Everyone knows the common mountain ash - a tree without which it is difficult to imagine a front garden at a house, a shady corner of a park, an alley on a city boulevard. However, rowan, along with the features of its growth, as well as the useful and medicinal properties of this plant, for many still remain a secret.

Rowan description

The first word in the Latin name of the common mountain ash - Sorbus aucuparia - means "bird". However, in our language this is another botanical species. Therefore, in order to avoid confusion, the Russian name of this plant is not a literal translation of Latin.

Vonega, bogoroshnik, whispina, sparrow, yudik, pea, hazel grouse - this is how mountain ash is popularly called in different localities. This tree has been known since ancient times. It was mentioned even in the works of ancient scientists, in particular Virgil and Pliny. Its fruits are edible and have been eaten in the past.

Rowan is a bush or short tree from four to fifteen meters high. The bark of its trunk is usually brown-gray (in young shoots it is light gray). Leaves are odd-pinnate, in length they reach twenty centimeters. Separate plates, which are oblong and have sharp denticles along the edges.

Rowan inflorescences are small shields (up to ten centimeters across), white flowers. The fruits are round, up to one and a half centimeters in diameter, bitter or tart in taste. They are usually bright red, but sometimes the color can be yellowish or orange. They ripen, depending on the place where mountain ash grows, mainly from September to October (less often - November).

Distribution area

Rowan belongs to frost-resistant plants. It is widespread in northern Europe and Asia. It is known that places where mountain ash grows are sometimes found even beyond the Arctic Circle.

In the wild, these trees tend to grow singly or in small groups. Favorite habitats - the slopes of ravines, meadows and Rowan prefers sod-podzolic and medium loamy soils. It grows poorly on poor and sandy soils. Science has also proven that the lifespan of mountain ash is longer with high air humidity.

Rowan grows in large quantities in Belarus, Ukraine (Galicia, Polesie), as well as in the European part of Russia. In the Baltics, Scandinavian countries, the Far East and Siberia, other species of this plant are found.

Features of the growth of mountain ash

When germinating, the cotyledons are brought to the surface. They usually live from fifty to eighty days. Rowan begins to grow earlier than apple or pear, but blooms a week later than they do.

In the first year of life, rowan seedlings develop slowly, and from the second or third year, the shoots begin to grow vigorously. Young trees often have a pyramidal crown, which later changes to rounded under the weight of foliage and fruits. In most species of mountain ash, apical growth predominates.

Under the forest canopy, the lifespan of mountain ash decreases. These trees grow best and bear fruit more abundantly in well-lit places with moderate humidity.

How long does rowan live

Compared to other deciduous trees, this plant is not considered a long-liver. On average, the lifespan of common mountain ash in nature is eighty - one hundred years. Sometimes the age of individual specimens reaches one hundred - one hundred and fifty, and sometimes even up to two hundred years, but these are exceptional cases.

Only alder (fifty - seventy years) and home plum (up to sixty years) live less than mountain ash.

Beneficial features

The fruits of mountain ash are recognized not only by folk, but also by official medicine. This product has a high level of vitamins (primarily A and C); its diuretic and hemostatic effects are also known.

After the first autumn frosts, ripe rowan berries lose their bitterness, acquiring a sweetish taste. On the day of Peter and Paul - "Ryabinnikov", celebrated on September 23, our ancestors harvested the healing mountain ash kvass, which was considered an excellent laxative and refreshing agent, as well as helping to treat various inflammations. Compotes were cooked from berries and infusions were made, which were then used in the treatment of colds, atherosclerosis, rheumatism, and heart failure.

Tea made from flowers and rowan berries with the addition of mint is a good remedy for fatigue.

Residents of the northern regions today often eat rowan berries in their raw form, as well as dry them, soak and ferment them. This berry makes delicious jam, marshmallow, marmalade, jelly and jam.

It is also known that fruits and vegetables, which, when stored in cellars, were shifted with rowan leaves, are stored much longer and better.

Folk omens associated with rowan

Knowing how long the mountain ash lives, where it grows and what healing qualities it has, you can complete its brief description with some folk signs associated with it since ancient times.

It was believed that the late flowering of mountain ash foreshadows a long autumn. And if the leaves on this tree turned yellow early, you should wait for early autumn and cold winter.

A swarm of bees humming around the flowering mountain ash predicted a clear, fine day.

When a large harvest of berries was seen on these trees in the forest, it was believed that it would rain in the fall, and a lot of snow and cold in winter. If the mountain ash is badly ugly, it means that autumn is destined to be dry.

If the bunches of mountain ash were covered with frost early, they believed that one should prepare for the long winter.

However, scientists note that today not all of the above signs are valid.

Rowan is one of the most beloved and popular trees in our country. They plant it in parks and squares, along roads, in the courtyards of high-rise buildings. And, of course, very often the mountain ash is an important element of the landscape design of country houses. Such popularity of this plant is primarily due to its beautiful appearance, as well as the ability to grow on any soil and unpretentiousness.

What does the name "mountain ash" mean?

The word "mountain ash" is directly related to the other two - "bird" and "catch". This name was not given by chance. The fact is that its bright fruits practically do not crumble and can hang on branches in winter. And this, of course, attracts a huge number of various birds to the mountain ash.

general description

Sometimes Internet users ask the question: "Is a mountain ash a bush or a tree?" The answer is pretty simple. Most often, mountain ash is a not too tall (from 5 to 10 m) tree with a perfectly straight trunk and a dense ovoid crown. There are also shrub varieties. The bark of the trunk and branches of all varieties is distinguished by a grayish color and smoothness. Rowan leaves are oblong or oblong-lanceolate, pinnate, alternate. Their beautiful appearance is one of the reasons for the popularity of mountain ash as an ornamental plant. Young leaves are pubescent, old ones are not.

