduous shrubs and coniferous trees. Hedges and contrasting groups are created from oleaster.
The seeds of one of the varieties of sucker - Bukhara jida - have a striped color. Children make beads from them.
Elf is an excellent honey plant and has unique medicinal abilities. Fruits, flowers, bark, leaves and resin are used for medicinal purposes.
Leaves are harvested in the first half of summer, flowers - in May or early June. DachaDecor.ru recommends drying them in special devices or under a canopy.
Sucker is used as an astringent, antibacterial, and antiviral agent. Decoctions and infusions are made from the leaves, which reduce temperatures during colds and fever. It is used as an external remedy for rheumatism, gout, and radiculitis.
The fruits of the oleaster have the ability to improve memory and have an expectorant and diuretic effect. Berries are also a tasty restorative and tonic product, very useful for cardiovascular diseases. A decoction of berries is recommended for diarrhea and colitis, relieves inflammatory processes, destroys pathogenic microbes. The wood of the tree is used to make musical instruments and crafts, and the gum is used to make glue.
Plant care
Despite its unpretentiousness, the sucker still needs care. The plant must be fed annually, and dry branches must be removed in the spring. At the age of 15, anti-aging pruning is carried out.
Despite its drought tolerance, watering is recommended in very hot summers. After watering, the soil needs to be mulched. Loose the tree trunk area shallowly and remove weeds. For the winter, the sucker is tied with twine and covered with brushwood. It is not recommended to use any other covering material to avoid damping off the plant.
Eleven angustifolia (video)
DachaDecor.ru
Eleven angustifolia: care and reproduction.
Eleven angustifolia is a deciduous shrub or a low spreading tree with thorny shoots, belonging to the family of the same name. Its habitat covers the eastern part of the North Caucasus, Transcaucasia, Kazakhstan, Central Asia, Southern Europe, Asia Minor, Iran and Northern China. In nature, the angustifolia sucker lives in floodplains of rivers crossing desert and semi-desert areas. Together with willow, tamarisk, sea buckthorn, poplar and some other plants, it forms the so-called tugai - forests that live in desert conditions due to the water saturation of floodplain soils. The root system of the sucker is powerful and highly branched, so the plant is widely used to form protective forest belts and plantings that secure slopes.
Like other inhabitants of deserts, the angustifolia elf is extremely tolerant of abiotic environmental factors - temperature, soil and air humidity, gas pollution, soil fertility, water quality, etc. It tolerates city conditions well - gas pollution and smoke - so it can be planted along highways . It is drought- and heat-resistant, therefore it can do without additional moisture even in the summer in dry southern regions. At the same time, it tolerates low temperatures and winters safely without shelter (only occasionally the tips of the shoots freeze) in central Russia and more northern regions (belongs to winter hardiness zone 4). One “but”: in early autumn, the immature growth freezes. Eleven angustifolia is able to grow on saline soils. In Crimea, for example, it has spread to the far west and north, as well as to the coast of the Kerch Peninsula, where soils and groundwater have a high salt content.
In true sucker tugai, the plant is extremely decorative due to the dense silvery-white pubescence covering the branches, leaves and fruits. In culture, this effect can be achieved by recreating natural conditions, the integral components of which are an abundance of sun and a sufficient amount of moisture. Excessive moisture should be avoided; the substrate must be well drained. Despite its high ecological plasticity, angustifolia is demanding of one factor – lighting. Even partial shade is undesirable for it, since with the slightest lack of light the plant weakens and loses its decorative properties.
Eleven angustifolia tolerates even radical pruning well; when pruned “to the stump”, abundant growth is formed, due to which the plant is widely used for creating hedges. The sucker grows quickly, especially in the first years of life.
The plant is easily propagated vegetatively - by cuttings and layering, and is renewed by shoots. For summer cuttings (early July), shoots about 10 cm long are used. Part of the shoot should be green, part woody (ratio approximately 2:1). The lower leaves are removed, leaving 3 leaves. The material is treated with a growth stimulator, planted in sand, buried to the leaves, the plantings are covered with film, shaded, regularly watered and ventilated. Green and lignified cuttings are also used, but the described method is considered the most effective.
