Aronia is a valuable fruit and medicinal plant. It belongs to the family Rosaceae and is common in North America. In our country, one of the species known as the "chokeberry" is known. Although the clusters of berries look like mountain ash, chokeberry has nothing to do with this plant genus, which does not prevent it from being very popular among gardeners. A sprawling tree or tall shrub will effectively decorate the territory, and in the fall it will delight with bright red-yellow foliage. At the same time, the plant will take care of the owner’s health and saturate it with delicious fruits.
Plant description
Aronia is a perennial deciduous plant with a superficial rhizome. It takes the form of a tree or shrub with a spreading crown. The height of an adult plant reaches 3 m and a width of 2 m. The trunk and branches are covered with smooth bark. In young plants, it has a reddish-brown color, and with age it becomes dark gray.
The branches are covered with regular petiolate leaves of an oval shape with town-like edges and a pointed end. The length of the leaf plate is 4-8 cm and the width is 3-5 cm. A central vein with lateral branches is visible on the surface of the shiny leathery sheet. On the back there is a soft silver pubescence. The foliage is colored dark green, and by mid-September, with a decrease in average daily temperature, the leaves turn purple-red. This gives the garden a special charm.
The chokeberry bloom begins in May, after the leaves have opened Small corollas, similar to the apple blossom, are located in a dense corymbose inflorescence up to 6 cm in diameter. Each bisexual flower with 5 free petals contains a bunch of long stamens with thickened anthers and located just below the stigma of the ovary. The flowering period lasts 1.5-2 weeks, and by August, the fruits begin to ripen - spherical or oblate berries with black or red dense skin. The diameter of the berries is 6-8 cm. A slight bluish or whitish coating is present on their surface.
Harvesting begins in October, preferably after the first frost. They are edible and have a slightly tart, sweet and sour taste.
Popular types and varieties
Initially, only 2 plant species were included in the genus of chokeberry, over time, 2 more hybrid varieties were added to them.
Chokeberry Aronia. A plant from the eastern regions of North America is very popular. It is a short, often multi-stemmed tree, covered with dark green oval leaves. On spring shoots, thyroid inflorescences with a delicate aroma bloom. After pollination, by the end of summer, black fleshy berries ripen, weighing about 1 g. They contain many nutrients that have a beneficial effect on the human body. Varieties:
- Viking - upright shoots drooping at the ends, covered with oval jagged leaves of dark green color and purple-black flattened berries;
- Nero is a shade-loving frost-resistant plant with dark green foliage and large fruits containing a large amount of vitamins and active substances;
- Khugin - a shrub up to 2 m high is covered with dark green leaves, which turn bright red in autumn, shiny black berries are visible between the foliage.
The chokeberry is red. A shrub with sprawling shoots is able to reach a height of 2-4 m. Oval leaves with a long, sharp edge grow on it. The length of the leaf plate is 5-8 cm. In May, corymbose inflorescences appear with small light pink or white buds up to 1 cm in diameter. By early September, red fleshy berries ripen 0.4-1 cm in diameter. They do not fall throughout the winter.
Aronia Michurin. The result of the work of the famous scientist E.V. Michurin, who at the end of the XIX century. on the basis of chokeberry, he bred a hybrid with abundant flowering and fruiting. Flowers contain a large amount of nectar and make it look like a honey plant. Berries contain many nutrients (vitamins and minerals). Flowering begins a few weeks later. Berry ripening lasts from September to the start of frost. From one plant collect up to 10 kg of the crop of juicy sweet and sour berries. The plant loves sunny places and loose, well-drained soils.
Breeding secrets
Any known method is suitable for the propagation of chokeberry, but most often they use seed sowing or rooting of green cuttings. Chokeberry seeds are harvested from well-ripened berries. They are rubbed through a sieve and then washed thoroughly. Late fall stratification. Seeds are mixed with calcined river sand, moistened and placed in a bag. It is placed for 3 months in a container for vegetables in the refrigerator. In the spring, when the soil warms up, the seeds are sown immediately in open ground. To do this, prepare holes with a depth of 7-8 cm. The already hatched seeds are laid out in them.
When the seedlings grow 2 real leaves, they are thinned out so that the distance is 3 cm. Re-thinning is carried out when the plants have 4-5 leaves. The distance is increased to 6 cm. Until next spring, seedlings are grown in the same place. They are regularly watered and weed beds. The last thinning is carried out in April-May of the following year, so that the distance is 10 cm.