The rowan tree blooms quite beautifully. Its flowers are collected in a panicle, can be white or with a slight pinkish tinge. However, their smell is not particularly pleasant. Rowan bears fruit annually, but a good harvest can be obtained only once every 3 years. This plant blooms either in late spring or early summer. The fruits begin to develop in September. Gradually, they take on a bright red or black color. The shape of rowan fruits is round or apple-shaped. Of course, they are inferior to the taste of the same cherries and grapes. However, in terms of usefulness, they may well argue with them.

Rowan seeds have a crescent shape and a reddish tint. Fruiting begins quite late - in the 5-7th year of planting. The mountain ash tree begins to give the most bountiful harvests after about 30 years of growth. From one adult old plant, you can collect up to 100 kg of berries per year.

Rowan is widespread not only in our country, but also in Europe, as well as in North America and throughout Asia.

Rowan breeding methods

Rowan ordinary - a tree that reproduces as seedlings and seeds, cuttings or root shoots. The first and last methods are most often used. Despite the fact that this tree is very unpretentious, when planting seedlings in the holes, it is imperative to add manure and mineral fertilizers. In order to start developing actively, the plant is cut off, leaving about 5 buds on it. Rowan seedlings are taken very easily, and this tree grows quite quickly. This ornamental plant is best planted in the fall. Seedlings are usually obtained by grafting a bud or cutting to a seedling.

Growing features

As already mentioned, mountain ash can feel good on absolutely any soil. Another remarkable feature is frost resistance. This plant is able to endure the most severe winters without harm to itself. The mountain ash tree is also very resistant to high temperatures. Requires little watering and tolerates droughts well. However, it is still necessary to moisten the soil under it in the summer from time to time. Another advantage of this plant is its resistance to wind. His root system is well developed. The mountain ash also tolerates the gas pollution of city streets very well.

Ornamental value of rowan

The answer to the question of whether the mountain ash is a shrub or a tree is given above. Both varieties are often used for decorative purposes. The popularity of this tree as a plant used in landscaping is due to many reasons. First of all, this is, of course, the beauty of the crown itself, which is compact and dense. Weeping varieties of this plant are especially appreciated.

In addition, the leaves of rowan trees, which are distinguished by an unusual shape and acquire orange-reddish shades in autumn, have decorative value. Another reason for its popularity in this regard is the bright berries that cover the crown in large quantities and retain their attractiveness until late winter.

Mountain ash species

The rowan genus has more than forty varieties. However, not all of them are widespread. In gardens and parks, you can find both red-fruited and black-fruited, isolated as a separate species, mountain ash. The fruits of both flowers have healing properties. The most common as an ornamental plant is the common mountain ash tree. All varieties of this plant belong to the rosaceous deciduous family and are classified into two main subspecies, differing in the shape of the leaves.

The famous Russian scientist of the last century I.V. Michurin was engaged in the selection of mountain ash very seriously. He bred several new hybrids of this wonderful plant. In his own laboratory, they also received such a variety as black chokeberry - a tree that looks like an ordinary mountain ash, but in fact is not such. This plant is a hybrid called chokeberry.

The most famous rowan hybrids

Hybrids of this plant can be mixed with many others. For example, one of the most famous is the Krategozorbuz variety. This is a very interesting hybrid of mountain ash and hawthorn. Malozorbus is another common mixture. It is a hybrid of rowan and apple trees. Sorbapirus is a mixture with a pear, characterized by dark ribbed, very tasty, sweet-sour fruits. Another interesting variety is Amelosorbus, which is a mixture of mountain ash and irgi.

Medicinal properties of fruits

Rowan is a tree, the fruits of which are used, among other things, for the health of the body. Our ancestors knew about the healing properties of these berries. The fruits of mountain ash contain just a huge amount of vitamins (C, E, P, K). In addition, fructose, glucose, sorbic acid and caratin are present in the juice and pulp of the berries of the plant. There are also many tannins in them.

Taking decoctions of rowan berries is recommended for diseases such as atherosclerosis and hypertension. They also drink them for violations of the functions of the kidneys, liver and heart. Rowan juice also helps with hemorrhoids, gastritis and low acidity. Sorbic acid is fatal to staphylococcus and dysentery bacillus. Therefore, rowan berries are often used as food preservatives or to purify water. Our ancestors also knew that if you throw a rowan branch into a bucket of water, it will acquire a pleasant taste and will not deteriorate for a long time.

Rowan - a tree, the photo of which you can see on this page, has another rather interesting property. Its berries are able to alleviate the patient's condition during oxygen starvation. Our ancestors used the sap and decoctions of the fruit of this tree to treat those burnt as a result of a malfunctioning oven. In addition, rowan berry juice increases blood clotting and reduces cholesterol in it. It also has choleretic and diuretic properties.

The panicles of this plant, as already mentioned, are white in color. Rowan (for a tree, or rather its flowers, sometimes a pink color is also characteristic) is valued not only for the medicinal properties of the fruit. The flowers of this plant in both shades are also used for medicinal purposes. For example, they are very good at helping with all sorts of female ailments and coughs.

For what diseases are berries used

The red rowan tree bears fruit used as a medicine for the following ailments:

  • sclerosis and cardiosclerosis;
  • hemorrhoids;
  • goiter;
  • profuse menstruation (to increase hemoglobin in the blood);
  • as a contraceptive.

Of course, mountain ash also has contraindications. You can not take drugs based on its fruits with increased blood clotting and thrombus formation. Also, the use of such medicines is not recommended for gastritis with high acidity, stomach ulcers or duodenal ulcers.

Rowan in cosmetics

Rowan is a tree whose fruits were used for cosmetic purposes even in Ancient Greece. Infusions of berries were used for washing, as a rinse for hair, as a bath for hands, etc. Modern cosmetologists advise using gruel prepared from the pulp of berries to heal the skin of the face. For aging oily skin, as a rejuvenating agent, you can use a mask of berry juice mixed with egg whites whipped into a cool foam.