Layering is done in spring and autumn, but it is better in spring, before the buds open. For this, well-developed outer shoots coming from the base of the bush are selected. They are placed in furrows (depth - up to 10 cm) and pressed tightly to the soil using wooden pins. Then they are covered with a 20 cm layer of soil mixture consisting of humus, peat and river sand (proportion – 1:1:1), and watered well. The dig needs to be regularly moistened and cleared of weeds. Rooting takes 1 - 2 years.
Elf angustifolia is also propagated by seeds. They remain viable for 3 - 4 years and germinate without stratification. When sowing in spring, most of the seeds sprout only the next year. And in order to speed up the process, they are soaked in water for 4 days and then kept for up to 3 months in damp sand or peat at a temperature of 16 to 20 °C, or stratified for 3 months in sand or peat at a temperature of 1 - 10 °C. The best results are obtained by autumn sowing of freshly harvested, cleaned seeds. Planting depth – up to 3 cm.
Eleven angustifolia is resistant to pathogens. Even those specimens that grow on roadsides, on poor saline soils, in the shade and other unfavorable conditions, rarely get sick or are affected by pests. This is one of the most unpretentious and trouble-free plants used in landscaping. At the same time, the angustifolia oleaster is very decorative. It goes well with deciduous and coniferous trees, and also looks good in single-species plantings. It is used to create contrasting groups that harmonize well with the dark greenery of other tree species, as well as with the golden and red-leaved forms of shrubs.
The lifespan of this unpretentious plant is quite long. In Crimea, for example, there are specimens about 100 years old that are in excellent condition. So, with proper care, angustifolia will decorate the area for many years.
indasad.ru
In hot weather, fuchsia leaves become limp and drooping
If this repeats for several days in a row, and the flower is restored overnight, then the cause of this phenomenon is a lack of moisture, since in the heat evaporation processes outstrip the ability of the plant to absorb water. In this case, sprinkling will be your salvation. The more often the better. The only condition is to ensure that the leaves do not burn as a result. This is possible if, after spraying with water, the wet foliage comes into direct sunlight.
Light-colored fuchsia is demanding on living conditions
But fungi, of which there are hundreds of varieties, can also cause similar symptoms. They survive both in Arctic conditions and in the hottest times in the desert. The ideal breeding conditions for them are a temperature of 25-30 ℃ above zero with high humidity. Fungal spores persist in soil debris for many years. Seeds can also be a source of infection. As a result of seed infection, the plant becomes sick even at low temperatures. The disease spreads upward from the roots, causing the fuchsia to wither.
Important! The disease can be triggered by injuries during planting and transplantation, or from insect bites.
Description
The silver sucker belongs to the sucker family, which is quite interesting and rare in our area, and therefore more attractive.
The silver oleaster has not yet earned much attention in our country, however, as many pundits believe, it is a matter of time, since in the current critical environmental conditions, people need affordable and safe vitamin products that can be obtained using the fruits,
leaves, stems and even roots of this rare plant. A positive property is that the plant is able to set fruit as a result of self-pollination, that is, a harvest can be obtained by having only one plant in your garden plot.
Silver oleaster is very decorative during flowering, its flowers are elongated, bell-shaped with a surprisingly pleasant and unique aroma that attracts bees, an excellent honey plant, and the honey from it is unusually pleasant and healthy.
The homeland of silver oleagin is Central China, where it has long been revered as a magical, mysterious plant that gives strength and rejuvenates the body.
There are several species of suckers that grow wild in Central Asia, in the area between the Volga and Ural rivers, as well as in Transcaucasia. Silver oleaster is a tree-like bush, reaching four meters.
The crown of the silver oleagin is very decorative thanks to the oblong-ovate, shiny silvery leaves up to 10 cm long. The leaves are usually bright green with a silvery-metallic sheen on the reverse side that is unique only to the oleagin. Life Form:
Slow.
The annual growth of silver suckers is 15 cm in height and width.
Height 5 m, crown diameter 5 m.
Durability:
Flat round, yellow, 0.8 cm.
Leaves:
Ovoid or elliptical, silvery in color, from 2 to 10 cm.
