Black rowan is a beautiful, tasty and healthy shrub for your garden
Many of us remember the taste of red rowan berries from childhood, but not everyone knows that they can be of a different color. Rowan black is better known among lovers of traditional medicine, as it is a storehouse of useful substances. But at the same time, it remains very decorative due to its ability to change the color of the leaves. Having seen at least once in September black berries against the background of a red deciduous cap, you will certainly want to plant this crop.
Black ashberry obtained as a result of crossing of chokeberry and common mountain ash. For the characteristic black color of the berries, it is often called simply chokeberryalthough they are actually two different varieties.
Description of culture and characteristics
Black mountain ash grows as a short tree up to a maximum of 4 m or in the form of a branching bush. While the plant is young, it has a compact compressed crown, with age it spreads out to the sides, reaching a diameter of 2 m. The twigs are reddish at first, as they become lignified, they become dark gray. The leaves are small, green, but by autumn they completely turn red, which gives the bush a decorative look.
The shrub blooms in late May, dissolving small white flowers with a pink tint, collected in lush inflorescences-shields. Flowering lasts up to 2 weeks, after which the fruits are set.
The chokeberry has very tasty berries: they are semi-ripe, tart, and when fully ripe, they become sweet and sour. The berries are small, up to 12 mm in diameter, painted black, ripen closer to mid-autumn.
Black mountain ash is superior to ordinary mountain ash in terms of the content of nutrients and trace elements. This makes the shrub a welcome guest in every garden. It will not only decorate it with its appearance, but also serve as a source of vitamins for the human body. Black berries contain an increased amount of vitamins C and E, and there are many other substances in them. Especially valuable mountain ash for hypertensive patients: taking funds based on it at the beginning of the detection of the disease will allow not to start the process, and in the future - to control pressure drops. In addition, the plant has a choleretic, sugar-reducing, antispasmodic effect.
Rowan black - features of cultivation
The shrub prefers light and moist areas. In shady places, it will not please with a good harvest, and in fact the culture is most often grown precisely for the sake of medicinal berries. Since the root system of black mountain ash is located in the upper layer of the soil, it is demanding on moisture. But the bush winters very well, having a high winter hardiness. He needs no shelter, except for young seedlings. This makes it possible to grow a medicinal plant even in the northern regions.
In general, caring for black rowan is minimal and consists of:
- watering at least 2 times per season;
- mulching the trunk circle to avoid drying out the soil;
- pruning for thinning the crown, since the bush grows quickly;
- double feeding in spring and autumn (saltpeter and potassium-phosphorus preparations, respectively).