Rowan (tree, photo of which is given below), or rather its fruits, are often used for weight loss. To do this, you just need to brew the berries like tea (20 pieces per glass of boiling water). You can also make a decoction of crushed fruit mixed with thin twigs. Since mountain ash binds carbohydrates in the body, even a sweet remedy from its berries can be cooked for weight loss. To do this, take a pound of sugar per kilogram of fruit. Such jam is taken one tablespoon a day.

Ritual meaning of mountain ash

Once upon a time, a red rowan tree in a tree also had a sacred ritual meaning. For example, in the Central regions it was used during wedding ceremonies. The shoes of the newlyweds were covered with leaves, and the berries were put in their pockets. This was done in order to protect the future family from the intrigues of sorcerers and witches. For the same purpose, they planted rowan and near the house. Until now, this tree is considered a symbol of family happiness. In the Middle Ages in Russia, mountain ash was used to expel the spirits of disease. Patients were placed on her branches for healing.

The mountain ash tree, the description of which is given above, is a plant about which all sorts of legends have been composed. For example, there is a very interesting legend that explains the bitterness of its fruits. In ancient times, it was believed that this tree was created by Satan himself from the tears of Eve, shed by her when she was expelled from paradise. He did this as a sign of his triumph over humanity. However, the Creator, seeing that the leaves of this tree resemble a cross, took it from the garden of the devil. Of course, Satan did not like this, and for a long time he tried to steal and destroy the mountain ash. However, all he managed was to make her berries bitter. But at the same time, a divine sign appeared on them - a five-pointed stigma in the form. Until now, this "mark" on the fruits of mountain ash is considered a symbol of the inevitable second coming.

About this wonderful tree were composed not only legends, but also poems and proverbs. By the way, not only in antiquity. Songs of Evgeny Rodygin "Oh, curly mountain ash" and Irina Ponarovskaya "Rowan beads", we think, are well known to everyone in our country.

Folk omens associated with rowan

There are several signs associated with this tree:

  • If the mountain ash tree, the description of the colors of which is given above, is covered with white or pinkish panicles in spring, it means that oats and flax will be born this year.
  • A high harvest of a wild variety in the forest foreshadows a rainy autumn, a low one, respectively, a dry one.
  • If the leaves on the mountain ash turn yellow very early, it means that the autumn will be early, and the winter will be cold.

Rowan harvest

The answer to the question of whether the mountain ash is a shrub or a tree, you now know. However, whatever the variety of this plant, you can collect its fruits, starting from the moment of ripening until late frosts. It is most convenient to cut off the brushes with a sharp knife or pruner. Already on the ground, they are cleaned of stalks and all kinds of debris.

The berries are dried in the oven at a temperature of about 70 degrees. You can also do this outdoors, of course, not in rainy weather. Rowan berries retain their healing properties for two years. In winter, they can be brewed as tea or ground in a coffee grinder and added as a seasoning to a variety of dishes. In addition, jam is made from chokeberry, and delicious marmalade is made from red-fruited.

The mountain ash tree is unusually beautiful in autumn due to its bright red or red-orange berries. However, its fruits do not have a very pleasant bitter taste. But after the first frost, it disappears. Therefore, it is best to harvest the fruits of this tree in late October or early November. Bitterness in berries is caused by a special substance, amygdalin. By the way, it will be said that it cannot be considered safe. In the stomach, it decomposes to hydrocyanic acid. Therefore, eating too many bitter rowan berries is not recommended.

Medicinal and decorative properties are not the only advantages of this wonderful tree. Very high quality is made from rowan wood. Its distinctive properties are hardness and resilience. In ancient times, mainly spinning wheels and spindles were made from this wood. In addition, mountain ash can serve as a mother plant for other members of its family, for example, pears and quince.

One of the most interesting varieties of mountain ash is considered to be large-fruited (Sorbus domestica). She was bred in the Crimea by the Crimean Tatars. The fruits of this variety can be pear-shaped or round. At the same time, they reach a diameter of about 3.5 cm and a weight of 20 g. Their taste is simply wonderful. However, this variety requires shelter for the winter and is far from being as unpretentious as the ordinary varieties. In some regions, mountain ash is believed to be a widow's tree. If you cut it down, there will be a dead man in the house.

At the beginning of the 20th century, rowan was used for the preparation of tinctures on an industrial scale. They were made from the fruits of a non-gentile variety. However, the tincture was called "Nezhinskaya". Why its manufacturers chose this name is still unknown. It was believed that this was done in order to confuse competitors. There was also an opinion that this name was given to the tincture because "non-female" sounds more pleasant than "non-female". By the way, it was in the village of Nevezhino of the Vladimir region that they were first discovered with sweet fruits without bitterness. Subsequently, they spread throughout Russia.

You can see a beautiful photo of the common mountain ash tree just above. Its fruits are popularly called berries. However, from a biological point of view, they are nothing more than apples. The presence of a rare vitamin P in them puts mountain ash in one of the first places among all medicinal plants. It is its presence in the juice that explains the ability of the fruits of this tree to eliminate irritability, insomnia and general weakness of the body.

Well, we hope we have given a fairly detailed description of such an interesting tree as mountain ash. High decorative qualities and unpretentiousness make it more than advisable to use it as a decoration for the courtyards of private houses and cottages, as well as city streets.

The common mountain ash is one of the most widespread plants with high decorative qualities.

The berries of this culture are used in winemaking, cooking and pharmacology; they serve as an excellent help for non-migratory birds that remain for the winter.

Below is a description of the common mountain ash and recommendations are given on the correct agricultural techniques for growing trees in the garden.

Where does red rowan grow?

The Latin specific epithet of common mountain ash - aucuparia comes from lat. avis - bird and capere - to attract, to catch.

This is due to the fact that rowan fruits are attractive to birds and were used as bait for catching them.

Rowan is a plant that is widespread almost all over the world. It is known in European countries, popular in Western Asia, in the Caucasus.

Reaching the Far North, in the mountains it rises to the very border of vegetation, and there, it already takes the form of a bush.