Decorative:
Single plantings, decorative groups, hedges.
Compatibility
Silver oleaster has an openwork crown and an attractive interlacing of branches, thanks to which it looks great in winter when it sheds its leaves. Landscape designers use the plant to create elegant compositions in which it harmonizes perfectly with evergreen plantings.
Silver berry - the name of a shrub obtained in places of natural growth, is used in design due to its unique ability to enliven flower beds and general landscapes of developed areas. The root system, characterized by serious indicators of activity, which is considered to be practically the only drawback of the silver beauty, makes it possible to create single-row hedges of unique attractiveness. To create them, seedlings are planted in compliance with the rules: no more than two plants should be located per linear meter of land.
Silver oleaster looks impressive within ensembles built on contrast, created from shrubs with foliage of a reddish, golden color or darker shades.
The combination of wild olive with conifers: thuja or spruce is original. Against the background of silver berries, perennials look great, decorated with white flowers and diverse variations of foliage in silver or variegated tones. An unsurpassed impression is achieved by assembling the loch with scumpia or forms of red-leaved maple.
The unique characteristics of the shrub allow its effective use for the purpose of forming groves or carrying out preventive measures to strengthen slopes.
The use of silver oleaster in the arrangement and landscaping of small gardens is effective.
Planting and care
The issue of obtaining planting material has been resolved and now we are holding the treasured seedlings in our hands. Here comes the most important and responsible event - planting them. Since there is quite a bit of information about this culture, it is necessary to talk in more detail about the technique of choosing a site, planting itself and further care. So, planting - first of all, it is necessary to prepare the soil - dig it deep, level it with a rake, remove stones and weeds, the root system of gummi is superficial, fibrous, and soil preparation plays a significant role in ensuring the further full growth of the plant. It is best to plant oleaster on elevated slopes facing south near a residential or country house, thereby protecting the plant from cold winter winds that can harm it.
Although this plant is unpretentious, it still requires neutral soil and does not like an excess of acid, so it is important to know the acidity of the soil in your area, and if this level is high, then you need to take care of adding lime.
The planting itself is best done in early spring or late autumn, when there is plenty of moisture in the soil. Plants are usually planted at a distance of 2-3 m in planting holes up to half a meter deep and up to one and a half meters wide. It is advisable to add a mixture of fertile soil (top layer) with compost, humus or sand into the hole, and at the bottom of the hole it would be great to arrange drainage from pebbles and stones, this is especially important on heavy clay soils, where water often stagnates and can destroy the root system. If a gardener wants to get a fully developed plant and provide himself with stable yields, then it is advisable to add up to 30 g of nitrogen fertilizers, 200-250 g of double superphosphate and up to 700 g of wood ash to the soil mixture.
When planting, the root collar of the plant should be buried 5-8 cm, and after planting it is necessary to water the plant and mulch the top layer of soil with humus.
If the hydrangea leaves turn red, what does this mean?
The disease can manifest itself in different ways and affect not only the foliage, but also the inflorescences and the root system.
If the edges of the leaves dry out, then there are two options: either you water the plant too often, or there is a lack of potassium in the soil. If the soil is not acidic enough for the plant, it will stop absorbing micro and macroelements in the required quantities. You can and should combat this with a lemon or sorrel solution. You need to take one teaspoon of any of the above acids and dissolve it in 10 liters of water. You need to water the hydrangea with this solution.
If there is excessive saturation with moisture and light or their acute shortage, hydrangea leaves turn black, brown, red and yellow. Therefore, it is initially necessary to monitor in what place the plant will have to “live”, because it urgently needs abundant, but not excessive moisture, bright, but diffuse lighting. The partial shade created by trees and shrubs is one of the best types of protection for hydrangeas.
Rust on foliage can be caused by the scorching sun. Yellowing and falling leaves - waterlogging. The plant becomes lethargic with a lack of light. A dried leaf with a rusty color is like the reaction of litmus paper to an increased level of nitrogen in the soil. Spraying is carried out with a solution of 20 grams of copper per 5 liters of liquid or with preparations that are abundant in flower shops.
