How to grow hawthorn

Having planted hawthorn in your compound, you will receive not only a decorative element in landscaping, but also a storehouse of healing raw materials. With high-quality seedlings and well-chosen place for planting, care of this plant will be reduced to an elementary minimum.

Where and how to plant hawthorn, what you need to know to create a hedge, how to harvest useful inflorescences and fruits - we will tell about all this later in the article.

Location selection

A characteristic feature of this unpretentious plant is the ability to adapt to any conditions. The tree will grow in the sun and in the shade. There are many shade-tolerant hybrids. You can recognize them by the color of the leaf plates: the darker they are, the easier the culture tolerates the absence of ultraviolet radiation.

If you plan to decorate your garden with delicate flowers, and even harvest the harvest, then the choice should be made in favor of the solar plot.Strong wood of young and mature seedlings does not get burns, even with a long stay in direct sunlight.

Especially favorably, they affect variegated varieties that in the shade lose their color and turn green. Far from the sun, any kind of hawthorn will flaunt only foliage, and you will not see flowers and fruits.

In addition to lighting, it is important to take into account the peculiarities of the soil composition and its acid reaction. The plant prefers enriched with humus, neutral or weakly alkaline substrates. Although it can even adapt to heavy loam and poor sandstones, in this case, inhibition of development is inevitable.

Experts say that the land with an excess of calcium is good for planting hawthorn.If that is not available, you will have to make adjustments. Avoid the acidic environment, where during rains and thaw water stagnates and cold air collects.

Selection of seedlings

A healthy seedling is distinguished by a well-developed strong root system, a smooth, even trunk with 3-5 skeletal branches. To determine the quality of hawthorn, carefully inspect it, paying attention to the description below:

1. Roots should be fresh and well branched, with no nodules, galls, suspicious stains, mildew and putrefactive areas. To check them, slightly scratch the lower processes - on suitable for planting specimens, fresh wood will appear at the site of damage.
2. The trunk can be called qualitative if there are no mechanical damages and incomprehensible tumors on it, its bark is even and smooth.
3. Plant height should vary within one and a half meters. Too tall samples take root poorly, get sick and sit for long without growth.
4. For rooting an excellent material are seedlings of 3 years of age. Trees that are more than 4 years old are not recommended for replanting, since hawthorn has very deep rhizomes. Exceptions are specimens grown in large garden containers. When planting containers simply break open, so as not to damage the root system of the plant.

For long-term transportation, the root part of the acquired planting material is wrapped with a damp cloth and polyethylene. Alternatively, you can pour the wet substrate into a small plastic bag and place a seedling in it. The latter option will ensure plant vitality for several days.

How to plant hawthorn

Hawthorn is considered to be a very unpretentious plant, its cultivation and care is a pleasure even for the busiest and laziest gardeners. This is exactly the casewhen it is possible to plant a tree and remember it only periodically, when it is time to harvest the fruits. We will understand how to properly organize planting plants.

Timing

Many prefer to realize the rooting of seedlings in the spring, when stable warm weather is established outside and the earth warms up sufficiently. This period begins somewhere in the second decade of April. It is believed that such specimens quickly grow up, form powerful roots and build up lush biomass. These inclinations help a tree or shrub easier to winter.

Others are convinced of the greater benefits of autumn planting, since the young sapling, hitting the ground, has enough time to gain a firm hold before the onset of cold weather and grow into the ground. And even more so hawthorn, which is famous for its long powerful roots.With the onset of heat, such patterns are rapidly growing. In this case, the landing should be planned in mid-October, a few weeks before the first frost.

Experts share the opinion of those and others. In their opinion, the landing period is not particularly significant for hawthorn. The main thing is that the earth was not cold, and the weather allowed the plant to adapt to new conditions. It is also noted that spring plantings require regular moistening of the pristvolny holes in order to protect the seedlings from drying out.

Site preparation

The preparatory stage in the process of planting hawthorn is probably no less important in the selection of a suitable site and high-quality planting material. It begins in advance. Approximately a month before rooting.

First of all, the area where hawthorn will grow in the future, you need to dig up.

Then test the earth withdrawn from the 20-centimeter depth for acidity. At home, it is quite possible to do with ordinary table vinegar.A couple of drops of liquid drip on a small soil ball. Hissing and foaming indicate an alkaline environment.

If necessary, soil can be deoxidized with dolomite flour, lime, cement dust or old plaster. The amount of substance introduced depends on the degree of oxidation. On average, per 1 square meter will need from 150 to 300 g of powder.

When the terrain is prepared, you can start digging a recess for landing. Its size is more proportionally dependent on the root system. The plant in the pit should not be cramped and too spacious. On average, the ratio of the width and height of the hole should be within 70 cm.

Lay a layer of drainage on the bottom, in the role of which expanded clay, gravel, brick chips or broken ceramic tiles can play, fill the deepening with a fertile substrate for a third.