In other words, where the mountain ash grows, a temperate climate prevails.

In Russia, red rowan is common in the forest and forest-steppe zone of the European part, in the North Caucasus, in the Urals. Grows in separate specimens, without forming continuous thickets, in the undergrowth or the second tier of coniferous, mixed, occasionally deciduous forests, in forest glades and forest edges, between shrubs.

Russian gardeners consider mountain ash to be one of the most unpretentious crops, and this is true. It can grow in any soil, including infertile and acidic ones. However, the quality of the soil directly affects the fruiting of this plant.

The common mountain ash tree can grow equally well both in the sun and in partial shade, but in the second case, the gardener gets an elongated slender tree trying to reach the sunlight. In well-lit areas, the common mountain ash gives an excellent harvest.

The advantage of this plant is its friendliness with any other crops growing nearby on the site.

Common mountain ash: tree height, botanical description of the root system, flowers and leaf arrangement

The root system of the common mountain ash is deep, so the plant does not need watering. The plant came to us from the forest, so it prefers leaf humus. Then the mountain ash gives a really big harvest! Among red rowan trees, sweet-fruited varieties are especially appreciated.

Rowan is a tree, less often a shrub. The height of the common mountain ash can reach 12 m (usually 5-10 m). The crown is rounded, openwork. Young shoots are grayish-red, pubescent.

As you can see in the photo, in adult trees of common mountain ash, the bark is smooth, light gray-brown or yellow-gray, shiny:

Photo gallery

The buds are felted-fluffy. Leaves up to 20 cm long, alternate. The leaf arrangement in common mountain ash is odd-pinnate. The leaves consist of 7-15 almost sessile lanceolate or elongated, pointed, serrated along the edge of the leaves, entire in the lower part and serrate in the upper part, green above, usually dull, noticeably paler, pubescent below. In autumn, the leaves are colored in golden and red tones.

The flowers of the common mountain ash are five-membered, numerous, collected in dense corymbose inflorescences up to 10 cm in diameter; inflorescences are located at the ends of shortened shoots. The receptacle of a narrow-like shape is a calyx of five wide-triangular ciliate sepals. Corolla white (0.8 ... 1.5 cm in diameter), five petals, many stamens, one pistil, three columns, lower ovary. When the common mountain ash blooms, an unpleasant odor is emitted (the reason for this is trimethylamine gas). Blooms in May - June.

The fruit of an ordinary mountain ash is a spherical juicy orange-red apple (about 1 cm in diameter) with small seeds, rounded along the edge.

Rowan cultivars begin to bear fruit in the 4-5th year after planting. The fruits ripen in September - October. During the period of full fruiting (at the age of 15–25 years), you can collect up to 100 kg of fruits from the tree. More or less plentiful harvests are repeated after 1–2 years.

Types of plant rowan ordinary

The elder-leaved species of common mountain ash from the Khabarovsk Territory is of great interest. This is a shrub, not exceeding two meters, in spring, completely covered with large white or pink flowers. The berries have a pleasant sweet and sour taste without astringency and bitterness.

The Moravian mountain ash, originally from the Czech Republic, has excellent taste, but it is not winter hardy. But on its basis, a remarkably tasty and more winter-hardy variety "Alaya" was obtained.

There is also an interesting mountain ash - mealy, which was named so due to the fact that its young shoots are covered with white fluff. The variety "Aria" is especially beautiful, the young shoots of which are yellow or creamy. Usually powdery mountain ash is used as an ornamental plant. It is sheared annually to induce the growth of numerous young shoots, giving the bush an extraordinary appeal.

In recent years, the Kashmir mountain ash, bred by breeders, has gained wide popularity in Europe - a low, spreading tree, completely covered with brushes of light pink flowers in spring, and with delicious snow-white berries in autumn. Nowadays, not the tall trees that we are used to seeing in the forest are in vogue, but dwarf forms, often in the form of a small tree or a tree with a weeping crown, or a plant in the form of a shrub. So the choice is great. Modern mountain ash will not only decorate your garden, but also yield delicious berries, often not at all similar to the fruits of their forest ancestor.

Rowan sargent (Sorbus sargentiana) Is a slow-growing tree, reaching a maximum height of 10 m, with bright red berries and bright orange leaves in autumn.

Rowan Kene (Sorbus koehneana)- a small tree (up to 8 m in height) with long leaves, consisting of a large number (up to 33) of narrow serrated fingers.

Pay attention to the photo - the Kene common mountain ash of the White Wax variety is distinguished by unusual white porcelain berries on long red stems:

Photo gallery

Kene rowan berries are well preserved almost until spring.

Rowan mixed, Japanese (Sorbus commixta)- a fast-growing tree, reaching a maximum height of 10 m. Leaves of mixed rowan, elongated, consisting of 13 ... 17 fingers, acquire a charming crimson color by autumn. The berries are yellow-orange.

Rowan Wilmore, Chinese (Sorbus vilmorinii)- a small tree (up to 5 m in height) with curved branches and feathery leaves that become deep burgundy in autumn. Wilmore's rowan flowers are creamy white, the berries are light or pink. Ideal for small gardens.

Rowan khubeiskaya blunt-leaved (Sorbus hupehensis var.obtusa, Rosea)- a small unusually decorative mountain ash tree with pink berries, originating from China.

Mountain ash... It is a shrub up to 3 m high. The fruits are ovoid and reach a length of 18 mm. Fruits ripen in September. Their flesh is juicy, but fresh. This variety of mountain ash is very fast-growing. From crossing it with the Rowan Mouzot, a new sweet-fruited hybrid of Khost was obtained.

Finnish rowan, or hybrid... It grows in the form of a tree up to 6 m high. It begins to bear fruit in 4–5 years after planting. Fruits are oblong, up to 16 mm long, red in color, with a hard skin, slightly juicy, mealy pulp, having a sweet and sour taste. Ripen in mid-September.

Below is a description of the common mountain ash of different varieties.