The reasons for redness can be completely different, including improper replanting with damage to the plant's root system. If this happens, it is necessary to save the situation, because the hydrangea will now not be able to receive the required amount of moisture and nutrients for growth, development and flowering. In addition, sufficient watering and replenishment three times a month with a preparation for the formation of roots are necessary. You can start feeding only after the hydrangea has been restored. To be strong, it, like other plants, needs a strong and healthy root system.
If the foliage is limp, the cause is banal drafts. You should either “neutralize” them or transplant the plant to another location. Sudden changes in temperature are not for this flower.
One of the reasons why numerous hydrangea leaves turn red or begin to turn yellow may be insufficient consumption of nutrients and an acidity level that has gone beyond 3-6 pH units. In this case, you should not forget about feeding three times a month. The period of saturation with minerals is from March to mid-July. Mineral fertilizers are needed twice and organically saturated fertilizers are needed once.
Caring for a sucker
Further care of the sucker plant consists of periodic feeding with compost, wood ash and double superphosphate, as well as loosening the tree trunk. In winter, it is advisable to cover the bushes with snow or brushwood to avoid freezing of the shoots. The plant begins to bear fruit very early and already at the age of five it can produce up to 4 kg of fruit per bush, and this figure grows every year, reaching a maximum of 30 kg per plant. The bush is durable and can bear fruit in one place for up to 25 years.
Silver oleaster deserves the attention of gardeners due to the amazing taste of the berries, their healing properties and high crop yield.
Silver goosefoot is unpretentious, light-loving, but tolerates partial shade. It can grow successfully in soils of varying moisture and fertility. It is winter-hardy, but annual shoots sometimes freeze slightly. It grows slowly. It tolerates pruning well, produces a lot of root shoots, spreading far from the mother bush, on light soils - up to 8 m.
In green construction, oleaster is a valuable material for creating contrasting spots and is effective for single and group plantings. Unsuitable for hedges, as it produces a lot of root growth.
Eleven angustifolia - E. angustifolia L.
This plant is common in the south of the European part of Russia, the Caucasus, Kazakhstan, Central and Asia Minor. Grows along the banks of rivers and lakes.
A deciduous shrub or small tree with a spreading crown, up to ten meters in height, with red-brown shiny bark and spines, the length of which reaches three centimeters. The trunk is twisted. The shoots are silvery-pubescent with abundant, stellate-scaled hairs. The leaves are linear or lanceolate, pointed, up to eight centimeters long, gray-green above, silvery-white below with silvery scales covering both sides of the soft leaf. The flowers are axillary, 1-3, very fragrant, orange-yellow inside and silvery outside. Flowering duration is more than two weeks. The fruit is a drupe, rounded-elliptical in shape, up to 1 cm, at the beginning silvery-white, when ripe - yellowish-brown, with a sweetish, mealy, edible pericarp.
Grows quickly, especially when young. Light-loving, drought-resistant, has a deep root system. It tolerates shearing well, and when planted “on a stump” it produces abundant growth, which allows it to be used for creating hedges.
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Gumi: origin, history of distribution
Gumi, despite almost a hundred years of cultivation history on Russian soil, still remains an exotic plant. It is well known in Altai, Primorye, and the Far East, but it came to the European part of the continent not so long ago.
Gumi is one of the oldest plants. According to some sources, its ancestors appeared when dinosaurs were still alive, during the Cretaceous period.
The homeland of gumi is China and Japan. At the beginning of the last century, a beautiful berry bush was brought to Sakhalin. Now the crop is successfully grown in the Krasnodar region, Moscow region, Bashkiria, Tatarstan, even in the Tomsk region and Udmurtia. Ukrainian and Baltic gardeners fell in love with this immigrant.
Meet the silver sucker, pest-free care and planting methods
Let's consider the questions that usually arise during the cultivation process: when to plant and replant and what problems may arise.
The instructions state that this representative of the flora loves warmth and sunlight, but is also quite winter-hardy. It can live on any soil, as long as it is not acidic. Its peculiarities lie in the fact that the plant is able to restore the soil through the ability to accumulate nitrogen.
Caring for the sucker begins from the moment of planting. In order to plant rooted cuttings or seedlings in the spring, it is necessary to prepare the soil in advance, in the fall. This advice: the site must be drained, fertilized and watered.
