Growing three-lobed almonds

Blooming spring garden fascinates with its beauty. Trees and shrubs, literally boiling in a variety of colors, leave a lasting impression. But even against this background, the three-blade blooming almond looks like a real king.

Botanical description

Three-bladed almonds (another name is three-bladed luisings) belong to the genus Plum (Prunus), belonging to the Rosaceae family. Previously, this type of botany was distinguished into a separate genus of Louiseania. His homeland is China and Korea.

This is a bichromatic flowering plant, it is found in the form of a shrub, and in the form of a small tree. Its height can reach 5 meters. The leaves are ovate, at the ends implicitly three-lobed.Terry flowers reach 5 cm in diameter. They come in a variety of shades, from light pink to crimson. Flowering begins in May and can last up to 2 weeks (it depends on the particular plant variety). Fruits are red, round, belong to the type of "drupe", in temperate latitudes they may not ripen. They are inedible.

Forms and varieties

This species has long been cultivated as an ornamental plant. On the basis of the wild-growing species, a variety of varieties with variously colored flowers and with a different flowering period have been developed.

Luiseania forms

For garden decoration, landscape designers and gardeners have the opportunity to choose one of two existing forms of luizeania - a tree or a shrub. Both forms have strong branching.

Popular varieties

Perhaps the most popular in our latitudes grade is "Captivity." It is a shrub reaching two meters in height. Flowers densely pink. Flowering lasts about ten days. Variety "Joy" can be both a tree and a shrub. At the time of flowering, this almond variety is covered with large, dark pink flowers."Joy" refers to the early varieties, the plant begins to bloom in April. Interesting variety "Snow Uemury". This is a tree or shrub, reaching a three-meter height. Its large double flowers initially have a soft pink color, which is gradually replaced by a cream.

Very beautiful bright colors are different variety "Crimson". They have a rich crimson color. The plant itself has the form of a low bush with straight shoots. Variety "Vesnyanka" looks like a plum tree. In the spring it is covered with large beige-pink flowers. Its remarkable feature is high resistance to monilial burn (moniliosis).

Where Almonds Grow

Three-lobed almonds are quite sensitive to the choice of planting place, for the normal development of the plant and simplification of further care it is necessary that such a place meets certain criteria. These criteria are the same for both forms of almond - tree and shrub.

Choice of location and lighting

The almond planting area should not be flooded in the spring; besides, the high level of ground waters is extremely undesirable. It is also necessary that the place was sunny and protected from the wind.

Growing soil

Optimal for the plant is a light loamy soil with a weak alkaline reaction. The least suitable for him is heavy clay soils.

Planting rules for seedlings

For planting are considered the best three-year seedlings. For their planting prepare pit about half a meter depth. For better drainage, the bottom of the pit is covered with a 15 cm layer of gravel or coarse gravel and 200 g of lime are added to it. The roots of the plant are covered with a mixture, the components of which are 3 parts of leafy ground, 2 parts of humus and one part of sand. The soil around the tree is slightly tamped and watered abundantly.

It is possible to plant saplings both in the spring, and in the fall. In the spring they are planted when setting enough warm weather, when there is no risk of frost. In the fall, planting is done after leaf fall.Autumn planting is considered the best option. When planting several trees or shrubs, the distance between them is kept at least three meters.

Plant propagation

There are quite a few ways to reproduce the three-bladed almond, a gardener has plenty to choose from. Consider these ways.

From bone

With this method of reproduction, the fruit of both the tree and the shrub is used. Almond seed stone is planted in open ground. Planting pits produce in the groove depth of 10 cm, at a distance of 10-12 cm from each other. After dropping the ground and watering, planting material does not need further care.

After the emergence of seedlings, the earth around them is loosened and weeded. The shoots are transplanted to a permanent place when they reach about 50 cm in height. At the same time, on the stem section 10 cm from the root collar, all lateral shoots that have appeared are cut off. It is possible to plant bones both in late autumn and in early spring. During spring planting, the bones are stratified — kept in a refrigerator at 3-5 ° C for about four months.