Varieties of cultivated common mountain ash

There are 14 varieties of common cultivated mountain ash, Michurin began to engage in their selection, who received several original varieties from crossing red mountain ash with irga, hawthorn and even pear.

Of the Michurin varieties, the following are very popular:

"Likernaya" with large black sweet berries.

"Burka" with reddish-brown fruits.

"Pomegranate" with pomegranate-red berries (hybrid obtained by crossing mountain ash with blood-red hawthorn).

Sweet variety "Michurinskaya Dessertnaya".

In the future, work on the selection of mountain ash continued in the city of Michurinsk in VNIIG and SPR. There were created the varieties Businka, Vefed, Doch Kubovoy, Sorbinka, which are the result of crossing the Nevezhinsky and Moravian mountain ash.

Selection work with mountain ash was also carried out at VIR and other Russian institutions.

Pomologists divide the common mountain ash varieties into two types: Moravian and Nevezhinsky.

The first type includes varieties of Central European origin:

Beissneri.

Konzentra.

Moravian.

Rosina.

Edulis.

The second - varieties of Eastern European origin:

Yellow.

Red.

Cubic.

Nevezhinskaya.

Sugar.

The varieties Rossica and Rossica Major, which were introduced by the German firm of Shpet at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries from near Kiev, may be descendants of the Moravian mountain ash, which was widely cultivated in Ukraine at that time.

New varieties of Russian selection come from both Nevezhinsky and Moravian mountain ash.

In Russia, non-bitter forms of common mountain ash were found in the village of Nevezhino, Nebylovsky District, Vladimir Region, from where they spread widely in the center of Russia.

By means of folk selection, a number of varieties were selected subsequently registered under the names Kubovaya, Yellow, Red. The variety of forms is due to both seed reproduction and the selection of kidney mutations. Several promising varieties of the Nevezhinsky variety group were registered by the Soviet pomologist E.M. Petrov. Later, he continued breeding work with mountain ash and received a number of hybrids from crossing the Moravian and Nevezhinsky mountain ash with each other and Michurin varieties.

Considering that mountain ash is self-fertile, it is recommended to plant 2-3 plants of different varieties on the site.

Bead... Resistant to extreme growing conditions. Fruits are round, red, weighing 1.9 g. The pulp is creamy, very juicy, sweet and sour. Tasting score 4.3 points. The fruits contain: dry matter 25%, sugar 10%, acid 2.2%, P-active substances 165 mg%, carotene 9 mg%, vitamin C 67 mg%. Productivity 20 kg per tree. The tree is medium-sized, 2.5–3.0 m, with a rounded crown. Begins fruiting in the 3-5th year.

Kubova's daughter... Winter-hardy, drought-resistant, resistant to pests and diseases. Fruits weighing 1.8 g, oblong, bright orange, with a reddish blush. The pulp is bright yellow, very juicy, tender, without astringency and bitterness. Tasting score 4.5 points. The fruits contain 168 mg% P-active substances, 76 mg% vitamin C, 8 mg% carotene. Productivity 36 kg per tree. The tree is medium-sized, with a paniculate, sparse crown. It starts bearing fruit in the 5th year.

Vefed... Winter hardiness is high, relatively resistant to diseases and pests. Fruits weighing 1.3 g, rounded-pointed towards the base, elegant, pink-red. The pulp is yellow, tender, sweet and sour, pleasant when consumed fresh. The fruits contain: dry matter 20.5%, sugars 9.5%, acids 25%, carotene 32 mg%, vitamin C 96 mg%, vitamin P 176 mg%. Tasting score 4.6 points. Productivity 17.2 kg per tree. The tree is medium-sized, with a sparse rounded crown. Begins fruiting in the 3-4th year.

Pomegranate... Hybrid of common mountain ash with hawthorn. Medium-sized. The fruits are large (1–1.5 cm in diameter), pomegranate in color, sweet and sour taste, with a slight astringency.

Gorgeous... The variety is medium-sized (5–6 m). The wood is winter-hardy. The leaves are rather large, strongly wrinkled. The flower buds are weakly hardy. Fruits are edible, medium-sized (up to 1 cm in diameter) or large, yellowish, juicy, sour-sweet with tangible bitterness, taste similar to rowan.

Nevezhinskaya... A variety of folk selection. The tree is powerful, compact, spherical, highly winter-resistant. Productivity up to 80-100 kg. Fruits are large, red, with orange juicy pulp of pleasant sweet and sour taste without bitterness and astringency, ripen in the first half of September, stored fresh until April, stay on the tree all winter without losing taste.

Ruby... Winter hardy. Fruits weighing 1.3 g, ruby, flattened, shaped like lily of the valley flowers, with a smooth wide-ribbed surface. The pulp is yellow, juicy. The fruits contain: sugar 12.4%, acid 1.3%, vitamin C 21 mg%, P-active substances 948 mg%. Tasting score 4 points. Productivity 17 kg per tree. The tree is medium, the crown is drooping. It begins to bear fruit in the 3-4th year.

Fabulous... Berries weighing 0.5 g, round-oval, red, sweet and sour, juicy, aromatic. They contain: sugar 6.3%, acid 1.9%, vitamin C 118 mg%. Productivity 126 kg / ha. The variety is winter-hardy, resistant to pests and diseases.

Sorbinka... Winter hardy, highly adaptive, pest and disease resistant. The fruits are very large, weighing 2.7 g, round, red. The pulp is yellowish, juicy, sweet and sour. Tasting score 4.4 points. The fruits contain: dry matter 23%, sugar 8%, acid 2.8%, vitamin C 114 mg%. Productivity 19 kg per tree. The tree is medium-sized, with an obovate crown. Begins fruiting in the 4th year.

Scarlet large... Highly winter-hardy, tolerates temperatures as low as minus 50 ° C. Resistant to pests and diseases. Fruits weighing 1.7 g, cylindrical, flattened, with a calyx, with a smooth slightly ribbed surface, scarlet-red. The taste is sweet and sour, with a spicy mountain ash aftertaste. They contain: sugar 8.4%, acid 1.9%, vitamin C 21 mg%, P-active substances 625 mg%. Tasting score 4.3 points. Productivity 21 kg per tree. A tree of moderate growth. Partially self-fertile.