Since the roots lie close to the surface, they often send out young shoots. Planting and propagation can occur on the basis of shoots. They need to be cut off and transplanted to the right place. There are types of shrubs that not only grow upward very quickly, but also disperse throughout the territory, expanding in width. In this case, dividing the bush is simply necessary.
This is best done in the spring. This will allow the specimen to adapt to the territory, take root and overwinter well. It happens that due to severe frosts and snowless winters, seedlings partially freeze out. Then in the spring you need to carry out differentiated pruning, removing those branches that grow inside the crown, have frozen or broken off. It begins to bear fruit only in 4-5 years. Usually, with proper care, the yield is very high and can last for a very long time.
Diseases and pests are not scary for your pet. The transplant can be carried out at any time. Recently, gumi has become widely used by landscape designers to decorate areas adjacent to the house. The attractive greenery and brightness make it truly decorative.
We have already talked about how to care for, grow and plant this example of living nature. Go ahead. Feeding is carried out at the time of transferring your pet to its permanent habitat. Humus, sawdust, and ash are placed at the bottom of the hole and all this is thoroughly mixed with the ground. Every year, in spring and autumn, fertilizing using organic or mineral fertilizers is necessary. This will provide your pets with decent care, and you with a decent harvest.
Growing gumi in different regions
Gumi is a native of the East. But in recent years he has proven that he can live in the conditions of the Russian Non-Black Earth Region, in Siberia, the Baltic states and Ukraine. Let's consider the features of growing plants in different regions.
In the Moscow region and central Russia
When planting gumi on your site, you should choose the most sunny place. But even in this case, the timing of flowering and ripening of berries may be delayed by 2–3 weeks. And the young bush will begin to bear fruit a little later. But the most dangerous for it are the first frosts, when there is no snow yet. Therefore, the main task of the gardener is to cover the heat-loving plant for the winter.
In the northern regions
It is known that the multicolored oleaster manages to be cultivated even in Western Siberia, in the Tomsk region. Gumi bushes from a St. Petersburg nursery were planted there. Not all plants took root; some died after the first winter. But some specimens are alive and bearing fruit.
To preserve young gumi bushes in northern climates, some gardeners take them home for the winter
Particularly careful gardeners recommend transplanting young plants into a container in the fall and taking them into the house. At the same time, the gumi will not shed its leaves and may even bloom and bear fruit. And in the spring the bush is returned to the site. Attempts to grow gumi all year round as a houseplant have not been successful.
Video: Elf multiflora in Udmurtia
In the south of Russia and Ukraine
In warm regions, the problem of cold weather is not so acute. Although young gumi should be covered for the winter, like roses.
It is much more important to prevent the bush from dying from drought. It should be planted in partial shade so that the tree crowns provide coolness. Gumi can hardly tolerate heat and hot air. It prefers high humidity in summer. It is necessary to ensure timely and abundant watering of not only the roots, but also the crown of the plant.
Video: how gumi grows in Ukraine
In the Republic of Belarus, gumi is still a very rare plant. Nevertheless, local gardeners recommend covering it from frost in winter and protecting it from heat in summer.
The photo will tell and show everything
In the photo you can look at the plant and write a description that goes something like this: an exotic shrubby tree-like plant, an evergreen shrub of the Sucker family. It has a brown trunk(s) and green oblong leaves. At the end of May, small flowers appear. At the end of July, the fruits, very similar to cherries, ripen. They can be yellow or red, juicy and tasty. The tree has different varieties: silver, narrow-leaved, umbrella, prickly.
Silver sucker is quite unpretentious. It got its name due to its color. Blooms in late May - early June. Narrow-leaved is known for its large berries, the juicy pulp of which contains 50% sugar. It grows very quickly and is covered with thorns. The color of the bark is red-brown. Spiny reaches up to 7 meters in height. The branches have thick spines.
To ensure cross-pollination, it is recommended to have several specimens in the garden. The leaves and root of gumi (another name) are considered beneficial. For example, the berries themselves are used for stomach diseases, are actively used in cooking, delicious jam, juice and even wine are prepared from them, and a tincture is made from the root, which is taken for heart disease. An infusion of the leaves is used for fever.
