Gardeners and landscape designers are happy to plant cornel in their plots: early blooming of bright flowers pleases the eye after a black and white winter, and how attractive are clusters of scarlet or dark burgundy berries in the fall! The name of this tart taste of sweet and sour berries from Turkic translates as "red". Dogwood fruits, indeed, most often have just this color, however, in some varieties the berries may be yellow. One of the main features of dogwood is that it can be found both in the form of a bush and in the form of a tree - it all depends on the terrain and the conditions for its growth. In a word, no matter what the dogwood interests you - the splendor of its greenery or the unique properties of the fruit - acquaintance with it will not disappoint you.
Dogwood: area of distribution, description of the plant and berries
In the wild, dogwood is most often found in the Caucasus. Although its bones were found in the territory of modern Switzerland in buildings over five thousand years old, historians claim that the ancient Greeks and Romans used the fruits of this plant for food. Modern cultural forms of dogwood are widespread not only within its natural range, they can be found in the open spaces of Central Asia and Moldova, St. Petersburg and the Baltic. There is no mystery in such a wide distribution of this plant. Dogwood is quite unpretentious and is able to tolerate frosts to minus 30-35 aboutC, in addition, an adult plant is resistant to drought and feels equally good in the sun and partial shade. Dogwood is also presented in the State Register of Breeding Achievements for 2017, and the entire territory of Russia is indicated as the admission region. And how much dogwood is distributed in the gardens without any mention in the State Register!
Dogwood is undemanding to the composition of the soil and grows on poor stony lands, sandy soils and loam. However, neutral or slightly alkaline light fertile soils with a high content of lime are most suitable for him. Young dogwood shoots tend upward and, growing, form a multi-stemmed semicircular shrub up to 3-4 meters high or a tree up to 6 meters high. The root system is fibrous.
Dogwood will decorate any area with its bright flowering appearance
Dogwood is a very ornamental plant. Yellow corollas of its flowers are collected in inflorescences. They bloom in April and fill the air with a delicate sweet aroma. Dogwood flowering lasts up to two weeks, only then leaves appear. Since flowers appear early, this plant has problems with pollinators: for insects, the temperature is + 8 + 10 aboutC, when the dogwood blooms, not very comfortable. In addition, dogwood needs suitable "neighbors" - it is self-infertile. The universal pollinator for it can be a forest dogwood or any cultivar of this plant.
Dogwood flowers - a beautiful honey plant
The leaves of the dogwood are ovoid, elongated to the apex, bright green. The fruits are usually red, but there are varieties with fruits of white, yellow, and even maroon, almost black. The shape of the berries in some varieties is elongated, pear-shaped, in others it is spherical. Weight in the range of 1-9 g. The stone is oblong, easily detaches, is 12-30% of the weight of the fetus. Berries ripen in late August or September.
In terms of vitamin C content, cornel berries are even superior to lemon, so decoctions of its fruits and leaves are used in medicine as an anti-inflammatory and tonic. Attribute to this broth and anti-scurvy effect. And in some regions of our country there are legends claiming that any disease can be cured with dogwood berries.
Dogwood fruits are usually dark red.
The taste of cornel fruit cannot be confused with anything: it is slightly astringent, astringent, sour-sweet or sweet (depending on the variety - as well as the degree of juiciness). The pulp of the fruit may be uniform or granular. The only thing that does not depend on the variety is the unique aroma of berries. A description of how to use them could be a separate chapter. Dogwood is consumed fresh, jam, stewed fruit, jelly are cooked from it, jelly, pastille and juices are prepared. Berries are dried and added to tea, like leaves, and seeds are used as a substitute for coffee. And what to hide, cornel vodka is quite popular, which preserves the unique aroma of berries and is considered refined.
Dogwood is not an early plant: grafted seedlings enter the fruiting period on the fifth-sixth year. But the dogwood is fruitful: 20-25 kg of fruits are harvested from decadal trees, and from twenty-five year olds to a centner.
