Top tips for the care and planting of mountain ash red

The mountain ash ordinary (red) is a type of a mountain ash, belonging to the family of pink, the height of this fruit tree is 5–12 meters, long green frosted leaves, consisting of 7–15 leaflets, grow up to 20 cm, white large inflorescences exude an unpleasant smell, and orange-red, juicy fruits, ripen in August-September, hang on the branches before winter. Known as a vigorous, durable, frost-and drought-resistant, popular medicinal (containing vitamins, trace elements, carotene, organic acids), an ornamental plant that is of low consumption to the growing conditions. Let's figure out how to properly organize for mountain ash red planting and care at the dacha.

How to choose healthy rowan seedlings when buying

Choosing rowan saplings, pay attention primarily to the roots, they must be powerful and healthy, have 2-3 main branches (at least 25-30 cm long). The surface of the roots should be fresh, wet. With chapped and dry roots, even if the seedling takes root, it will slowly grow.

The shriveled bark of the trunk and the branches of the seedlings indicates that they were dug long ago and they have already managed to dry out. If, after you pinch off some bark, you see not a green bottom, but a brown one, such a seedling is already dead and not suitable for planting. For transportation, place the seedling roots in a plastic bag, after wrapping them with a damp cloth.

Correct planting of red rowan saplings on the site

We will talk about how to plant rowan on the site so that it gives the best results.

The best period for landing

Many are interested in the question: when can I plant rowan? The answer is not clear. Planting is possible in early spring, but only until May, since saplings start growing early and bear fruit later. Proceed as soon as the ground allows.

But it is better to plant in the fall, a couple of weeks before the ground freezes. The soil is warm and has not yet cooled down, which will help the plants to adapt more quickly, they will be able to take root during the winter, the soil around them will settle down well and thicken, and in the spring they will actively grow.

Choosing a landing site

If you are wondering where it is better to plant rowan, then pay attention to places at the edge of the plot. So you will provide the plant with a non-shaded area of ​​growth (this will positively affect its livelihood, as it is more light-loving), and its crown will not obscure other plants. Suitable as a beautiful background grassy perennials. Spruce, fir, pine, deciduous trees are considered a suitable company for mountain ash. It is also combined with maple, barberry, honeysuckle.

As for the choice of soil, the most common for mountain ash is suitable, but on neutral, drainage productivity will be higher, and on light, sandy, sandy loam - lower, growth is worse. It will not suffer from the close presence of groundwater. Before planting a mountain ash, it is advisable to give the chosen place for two years for the cultivation of vegetables and grains.

Preparatory work on the site

Preparatory work begins with the arrangement of the pits at a distance of 3-6 meters. Depth, width of each - on average 60 × 60 cm (consider the size of the root system of the seedling). Lay a drainage layer on the bottom (broken brick, large crushed stone, expanded clay).Mix fertile soil, peat compost or humus (5 kg), superphosphate (150-200 g), potash fertilizer (100 g) and fill the third plant pit with the resulting mixture. Next, fill the ground until halfway and pour it abundantly.

Preparation of rowan seedlings

The preparation is very simple. Get rid of sick, cracked, dried roots. The above-ground part of seedlings also requires the same manipulations. Use a clay mash for the roots to avoid drying.

The process of planting mountain ash seedlings

Wait until water is absorbed into the soil after watering and make a small depression in the center of the pit, place the seedling there and flatten its root system. Cover the plant with soil so that it turns out to be 2-3 cm deeper than it grew in the nursery. Tamp the soil a little and pour it back on abundantly. Mulch the soil with a layer of humus, peat or other organic matter (grass, hay, straw) 5-10 cm thick.

Features seasonal care for red rowan

Although mountain ash is red - unassuming plant, but it also has some features of agricultural engineering.

How to water

During dry periods, mountain ash must be watered. With a lack of moisture, shoots and ovaries will be difficult to grow. One plant will be enough for two or three buckets, but consider the age of the tree and the condition of the soil. So that the soil does not dry out, mulch it using sawdust, peat, etc. The soil around the trunk needs regular weeding. A superficial, shallow loosening is also necessary.

How and what to fertilize

In the third year of life, they start feeding the mountain ash. There is no need to close the fertilizer deep, just dig the soil a little. In the spring, when the plant does not bloom yet, it is fertilized with a mixture of nitrogen, phosphorus and potash fertilizers in the proportion of 20 g / 25 g / 15 g / m2, in summer the common mountain is fed with the same mixture, only in the ratio of 15 g / 15 g / 10 g, and in the fall, when the harvest is gathered, 10 g of phosphate and potash fertilizers are applied per m2. Then plentiful watering is necessary.

Treating rowan pests and diseases

This plant quite resistant to pests and diseases but in its long age, and the life of mountain ash is 100 or even 150 years, in some years it can be affected by some pests and diseases.

To fight the mountain ash moth, destroy garbage and fallen leaves, dig up the soil under the crown of the tree in late autumn, spray the roots and tree trunks with insecticides a week after flowering and repeat the procedure in 10-12 days.

Rowan gall mite is fought with colloidal sulfur, which is treated with wood with foliage and up to flowering. Fallen leaves should be raked and burned.

Insecticides are used to get rid of green apple and rowan aphids. To destroy the red-winged (hawthorn) weevil, spray the mountain ash with insecticide before flowering, remove / burn fallen leaves, garbage, and dig deep in the fall.

Rust of mountain ash is eliminated by removing infected branches and 1% Bordeaux liquid, which is treated with wood 2-3 times every 20-25 days from the end of May.

I also use 1% Bordeaux liquid to combat leaf spots (in this case, you also need to collect, remove and destroy old fallen leaves) and monoliosis (you should also harvest in time).

The best resistance to powdery mildew will be the treatment during the growing season with crushed sulfur with lime and the destruction of fallen leaves. As for anthracnose, just remove the affected fruit.

Cropping and crown formation

Since the crown of this plant has a pyramidal shape, and the branches with the trunk form an acute angle that does not contribute to strength, the rowan should be cut so that the main branches leave at a right or obtuse angle.

Pruned the tree before the buds swell in early spring. In young specimens, shorten the shoots to the outer bud, remove excess and growing at an acute angle. With a weak gain, rejuvenating pruning should be carried out on 2- or 5-year-old wood. You should also regularly get rid of root shoots.

Rowan pruning in the fall during the fruiting period is carried out for thinning with a decrease in height. Wounds more than 1 cm cover garden pitch.

When to collect and how to store the fruits of mountain ash

Rowan berries ripen fully in September and October. During this period, it is necessary to carry out the harvest. The second option is to wait for the first frost, when the fruits become sweet. They should be removed from the tree together with the stalks. Collected berries can stay fresh for a long time. To store rowan, you can use freezing, but do not allow thawing. And you can simply decompose the fruits of mountain ash with a layer of 10-15 cm and so store until spring at a temperature of 0-1 ° С.

Rowan - A great option for the dacha. It is not only very picturesque, but also has a lot of useful properties. You just have to make sure of it on your own experience.