Description of the thorn and its cultivation

Many people confuse blackthorn and plum. Indeed, these cultures are related, but they have significant differences. We will talk about all the features of this plant, the rules for its planting, growing and reproduction in our review.

Blackthorn is also called blackthorn, wild or prickly plum... This is a small plant, the name of which means "thorn". In regions with a temperate climate, the culture often forms thickened plantings. It can be found on forest edges, as well as in the steppes and forest-steppes, and it can also grow at an altitude of 1000 to 1500 m above sea level. Abroad, the plant can be found in Malaysia, in northern Africa, as well as in Western Europe, the Mediterranean and Ukraine.

People learned about the existence of thorns back in the era of Ancient Rome and Greece. The sharp thorns of the wild plum are used in Orthodoxy as a symbol of the suffering of Christ. It is known that the thorn bush was mentioned even in the Gospel. Blackthorn can be represented by a low-growing tree or a spreading shrub. In the first case, it grows up to 6 m, in the second - up to 2-4 m. The shrub gives a lot of root growth, therefore it actively grows and forms impassable thorny thickets.

The rhizome is buried 1 m in the soil. The root system is pivotal, branched, as the plant develops, it grows and often goes far beyond the crown projection zone. The branches are completely covered with thorns. The leaves are elliptical, obovate, grow up to 60 mm and have jagged edges.

Flowering occurs before the foliage opens in the second half of April or early May, the flowers are white, with five petals. The fruits are called drupes, their size is up to 13 mm in diameter. The color is deep, dark blue or lilac, on the surface there is a pronounced waxy coating of a bluish tint. The first fruiting occurs at the age of 2-4 years. The plant is a good honey plant, therefore it attracts insects. It is distinguished by its resistance to frost and drought, so even a novice gardener can plant and successfully grow a thorny bush.

Often the plant is used to form a hedge, it is in demand when strengthening slopes, it is a good stock for plum and apricot crops. Ornamental varieties of thorns have found widespread use in garden design: many areas are decorated with red-leaved, purple, and also terry varieties. Blackthorn is similar to plum, but its fruits are smaller, moreover, they have not so high taste characteristics. At the same time, the blackthorn is more frost-resistant, unpretentious, and can withstand prolonged drought. In addition to the pure blackthorn, many hybrids have been bred these days.

The thorn fruit is extremely nutritious and healthy. They contain fructose, glucose, pectins, as well as fiber and steroids. The thorn contains a lot of vitamins C and E, they have an increased concentration of coumarins, tannins, minerals and flavonoids. They include valuable acids: stearic, oleic, palmitic, and linoleic.

The most common among gardeners are the following varieties of thorns.

• "TSKHA". Variety with sour-sweet drupes without excessive astringency.
• "KROSS No. 1"... Shrub up to 2-2.5 m high. Berries are deep purple and with a noticeable bluish bloom. The pulp is quite dense, juicy, the taste is sweet, but with sourness, slightly tart. The mass of one berry is 6-8 g.
• "KROSS No. 2". The fruits of this variety are round, weighing about 8 g. The taste is slightly tart, with a slight sourness.
• "Yellow-fruited". Hybrid variety of the second generation, obtained from blackthorn and cherry plum. Drupes are yellow in color, have a sweetish taste and juicy pulp.
• "Apricot". A hybrid variety of apricot and cherry plum. Drupes are light purple in color. The taste is sweetish, with subtle apricot accords.
• "Fragrant"... Popular hybrid derived from blackthorn and US-Chinese plum. In favorable conditions, it grows up to 3.5-4 m. Drupes have a rounded shape, weigh about 9-10 g. The skin is purple, the pulp is juicy, sweet and sour, there is no astringency. The fruits have a slight aroma of apricot and strawberry.
• Shropshire. This variety was bred by breeders from England. The fruits are astringent and have a sweetish honey taste.
• "Cherry plum"... Shrub up to 3 m high, its crown is medium dense, round. Drupes are purple, with a waxy bloom, weight - 4-6 g. The pulp is quite tart, its taste is sour.
• "Cherry". Blackthorn tree up to 3 m high. Fruits are slightly rounded, large. The color is purple, there is a pronounced waxy bloom. Weight - 8-9 g. The pulp is quite dense, the taste is tart, sour-sweet.
• "Prunes". A hybrid variety of blackthorn derived from plum and cherry plum. It is represented by a wide variety of fruit colors: from yellow to blue-burgundy.
• "Garden No. 2". Shrub growing up to 2 m. Drupes are spherical, the skin color is usually dark blue, almost black, there is a bloom. Differs in exceptional taste characteristics.

Thorns are planted in the ground in spring when the ground warms up. But it is better to start preparing the pit in the fall, so that in several winter months it can settle down well. Thorn grows best on dry, clay or sandy substrates.... The culture is not afraid of intense snow melting in early spring. At the same time, it is not worth planting it in too moist soil, since in such a site in winter there is a high risk of freezing of the roots. The optimal solution for planting blackthorns will be places well-lit by the sun with a substrate saturated with useful substances. The acidity should be moderate.