Titanium... Increased winter hardiness. Fruits weighing 1.2 g, round, slightly ribbed, dark cherry, with a waxy bloom. The pulp is intensely yellow, sweet and sour. They contain: dry matter 20%, sugar 10.2%, acid 1.4%, catechins 494 mg%, vitamin C 33 mg%. It is characterized by abundant fruiting.

Planting rowan seedlings

Saplings of common mountain ash should not be dried, without leaves, have a branched aerial part and root system, without mechanical damage.

Annual seedlings can be unbranched, 120 cm high, trunk base diameter 1.2 cm.Annual seedlings can be branched, 130 cm high, their trunk diameter is less - 0.9 cm, the length of the main branches is 8-10 cm.

In two-year-old seedlings, the stem (aboveground part before branching) should be 40-60 cm, 2.4 cm in diameter, have at least 4 main branches and a root collar with a diameter of at least 1 cm. The length of the branches is 40 cm. (For second-grade seedlings, be at least 4 main roots at least 20 cm long, the aerial part must be at least 20 cm, have at least 2 main branches and a root collar with a diameter of at least 7 mm.)

Two-year-old seedlings must have at least 7 main roots at least 40 cm long.

Before planting this plant, you should familiarize yourself with its preferences. As for the placement of common mountain ash, it is best to plant it on the northern or eastern side of the site, not forgetting to leave a distance between the trees (if you plan to plant several plants), at least 4 m.

As mentioned above, mountain ash can grow in the shade, but it is better to choose sunny open places for it. Then the culture will delight you with a rich harvest.

The mountain ash does not at all tolerate swampy peat soils, saline or too dry. The groundwater level should not be higher than 1.5–2.0 m.

Planting of common mountain ash seedlings should be done in early spring or autumn. If the mountain ash is planted in the spring, then it is necessary to prepare the planting pit in advance. It is better to do this work in the fall. But the autumn landing is not forbidden either.

For vigorous varieties, the depth of the pits should be at least 60 cm, and the diameter - 100 cm, for low-growing varieties, the depth is 50 cm, the diameter is 80 cm.

It is recommended to put 20 kg of manure (2 buckets), 0.8-1 kg of superphosphate and 0.1-0.15 kg of potassium sulfate into the pit. The manure is evenly mixed with the soil, 2/3 of mineral fertilizers are applied to the bottom of the pit, and 1/3 to the lower part of the soil, poured with a cone. In the soil of the upper part of the pit, where the roots of the seedling are located, mineral fertilizers are not applied in order to avoid burns. When planting mountain ash, abundant watering (2-3 buckets of water) is of great importance. In dry weather, watering is done 3-4 times.

When planting a seedling in the center, you should make a small mound, spread the roots on it and cover it with earth so that the root collar is at the level of the soil. If the mountain ash is deepened, it will give a lot of root shoots, but the shoots just need to be constantly cut out to the very base. As you add soil to the roots when planting, water each layer with water, then voids will not form under the roots, and the soil will adhere well to all the roots. In addition, the roots need good air access, which is not enough in dense soil. If you have planted a rather high tree, then it must be tied to a stake, or even better - three stakes should be driven in, the ends of which should be tilted towards the seedling and tied together. The plant will be protected by three inclined poles.

Rowan tolerates transplants well, but do not forget that it has a deep root system, and dig out the planting material deeply. If you know how to graft plants (and if you don’t know how, so learn - it’s not difficult), then the easiest way is to dig a small mountain ash in the forest and transplant it to the site. The next year, if the plant has taken root, in the spring you can graft several cuttings of different varieties on it at once. You will have a mountain ash for every taste. Do not forget to cut out the root shoots, otherwise the grafted cuttings will die off, only wild animals will remain.

The mountain ash can withstand temperatures down to minus 50 ° C. Rowan blooms quite late - in May - June, and therefore the flowers are rarely damaged by spring frosts. Due to its high winter hardiness, mountain ash can be grown in the harsh climatic conditions of the country, where other fruit crops cannot be cultivated.

Caring for common mountain ash after planting and at the time of flowering

The near-trunk circle, taking into account the growth of roots, increases annually by 0.3–0.4 m. Its diameter in the first year is 1.5 m, in subsequent years it is 1 m larger than the diameter of the crown. After planting the common mountain ash, when caring for trees in early spring and autumn, before leaf fall, it is necessary to dig the trunk circle to a depth of 10-15 cm so as not to damage the skeletal roots. In the spring-summer period 3-4 loosening of the soil is carried out to a depth of 5-6 cm. To preserve moisture, it is good to mulch the trunks with manure or peat with a layer of 8-10 cm. In the spring, simultaneously with soil cultivation, organic and mineral fertilizers are applied - manure 4 kg, g nitrogen, 150 g phosphorus and 100 g potash fertilizers per 1 sq. m of the trunk circle.

For feeding when caring for ordinary mountain ash, slurry diluted 2-3 times, as well as bird droppings diluted 10-12 times, are used.

Rowan trees almost do not need pruning and crown formation. Only remove broken or damaged branches at the start of the season, or use formative pruning if the tree needs to be kept under control. During the period of full fruiting, when the crown thickens and the branches become bare, they have to be thinned and shortened.

In wet years, rust of rowan leaves can develop, against which spraying with Bordeaux liquid is used.

In the fight against pests, agrotechnical measures are very effective - cleaning and burning of fallen leaves; autumn and spring digging of soil to destroy wintering pupae; harvesting and destruction of damaged fruits before caterpillars emerge from them; collecting nests and shaking off beetles from trees onto litter with their subsequent destruction. Mice and hares do not damage mountain ash.