For cuttings, green shoots 10-15 cm long are used. The lower leaves are cut on them, and a third of the leaf plate is left on the upper ones. On the surface of the cortex above each kidney and several in the lower part of the cuttings make incisions. A sprig is immersed for several hours in the Kornevin solution, and then planted in a greenhouse at an angle. The soil is made up of garden soil, onto which a thick layer of river sand is poured. The cuttings are covered with a film, they take root at a temperature of + 20 ... + 25 ° C for 3-4 weeks. After that, the shelter begins to be removed for several hours a day, and after 7-12 days it is completely removed.
Also, chokeberry can be propagated by layering, dividing the bush, grafting and basal shoots. The best time to manipulate is spring.
Landing and care
Planting chokeberry, as well as other fruit trees, are planned for autumn. Do it on a cloudy day or in the evening. This plant is undemanding. It develops equally well in partial shade and in the sun, on sandy loam, loam and in rocky soil. Aronias are suitable for poor and fertile soils with a weakly acidic or neutral reaction. The close occurrence of groundwater will also not be a problem for the superficial rhizome. Only saline soil will not fit the plant.
When planting a plant, it is necessary to dig a hole about 0.5 m deep. A drainage layer is poured into the bottom, and the space between the roots is filled with soil mixed with humus, superphosphate and wood ash. If the roots are too dry during transportation, the plant is immersed for several hours in a basin with water. After the rhizome is treated with clay mash.
Initially, the root neck is placed 1.5-2 cm above the ground, so that when the soil shrinks, it becomes even with the surface. Then the seedlings are watered and rammed the soil. The surface is mulched with straw, peat or humus to a height of 5-10 cm.The distance between plants should be at least 2 m. Immediately after planting, the shoots are shortened by a few centimeters so that only 4-5 buds remain on each branch.
Caring for chokeberry is practically not required. However, moisture and watering are of great importance for her. They are especially important during flowering and fruit setting. In the absence of rainfall, 2-3 buckets of water are poured under each plant. It should not only water the bushes, but also periodically spray the crown.
If the chokeberry grows on fertile soil, one spring fertilizer per year is enough for it. Use ammonium nitrate powder, which is scattered on the ground before watering. Additionally, you can use cow rotted manure, superphosphate, bird droppings, ash or compost. Several times during the season, loosen the soil and remove weeds in the root circle.
In early spring, sanitary pruning is carried out and dry shoots are removed, and they are also engaged in crown formation. As they grow, basal shoots are destroyed so that the crown does not thicken too much. In the fall, anti-aging pruning is performed. Since branches older than 8 years old almost do not give a harvest, they are cut to the ground, leaving a young basal shoot in return. 2-3 such branches are updated in a year.
The trunk is better covered with a layer of lime. You should carefully monitor the condition of the plant and timely suppress the appearance of insects. The first preventive spraying is carried out in early spring, before the appearance of leaves. Use Bordeaux fluid. Re-treatment is carried out after the leaves fall. If in the summer the parasites move from another infected plant to a chokeberry, trees should be sprayed with a specific insecticide. Most often, aphids, mountain ash moths, mountain ash mites, and hawthorn inhabit the chokeberry.
Diseases affect plants with thickened plantings. It can be leaf rust, bacterial necrosis, viral spotting. When the first symptoms appear, they are treated with "Haupsin", "Gamair" or other, more modern drugs.
Beneficial features
Aronia berries are rich in active substances. Among them are the following:
- vitamins;
- tannins;
- sucrose;
- flavonoids;
- catechins;
- trace elements;
- pectins.
The fruits of chokeberry are collected, cleaned of branches and leaves, and then dried, jam is prepared, frozen, insisted on alcohol. From them you can cook a decoction, get juice and even make wine. The use of these products is recommended for the prevention and control of the following ailments:
- atherosclerosis;
- hypertension;
- fragility of blood vessels;
- capillarotoxicosis;
- scarlet fever;
- eczema;
- measles;
- diabetes;
- thyroid disease.
Berries are also an effective diuretic, choleretic, tonic. They perfectly strengthen the immune system, contribute to the elimination of toxins, heavy metals and pathogenic microorganisms. Fresh juice helps to heal wounds and relieve burns on the skin.
Even such a useful product has contraindications. Chokeberry is not recommended for people suffering from hypertension, angina pectoris, thrombosis, gastritis, and duodenal ulcer.