Agrotechnical characteristics
The yield of silver oleaster (photo below) initially does not exceed four kilograms, but after two years you can get up to 30 kg of berries per bush annually. This result can be achieved by ensuring cross-pollination of plants. To do this, you need to have two or three gumi bushes on the site. The crop is characterized by early fruiting and annual yield.
The root system of the plant is superficial. They are located at a depth of up to 40 cm. But in the horizontal direction, the roots grow one and a half to two times wider than their own crown. On the roots of gumi there are growths formed by nodule nitrogen-fixing plants that saturate the soil with nitrogen. This is why the sucker is so undemanding about the quality of the soil. It can grow in the poorest soil.
Silver goosefoot in garden design photo | Landscape design, landscape design of the site
Silver oleaster grows near ponds in park and forested areas and is characterized by silvery leaves that are really hard to miss! In spring, bright yellow flowers bloom and smell very pleasant. In the last month of summer, sweet fruits that look like dates appear on the branches of the oleaster. Agree, each of us has seen this plant in person, but not everyone is aware of what this culture actually is. Let's try to find out this, and also consider how it will look in the garden design.
General information about culture
Let’s immediately make a reservation that the silver gooseberry looks excellent in the design of almost any garden. It “feels” great even in harsh northern conditions, it does not require constant care, it does not require special attention, but retains its decorative properties throughout the whole year. And taking into account the fact that the sucker is a deciduous shrub, it becomes obvious that in winter its chic curves and thick branches look very impressive, especially if you combine it with various kinds of evergreens.
Note! This shrub is a member of the sucker family, so, alas, it is not often found on our territory. Moreover, in our area it is not particularly popular; they do not pay much attention to it. But this, of course, is temporary - everything will change soon.
Central China is considered the cradle of the silver oleagin. The Chinese associate culture with a wide variety of mysteries and magic. It is worth noting that there are several varieties of sucker on the planet. They can be found in the Caucasus, Central Asia, and even in the territories between the Urals and Volga. The height of the silver sucker can be four meters. Its crowns are quite decorative (an eloquent confirmation of this are the silver leaves 10 centimeters long), the foliage is spreading, not too large. We also add that the shrub grows quite slowly - for the Sucker family, the average growth is approximately 15 centimeters per year.
Silver oleaster is a light-loving crop that grows well in good light. It is extremely resistant to low temperatures, but there is nothing much to say about drought resistance, since it is practically absent. The loch “loves” sandy soils, but also feels quite good on other types of soil.
Note! The main advantage of the culture is its resistance to smoke and dust, due to which it grows well on streets with heavy traffic.
It is characteristic that even adult plants can be replanted; a good reaction of the sucker to pruning is also observed. In general, this is a bush that itself improves the land on which it grows, therefore, it does not need any fertilizing.
Shrub trimming
The only drawback is the slow growth of the bush. Only if the sucker grows in high-quality soil, then it can stretch 0.5 m in a year. In this regard, pruning is carried out once a year. The formation of the crown of the sucker is easy, the plant tolerates the procedure well. Depending on his preferences, the owner can choose any appearance. The plant can be left as a shrub or made into a standard tree.
In addition to pruning to shape the shape of the crown, old bushes should be trimmed thoroughly.
A shrub that is more than 10 years old needs to be freed from old branches from time to time, giving space to young growth. This event will allow the plant to delight you with its appearance for another 15 years, without requiring replanting.
Despite its slow growth, shoots from the roots of the oleaster appear very quickly. They should be detected and removed in a timely manner, otherwise they will draw vitality from the bush, and it will turn into a pitiful semblance of a beautiful plant, losing its decorative effect.
Correct landing of the silver sucker
So, after resolving the issue of obtaining planting material, it is necessary to proceed to what is perhaps the most important thing - planting. And in view of the fact that practically no one knows anything about this crop, it is necessary to consider in more detail the criteria for choosing a suitable location, planting techniques and further care of the bush. The procedure should begin with preparing the soil - it (the soil) is dug up deeply, leveled with a rake, and all weeds and stones are removed. The rhizomatous system of the silver euphemum is fibrous and superficial, which is why soil preparation is an extremely important component in the further full growth of the crop. It is advisable to plant on slopes and hills in the southern part of the suburban area, in close proximity to the house. This little trick will protect the bush from the cold winter wind, which can cause significant damage.