After the manipulations, cover this place with plastic wrap, securing its edges. By the time of planting, the microflora required for fruit culture will be formed in the pit.

Landing patterns

Planting is carried out in prepared pits so that its root collar is at ground level. Do not forget to pre-straighten the rhizome, pour it and thoroughly tamp the soil in the pit.

Some gardeners with this purpose specifically shake the seedling, while filled up the voids formed in the roots. At the end of all work, pristvolny wells re-moisten, cover with a thin layer (up to 5 cm) of peat or other mulch.

When planning a landing, consider hawthorn crown volumes. In single landings, experts advise retreating from the trunks of neighboring plants up to 2 m. And if you conceived to create a living hedge out of thorny shrubs, then you need to compact them with gaps of 15-20 cm.

For these purposes, land owners prefer single-pest and prickly hawthorn species. To the best of their branching, shoots need to be twisted.

There is an alternative way to bookmark a hedge.He is rooting seedlings at a distance of half a meter each other in specially prepared trenches.

How to care for hawthorn

The plant does not require special care and special knowledge. It is possible to improve its appearance and fruiting by regular processing and moistening of the soil, periodic feeding and trimming. We will understand in more detail the main secrets of gardeners.

Watering, weeding and loosening

When hawthorn roots get too much water, the risk of developing putrefactive processes increases. The culture does not require frequent watering at all, since most of its species tolerate drought well. Their root system develops deep enough to feed the trunk with nutrients and moisture.

Therefore, mature trees can not be watered, but young seedlings need extra attention. Plants moisturize only during periods of lack of rain, pouring about 2-3 buckets of settled water under each barrel.

Regardless of the age of the hawthorn, it is imperative to clean the weeds around the planting time in time, loosen and mulch the soil. Together, these works contribute to better aeration and nutrition of the roots, do not allow moisture to evaporate, and improve the aesthetic appearance of the garden.

Top dressing

Frankly, this procedure for hawthorn apply only caring owners who have free time. The culture is unpretentious, so it can do without fertilizers, but in this case, there are obvious signs of a slower growth of shoots and a deterioration of decoration.

Additional nutrition is desirable for all large-fruited varieties. To stimulate the harvest, they are first fed at the beginning of spring, the second - when the hawthorn blooms, and the third - during the ripening of the berries.

Two-time fertilizer is recommended for decorative variegated forms. It is conducted in spring and autumn. In all cases, solutions of organic substances are poured at the root, for which chicken manure, mullein, humate and compost are ideal. Also, a handful of urea dissolved in a bucket of water or mineral complex substances will not interfere. Ideally, fertilizers alternate.

Pest and disease control

In a temperate climate conditions, hawthorn is threatened: a butterfly boyarca, a deciduous moth, a silkworm, an apple creeper and aphids, which lay eggs on the foliage and feed on the juice of young shoots.

The plant loses its healthy appearance, its leafy plates wither and curl, and premature leaf fall begins. To save the culture from the aggressive parasite, you can use any insecticide. Aktara, Aktellik, Bi-58. New have proven themselves well.

In the case of improper care with excessive watering in the roots of the plant can start a fungal infection. It is easy to notice on the general condition of the bush or tree. Its leaves begin to wither and turn yellow.

The only method of treatment is to stop all water procedures and add any fungicide to the roots. Experts recommend: "Acrobat MC", "Abiga-Peak", "Alirin B", Bordeaux mixture, "Gamair", "Skor", "Topaz", "Fundazol".

Harvesting and Storage

Most phytotherapeutists practice the treatment with inflorescences and hawthorn berries to the same extent; therefore, they recommend stocking with raw materials in time.

Harvesting peduncles relevant at the beginning of flowering. Then scissors completely cut off the floral brushes that have a sharp unpleasant aroma and bitter taste. Herbalists advise to collect only fully opened flowers, avoiding buds. The fact is that in the process of drying they darken, which negatively affects the chemical composition of the raw materials.

The berries are cut off in the last weeks of September, when they turn completely red and soft. In some species, ripe fruits immediately begin to crumble (for example, Arnold variety).Therefore, monitor the condition of the crop and try to remove it from the shrub before the onset of cold weather. In frozen berries, the amount of vitamin C is reduced, which affects their healing properties.

Prepare raw materials in dry weather. And if it rained or dew fell, wait until the plant dries. After harvesting, flower brushes and fruits are dried somewhere in the attic, away from direct sunlight. For these purposes, you can use electrical devices, setting the temperature at 40 ° C. In the latter case, the drying should be carried out for 2 hours.

Store the workpiece is recommended in tightly closed glass containers. Make sure the lid closes well, as hawthorn absorbs moisture very well. Inflorescence shelf life of 1 year, and the berries can be saved up to 2 years.

As you can see, the main secret of growing a beautiful and prolific plant is in the love and care for it. And in the case of hawthorn, an elementary minimum is enough for a magnificent hedge or a single bush to bloom in your garden, which in the autumn will thank you for the healing fruits.