The rowan is one of the first to bloom, and the ants drag aphids onto it. Her tops curl. Then the ants begin to drag the aphids all over the garden. Do not miss this moment and spray the plant with Iskra Total Protection, trying to get inside the swirling leaves at the top of the mountain ash. It's a chemical. It should not be used during the growing season; it is better to use the biological product Fitoverm or Iskra-Bio.

Propagation of common mountain ash by cuttings and seeds

Reproduction of the species common mountain ash is carried out by seeds (in autumn), and varietal - by green cuttings (at the beginning of summer), grafting with a dormant bud (in summer) or cuttings (during the cold period). It is possible to propagate rowan by ordinary grafting in the cold season; rowan is used as a stock, because it has the strongest root system.

For propagation of common mountain ash, cuttings can be asked from friends or neighbors, or purchased at the exhibition. If the neighbors do not want to cut off a twig for you, then ask for just a couple of buds in August and vaccinate with an eye. In addition, if a wild mountain ash grows on the site, its root shoots may well be suitable as a stock. The shoots should be separated from the mother plant and grafted onto the cultivars. The downside is that the mountain ash grafted in this way cannot be propagated. Rowan ordinary propagates well by cuttings and layering.

Gardeners often propagate rowan with seeds, which is no coincidence. Rowan from seeds grows very quickly and is grafted to cultivars for 3-4 years.

By the way, this is a very good way of earning money - there is a good, steady demand for dessert, weeping and decorative varieties. But in dessert mountain ash during seed reproduction, the progeny may split, and varietal characteristics can be lost. Chokeberry can be grafted onto the red rowan stock. It turns out a beautiful bush with a leg. Aronia can be cut, so it is easy to form a ball-shaped bush. Such bushes look very elegant.

Seeds must be sown right before winter after picking berries. They are smeared on paper and sown directly with it on the prepared place. Sprinkle them on top with a layer of earth of 1.5-2 cm.

Do not let the rowan stretch up strongly if you have a treelike rowan tree. This usually happens in low light conditions. Shorten the top annually to the point you need, otherwise the birds will pick the berries, not you. If you have rowan in bush form, then make sure that the bush does not thicken too much, because there will be no berries in the center of the bush.

The benefits of the fruits of ordinary mountain ash

The main application of the common mountain ash is food, melliferous, medical, decorative and phytomeliorative.

Fruits contain sugar (up to 5%), malic, citric, tartaric and succinic acids (2.5%), tanning (0.5%) and pectin (0.5%) substances, sorbitol and sorbose, amino acids, essential oils, salts of potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, as well as carotenoids (up to 20 mg%), ascorbic acid (up to 200 mg%), flavonoids, triterpene compounds, bitter substances, sorbic acid. Due to the benefits of the fruits of the common mountain ash, they are used in medicine as a multivitamin and carotene-containing raw material.

Rowan fruit is used as a medicinal raw material, which is harvested mature in August - October before frost, dried in dryers at 60 ... 80 ° C or in well-ventilated rooms, spreading in a thin layer on cloth or paper.

Because of the bitterness in fresh form, fruits are practically not eaten, more often after frost, when they lose their bitterness. They are mainly used for processing. They are excellent raw materials for the alcoholic beverage and confectionery industries, the production of soft drinks. When canning, they are used to prepare jelly, sweets such as "mountain ash in sugar", jam, marmalade, jam, marshmallow. The fruits are dried and made into "fruit powders" and flour.

To remove the bitterness from the fruits of mountain ash, they are poured with boiling water and brought to a boil over high heat, but not boiled. The hot water is immediately drained, the fruits are poured with cold water and the water is changed several times within 5-6 hours. After that, they are covered with sugar (1: 1) for 3-4 hours, then boiled in several steps, like any 5-minute jam. Then the fruits become transparent, and the skin is soft, and there is no better seasoning for meat or fish!

Rowan is a medium-productive spring honey plant that gives bees nectar and pollen; nectar productivity - up to 30 ... 40 kg per hectare of plantings. Rowan honey is reddish and coarse-grained, with a strong aroma. Rowan fruits are rich in vitamin C (up to 160 mg%) and carotene (up to 56 mg%).

Rowan is appreciated not only for its useful fruits, but also for its decorative qualities. It is used in ornamental gardening, gardening areas and decorating adjacent areas. This tree retains its attractiveness throughout the year. It looks very beautiful in winter, as well as during flowering. It is impossible to look away from the autumn leaves of mountain ash - variegated, bright colors envelop the entire plant.

It has many garden forms, including weeping, narrow-pyramidal, yellow-fruited, with pinnate-lobed leaves, etc. It has fractional-porous reddish wood, from which turned products, decorations, and furniture are made. Mountain ash bark can be used as a raw material for tanning.

Wild birds feed on the fruits of mountain ash, which often saves them from hunger in winter. Ripe fruits are also used as feed for poultry and livestock.

Tkacheva Marina

Help me figure out which of these plants belong to trees, and which to shrubs: cherry, lilac, mountain ash, elderberry?

Sometimes, with apparent obviousness, it is not entirely clear whether some plants are attributed to a tree or shrub. Among them are elderberry, mountain ash, cherry, lilac.

The main difference between the arboreal form and the shrub form is the presence of one main trunk (near a tree), or several equivalent shoots (near a bush). Trees are much taller than shrubs and live longer. 150 and 30 years respectively. But, in some cases, these signs cannot give a clear understanding of what kind of plant is in front of us. The article contains information on this issue.

Plant height is from 2 to 15 m, crown is dense, round. Rowan is usually classified as a tree species, since in most cases it has a single trunk. Often it bifurcates, but the crown characteristic of trees remains. In addition, the lifespan of mountain ash in natural conditions is about 80 years. However, it can also be a shrub, it depends on the characteristics of the species or on the growing conditions. A number of mountain ash species are traditionally considered to be trees:


Mountain ash
  • Ordinary.
  • Intermediate.
  • Large-fruited.