A young dogwood tree is already bearing fruit
Dogwood trees are long-livers, their age can exceed one hundred and even two hundred years. Therefore, having planted such a tree on his plot, the gardener can be sure that his grandchildren and great-grandchildren will be able to enjoy these berries.
Dogwood landing in central Russia
Dogwood is most common in the Caucasus, which means it prefers a warm climate. But it can and should be grown in central Russia, which many gardeners successfully do. The main thing is to protect the plant from adverse factors in the first years after planting, for example, to protect the seedling from drought. Due to the surface location of the roots, cornel seedlings in dry years can suffer from a lack of water. Therefore, the plant should be provided with adequate watering, especially when planting in light sandy soils, where moisture does not linger. He does not like young dogwood and too strong sun. If possible, after planting and in the first years of growth, the seedling needs to provide easy shading.
Basic landing rules
For those who want to grow dogwood on their plot, experienced gardeners recommend choosing two-year-old seedlings. They should be purchased in proven nurseries. In addition, you need to remember when and how best to plant dogwood.
- The best time for planting dogwood seedlings is autumn.
- Dogwood is a self-infertile plant, so at least two different varieties are planted on the site.
- In order for the young dogwood to take root well, you should choose plants in containers, and not with an open root system.
Two-year-old seedlings are best suited for planting.
Dogwood planting step by step
- Prepare a pit 60-70 cm deep and with a diameter. Mix the removed soil with humus or compost (1 bucket), ash (250-300 g) and superphosphate (200 g).
- Pour half the earth into the hole. Put a sapling on the formed hill. Tie it to a peg and cover it with the rest of the earth. Make sure that the root neck does not go deep (it should be 2-3 cm above the soil level).
- Tamp the soil, forming a hole for watering. Pour the seedling with two buckets of water.
- Mulch the trunk circle with straw, sawdust or humus.
In winter, young seedlings need to be covered with burlap, and in order to protect the superficially located root system, experienced gardeners recommend in the first years to seedlings of seedlings to the place of grafting with earth.
Video: how to plant a dogwood seedling
Dogwood cultivation and care in central Russia
Cases of disease or dogwood damage by pests in the Moscow Region and central Russia are practically not described. And care recommendations come down to timely plentiful watering and pruning. Watering for dogwood is important: with a lack of moisture, the fruits become less juicy, the taste is slightly pronounced. Therefore, the plant must be regularly watered, especially in the summer (40-50 liters once or twice a week in the absence of rain).
Young dogwood seedlings grow slowly, but then the growth becomes more intense, and some plants are thickened - they need pruning.
If the dogwood needs to be shaped like a bush, then only shoots growing inside or dry shoots are cut off
It is with the help of the pruning procedure that the gardener can give the cornel a form of a bush or tree. If the shape of the bush is preferred, only improperly located, dry, inward-growing branches are removed. If the dogwood needs to be shaped like a tree, shoots located below 50-70 cm are removed in the first years after planting, and subsequently maintain the resulting shape, cutting the dogwood according to the pattern traditional for fruit trees.
Regular dogwood pruning makes tree shape easy
Loosening the soil under the cornel is carried out carefully, not deeper than 10 cm - one should not forget about the surface location of the roots. As for fertilizers, gardeners do not insist on their application, since in natural conditions dogwood grows and bears fruit even on poor soils. However, if there was a desire to fertilize cornel, it should be borne in mind that nitrogen-phosphorus fertilizers are applied in the spring, and potash fertilizers are applied in the summer or autumn.
The main factor complicating the cultivation of dogwood in central Russia is spring return frosts. You can protect the plant from them only by smoke (processing plantings with smoke in the morning). Another problem: with early flowering (and in dogwood it is always early) there may not be pollinating insects. However, when several plants are planted in one area, this problem is perfectly solved.
Dogwood varieties for growing in central Russia
Dogwood varieties differ from each other in terms of ripening, shape and color of berries. Productivity and frost resistance they demonstrate approximately the same, so it makes no sense to highlight these characteristics. The most popular and recommended specialists include the following varieties:
- Alyosha: ripens in early August or September, the berries are yellow, pear-shaped, large - 6-9 g, sweet and sour.