For planting, it forms a hole with a depth of about 70 cm and a width of about 1 m.To prevent the intensive growth of thorns, it is advisable to overlay the steep edges of the hole with unnecessary slate or sheets of any metal. A week before disembarkation, you need to pour the crushed shell into the hole. It can be harvested throughout the winter. A layer of shells is sprinkled with a substrate made up of garden soil with the addition of 1.5-2 two buckets of compost. Additionally, 70 g of a potassium preparation and 400 g of superphosphate are poured into such a soil. A little lime should be added to the soil with high acidity. If a wild plum is planted to decorate a hedge, then a distance of 1.5-2 m must be maintained between individual plants.

Suitable for planting seedlings at the age of 2 years... Before placing in open ground, their roots should be kept in a solution of "Kornevin" or sodium humate. In the very middle of the pit, you need to fix the support post. The seedling is placed in the hole exactly. Then the roots are carefully straightened, after which they are sprinkled with soil mixture so that the root collar rises 3-4 cm above the ground level. 30 l for each seedling.

After planting, the thorn bush must be shortened.In all other respects, caring for blackthorns is no different from the agricultural technology of any other fruit and berry crop. The plant must be watered, regularly loosened the ground near it, destroy weeds, remove all root growth, fertilize and prepare for winter.

• Watering... The first time after planting, the thorn seedling is watered every week, but after a while of irrigation, it is reduced to twice a month. As soon as the young plant grows and new leaf plates open on it, watering should be reduced as much as possible. If there are prolonged rains in the summer, then additional moisture is not needed at all, since all varieties of blackthorns are distinguished by good drought resistance. But if the summer is hot and dry, then under each bush you need to pour 25-30 liters of warm water once a month.
• Fertilizer... In order for a plant to give a bountiful harvest, it needs nutritious feeding. Every year, organic complexes are introduced into the near-trunk zone in the spring at the rate of 10 kg of humus for each bush. Complex mineral compositions give a good effect. As they grow older, the need for such feedings of blackthorns increases.
• Pruning... In springtime, the plant needs pruning. It is performed before the start of sap flow. In the central zone of Russia, this period falls on the second half of March. At this stage, it is necessary to remove all dried, diseased and injured branches. Any thorny plant has a tendency to over-thicken the crown, so it needs to be thinned from time to time. Pruning is carried out so that young bushes have 4-6 fruiting branches. In the autumn, pruning is done exclusively if necessary, if the plant has been attacked by parasites or infection, due to which the branches are damaged. This procedure must be performed after leaf fall.
• Preparing for winter. Blackthorn is highly frost-resistant, so it does not need to be covered for the winter. However, preparation for the rest period will be needed. Shortly before frost, this plant requires moisture-charging watering, which will allow it to more easily tolerate low temperatures. The soil in the near-trunk zone should be mulched with a layer of peat or humus.

Blackthorn is propagated by seed or vegetative method. The latter involves the use of cuttings or root suckers. The seed method of reproduction is quite long, it is usually used by breeders to develop new varieties. In practice, gardeners prefer vegetative techniques to get new seedlings as soon as possible.

To propagate blackthorns by seeds, at the beginning of autumn it is necessary to remove them from the drupe, carefully peel them of pulp residues and plant them in a container with earth. This work can be done in the spring, but in this case, the bones will need a long stratification. To do this, they are placed in a cellar or refrigerator for the entire autumn-winter season.

Planting is carried out to a depth of 6-8 cm. The surface of the planting area should be covered with agrofibre. As soon as the first shoots appear on the surface, the shelter is removed and the shoots are looked after in the usual way. A transplant to a permanent site is carried out after two years.

Cuttings are suitable for reproduction, on which there are at least 5 full-fledged buds. In the spring months, such cuttings are planted in a container filled with a soil mixture of fertile soil and river sand. The container is moved to the greenhouse or covered with a transparent cap on top.Throughout the summer, it is necessary to provide future wild plums with timely watering, fertilization with nutrients and periodic ventilation.

The easiest way to reproduce is to use root shoots. To do this, it is carefully separated from the mother bush and immediately planted in pre-prepared planting holes so that a distance of 1-2 m remains between them. Otherwise, they require the same care as other young seedlings.

Blackthorn is highly resistant to fungal infections and pests. But this shrub can be affected by gray mold. The disease affects young shoots of shrubs, the spread of the disease occurs from the bottom up. If untreated, the leaf plates change their color from green to dark brown and fall off. In their place, new leaves can grow, but soon they turn yellow and fly around. Such a thorn gives a very low yield. Spraying with any fungicidal composition helps to get rid of rot. Best of all "Horus" works - it is the only composition that can be used at subzero temperatures in spring. Bordeaux liquid, as well as copper sulfate, Abiga-Peak or Gamair compositions can give a good result.

Of the pests, aphids are the most dangerous. This sucking insect feeds on the vital juices of thorns. At the same time, it multiplies rapidly: in the shortest possible time, several individuals grow to the size of a huge colony. The actions of parasites lead to deformation of foliage and young shoots. In addition, aphids are a carrier of many viral diseases that are incurable. Acaricides help to get rid of the misfortune: "Aktara", "Antitlin" or "Aktellik". To achieve a stable effect, at least three treatments are usually required.