You can find common mountain ash with several trunks, growing in the form of a tall, woody shrub. But this is rather an exception. There are rowan trees that always form a bush, these are:

  • Flourish.
  • Kene.
  • Elderberry.
  • Host.

Elderberry rowan

Cherry

The height of the plant varies greatly, some species reach 20 m, others develop as low-growing shrubs of only 0.5 m. The average life span of a bush cherry is 15-20 years. A cherry tree can live 25-35 years.


Sakura

Cherry tree species:

  • Ordinary.
  • Sakura or Japanese cherry.
  • Black.
  • Maksimovich.
  • Sakhalin.
  • Bird.

Cherry Kuril

Bush cherries:

  • Glandular.
  • Warty.
  • Gray-haired.
  • Kuril.
  • Sandy.
  • Steppe.

Elder

This plant is usually a highly branching shrub. Only in exceptional cases, or as a result of careful pruning and crown formation, it grows like a tree. The height can be 1.5-5 m.


Elder

Life expectancy is no more than 60 years. Elderberry canadensis always forms a bush about 4 m tall. Red elderberry grows as a bush, but sometimes it is able to form a single trunk, characteristic of a tree.

Attention! Elderberry herb is an unusual species of this genus of plants. It is a tall grass with poisonous berries, often a weed. It can be used to repel rodents and harmful insects.

Lilac

Lilac belongs to the genus of shrubs. In nature, free-growing wild species always form several basal shoots, and not one trunk. But you can grow this plant in the form of a tree. For this, it is specially formed into a standard form.

It is believed that as soon as the constant pruning ceases, the plant again tends to develop the primary branches coming from the root. Lilacs can live up to 100 years of age, which is considered a very long period for shrubs.


Lilac

Advice. The lilac formed on the trunk is extremely decorative. To obtain this form, you will have to work for at least 4 years. A skilled gardener can leave the crown to grow naturally and picturesquely, or give it an architectural form.

Summing up, it can be argued that through pruning and shaping, you can grow a bush in the form of a standard tree. Or select several branching trunks from a tree, thereby turning it into a shrub. And sometimes in the wild, the difference between a shrub form and a tree is really minimal.

Flowering trees and shrubs: video

Life form: Tree or shrub
Dimensions (height), m: 6-15
Crown diameter, m: 4-6
Crown shape: Ovate. The bark is gray, smooth, the branches are dark brown
Growth pattern: Growing fast
Annual growth in height: 40 cm
Annual growth in breadth: 30 cm
Durability: Durable 70-100 years
Leaf shape: Up to 20 cm in length, consist of 9-15 leaves up to 5 cm in length and up to 1.5 cm in width
Summer coloring: Green
Coloring in autumn: Yellow, orange, red
Flowers (coloring): White with a smell, collected in corymbose inflorescences up to 15 cm in diameter
The beginning and end of flowering: Late May early June
Fruit: Edible fruits, spherical, bright red, or orange, up to 0.8 cm in diameter, ripen in September, remain on the branches for a long time
Decorativeness: Especially beautiful during flowering and fruiting, autumnal color of foliage is also decorative
Application: Single landings, groups, alleys
Attitude towards light: Shade-tolerant, but blooms and bears better in lighted places
Relation to moisture: Does not tolerate waterlogging and drought
Attitude to soil: Undemanding, but does not tolerate salinization
Frost resistance: Frost resistant
Note: Smoke and gas resistant

Rowan ordinary - Sorbus aucuparia

A small tree (up to 15 m) or a large shrub with alternate, pinnate leaves, dark green above, glabrous, lighter, pubescent below. A tree with an oval crown, gray smooth bark. The branches are pinkish-gray. Annual shoots are glabrous or pubescent with lenticels. Flowers up to 1 cm, in large scutes. Fruits are orange-red, spherical, persist for a long time on the branches, greatly decorating the walnut tree. Rowan ordinary frost-hardy, tolerates slight shading, is undemanding to the soil, but develops better on loose. Avoids waterlogging. Rowan has many decorative forms: crown shape, fruit color and taste, leaf color, which can be successfully used in green building. The typical form, its hybrids and varieties are decorative throughout the growing season. The mountain ash is very beautiful in specimen and group plantings, forest edges, alleys throughout Russia.

Leaves are odd-pinnate, of 11-15 leaflets, oblong-lanceolate in outline, 10-20 cm long. Leaflets 3-5 cm long, acute, serrate, glabrous or pubescent, dull above, light green below.

The inflorescence is corymbose, 5-10 cm wide. Sepals and pedicels are glabrous or pubescent. Flowers about 1 cm in diameter, white, with rounded petals, about 5 mm in diameter, densely pubescent from above. Stamens usually 20. Stamens from 2 to 5 (usually 3), free, pubescent at the base. blooms in May.

Fruits are spherical, red, about 1 cm in diameter. Ripen in August-September.

Distributed in the forest zone of Europe, the Caucasus, Asia Minor and North Africa. It grows poorly on damp peaty-boggy and saline soils. It grows better on loamy soils than on sandy soils. In some places, usually near the nesting field of field thrushes, mountain ash forms numerous populations, stable due to the regular delivery of seeds. Under shading conditions, mountain ash is also capable of vegetative propagation by shoots, root suckers and rooting of creeping shoots. In forest clearings, clearings and edges, mountain ash also regenerates well, begins to bear fruit earlier (already at the age of 5 years), has a longer life expectancy (up to 50-80 years) and larger fruits. Of all the flowers on the tree, about one third forms fruit. In addition, during the development of fruits, a significant part of them fall off before the final ripening. For mountain ash, cross-pollination with the help of insects is characteristic, in some cases self-pollination also occurs. Cases of seedless fruit formation are known. The mountain ash has long been used as a fruit and medicinal plant: its fruits are rich in sugars, organic acids, vitamins, etc. It is successfully cultivated. Strong wood is used in turning and furniture production. Rowan is planted in cities due to its resistance to smoke and gases. Used to create forest belts for various purposes.