As we have already noted, the sucker is not whimsical, but, despite this, it only needs neutral soil, that is, without an excess of acid. It is for this reason that it is so important to first determine the acidity of the soil in a particular area and, if the acid level is too high, add a certain amount of lime there.
Note! Experts recommend planting plants in late autumn or spring, because at this time the level of soil moisture is very high.
The distance between plants should be about 2-3 meters, the planting holes themselves should have a depth of 0.5 meters and a width of no more than 1.5 meters. In addition, a fertile layer of soil (that is, its top layer) mixed with compost, sand or humus should be placed in each of the holes. And also (especially if the soil is clayey - in such a situation the water stagnates and, therefore, can lead to the death of plants) at the bottom of each hole it is advisable to arrange a small drainage made of pebbles or crushed stone. And if you want your site to be decorated with full-fledged and healthy plants that will produce a stable, good harvest, then add the following substances to the soil:
- nitrogen fertilizers (about 30 grams);
- wood ash (0.7 kilograms);
- double superphosphate (about 200 grams).
During the planting process, deepen the root collar by approximately 70-80 millimeters. After planting, be sure to water the plants and mulch the top layer of soil with humus.
Varieties of weigela
Amateur flower growers most often grow the following varieties and types of weigela:
- early weigela is a shrub with branches that almost bend towards the ground. It blooms very early with abundant and beautiful purple-pink flowers. It grows up to two meters in height;
- The modest grace of the Weigela variety is pleasant. The height of the bush is 0.5 - 1.5 meters. Blooms profusely with large lilac-pink flowers;
- The most abundantly flowering bush is weigela flowering. It blooms with small bright pink flowers. The bushes grow low and have difficulty withstanding the winter season. Therefore, they must be covered for the winter. If the plant freezes, it will not be able to recover and will die;
- Weigela Middendorf has a very dense crown and grows no higher than one meter. This variety is often grown as a border. The bushes have large light yellow flowers with red dots. Since this variety loves moisture, it takes root well and blooms in humid summers.
There are many more types and varieties of weigela that are grown in different countries.
How to properly care for crops
As for further care of the silver sucker, it consists mainly of regular feeding with compost and the fertilizers listed above. In addition, the trunk strips should be loosened from time to time. In winter, the bushes are covered with brushwood or a layer of snow so that the shoots do not freeze at this temperature. Fruiting begins quite early - for example, at the age of five years, one plant can already produce about 4-5 kilograms of fruit. In the future, this figure, of course, will only increase until it reaches a “ceiling” of 30 kilograms. It is also worth noting that this crop is very durable and can actively bear fruit in one place for twenty-five years.
Note! Silver oleaster is quite worthy of the attention of all gardeners without exception, since its berries not only have an excellent taste, but also high yield and healing properties.
The culture is unpretentious - it loves light, although it tolerates partial shade well. It can grow in any soil in terms of fertility or moisture. Despite their resistance to low temperatures, some shoots still freeze slightly. Growth occurs very slowly, but the crop tolerates pruning well and provides a large amount of root growth, which spreads quite far from the “main” bush (if the soil is light, then even 8 meters!).
As for landscape design specifically, here silver eelgrass is a valuable tool in the formation of contrasting spots; it looks ideal both alone and when in a group. Of course, it is not suitable for a hedge in principle, since - we have already talked about this - it has too many root shoots. This crop is also used to create a silver garden, let's find out what it is.
Silver Garden
A suburban area can be decorated not only with flowers, but also with plants of unusual colors, to which the silver oleaster belongs. For example, a silver-gray corner of the garden will look great. This can be either a separate ensemble or a way to separate garden areas that differ in color.
Note! As you know, gray is a neutral color; it is necessary to soften and highlight other colors.
Now let’s actually see what the culture described in the article will look like in the design of a suburban area.
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