From cuttings

Procurement of cuttings produced in the second half of June.To do this, cut lignified apical shoots. They should contain two knots, the length of the cutting is 15-20 cm. Next, cuttings are placed for 24 hours in a growth stimulator solution, then planted (cuttings are stuck into the substrate) in a greenhouse. Used for rooting substrate of sand and peat in a ratio of 1: 2. Sufficiently developed roots are formed after 3-4 weeks, after which the cuttings are moved to the open ground, where they develop to the necessary conditions, after which they are transplanted to a permanent place.

From the layering

The procedure for reproduction by layering begins in early spring, before the plant awakens from its winter dormancy. The flexible lower branches of the plant are bent to the ground and fixed in this position. The point of fixation is sprinkled with soil, later on, it is taken care of as an ordinary sapling — they loosen the ground around it and water it. A year later, the layers take root, it can be separated from the parent plant and transplanted to a suitable place.

Inoculation

This breeding method is used in the spring or in August. For stocks choose resistant to cold varieties of almonds.The use of cherry plum, thorns or plums also gives good results. For the graft, use a straight stalk of almonds with formed eyes and cut leaves.

The stock is cleared of dirt and a T-shaped incision is made on the bark above the root collar, the cut bark is folded back, a so-called "shield" is placed there, it is pressed with bark and strapped with adhesive tape for reliability. A flap is a patch of bark cut from a graft that contains a kidney. It should completely fit under the bark of the stock. If the vaccination took place in the spring, then after the kidney survives, the tape is removed. In the case of a summer vaccination, the tape is left until spring.

Care for three-lobed almonds

Almond care is easy, but should be regular. The first loosening of the soil around the trunk should be done at the end of March. This procedure must be repeated another 3-4 times throughout the growing season.In addition, around the plants need to regularly remove weeds.

Watering

Almonds are a drought-resistant crop, but despite this, it is better bearing fruit and grows with regular and sufficient irrigation. If the plant is planted and grows in sandy soil, then it should be watered more often than plants planted on normal soils..

Watering should be done when the top layer of soil dries out by about 1-1.5 cm. Then a bucket of water is poured into the near-stem circle. It must be remembered that waterlogging can lead to rotting of the roots. Seedlings are watered more often, about once every 10-15 days. If there is no possibility to water the almonds throughout the growing season, then you should try to organize regular watering at least in spring and autumn.

Top dressing

Regular dressing allows you to achieve the most spectacular flowering of three-lobed almonds. With the onset of spring, each tree or shrub should be fed with a solution of 1 kg of manure and 20 g of ammonium nitrate, which is diluted with 10 liters of water. In the fall, it is advisable to add potassium sulphate under the rhizomes of almond in a blend with double superphosphate - approximately 20 g per 1 sq. Km. mIn addition, in the fall you need to trim annual shoots that did not have time to stiffen.

Pruning

Pruning, both preventive and decorative (cutting flowering shoots for bouquets), almonds tolerates well. Formative pruning should be done after the plant has faded. It is necessary to prune annual shoots, as well as diseased and not given full flowering branches.

Diseases and pests

The main pests of almonds are leafworm and aphid. The sheet wrap can be overcome with the help of chlorophos solution (concentration 0.15-0.3%) by spraying the tracks. Against aphids, a solution of household soap is good at the rate of 200-300 g of soap per 10 liters of water. This solution is sprayed with leaves affected by aphids.

The real scourge of almonds is the dangerous fungal disease monilioz (aka monilial burn), to combat which plants are sprayed with Bordeaux liquid every 15-20 days. In addition to this scourge, this species is prone to be sick with gray rot, which can be eliminated only by cutting off the affected branches in the winter or spring, immediately after the flowering period.With such a disease, it is important to prevent the emergence of sporospace pads.

So, three-lobed almonds can not be called unpretentious plant. The grower encounters certain difficulties in growing it: sensitivity to long thaws and over-wetting, susceptibility to certain diseases. However, these difficulties are completely surmountable, and otherwise, planting and caring for this ornamental tree or shrub is simple. The reward for the efforts will be its magnificent, unforgettable spring flowering.