- Vladimirsky: ripens in August-September, berries are large - about 8 g, burgundy-black.
- Vydubitsky: mid-season variety, small berries, dark red in color.
- Elena: dogwood of this variety bears fruit early - in early August, the berries look like lacquered red barrels of medium size with a small bone.
- Firefly: mid-season, pear-shaped berries, 6-8 g, dark cherry, sweet and sour, tart.
- Amber: received the name due to the original color, ripened berries are almost transparent, with thin skin, weight up to 4 g, mid-season variety.
Photo Gallery: Popular Dogwood Varieties
- Dogwood varieties Alyosha fruit yellow berries
- Variety Elena is characterized by red berries, traditional for dogwood
- Firefly has a dark berry color, pear-shaped fruits
- Looking at the berries of the Amber cornel dogwood, you understand why it was called
Reviews
Dogwood has been growing since the late 90s, brought from Pyatigorsk to the Bryansk region. During this time, the temperature dropped to minus 34. Apple trees and pears froze. Dogwood at least that only increases the yield.
SergeyKrivonosov//7dach.ru/sevda03/mozhno-li-vyrastit-kizil-v-sredney-polose-rossii-49044.html
I want to draw the attention of those who are only going to plant dogwood to the fact that the plant is self-infertile. For the harvest, you need to plant at least two bushes or arrange with neighbors to plant them.
serde//indasad.ru/forum/2-plodoviy-sad/617-chudo-yagoda-kizil
We decided to grow dogwood on our own, we like wine and dogwood jam, but we have already made several mistakes with the “grandmothers” in the market, so we decided. Despite the current opinion that dogwood grows poorly or does not bear fruit in the middle lane, our friends proved the opposite, which influenced our desire to adopt their experience. The landing site was chosen slightly shaded. The land was prepared in the fall: they dug a landing pit with a diameter of about 1 meter and a depth of 80 cm, brought in a little new land mixed with fertilizers (organic and mineral). For the winter, we covered the pit with a film, and at the end of February we opened it. At the end of March, we decided to plant our dogwood. They took humus and compost, mixed and divided into two parts. One part was mixed with soil and filled the pit to half, making a small mound. They took a seedling, set it on a mound and covered it with the rest. A young plant requires good watering (30-40 liters). The roundabout circle was covered with sawdust so that the moisture did not evaporate. Our friends recommended cutting the shoots by 1/3 to balance the root and aboveground parts. We already have leaves here and there. For those who are interested, we took the Primorsky dogwood, it is believed that it is winter hardy.
Elizabeth//www.vogorodah.ru/vyrashhivanie-kizila/
I have long grown these tasty and healthy fruits. Actually, I have already tried all the methods of growing dogwood - from the bone and cuttings. My dogwood has grown and formed a hedge. I cut it at the level of 70-100 cm. Harvest this wonderful, otherwise I will not name, my berries, as a rule, are very good. The wife makes jam out of it and spins compotes for the winter.
Vakhtang//www.vogorodah.ru/vyrashhivanie-kizila/
There are enthusiasts who grow dogwood in the suburbs. At the same time, even harvesting. Of course, these are not those southern crops. I will not venture to assert that there is already any variety adapted to the middle lane, however, I strongly advise you to plant seeds in the autumn, since there is such a desire. It is very nice to see how self-planted plants grow. It is only necessary to take into account that the period of stratification of cornel kernels is more than 800 days, so seedlings should be expected in two winters, but rather, all three. Try it, because how many unusual things are already growing in more northern areas!
Anton//7dach.ru/sevda03/mozhno-li-vyrastit-kizil-v-sredney-polose-rossii-49044.html
For central Russia, dogwood is no longer an overseas curiosity and not a timid stranger in need of greenhouse conditions. This wonderful plant with fragrant and healthy berries can be found in many gardening and in private plots. And the number of his fans promises only to grow, because the dogwood is resistant to cold, ready to grow on almost any soil and bear fruit up to a hundred years - why isn’t the perfect tenant for your garden?
