Actinidia Is All About Growing A Miracle Berry. Planting And Leaving. Varieties. Photo

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Actinidia Is All About Growing A Miracle Berry. Planting And Leaving. Varieties. Photo
Actinidia Is All About Growing A Miracle Berry. Planting And Leaving. Varieties. Photo

Video: Actinidia Is All About Growing A Miracle Berry. Planting And Leaving. Varieties. Photo

Video: Actinidia Is All About Growing A Miracle Berry. Planting And Leaving. Varieties. Photo
Video: Growing Miracle Berry Fruit from Seed 2024, March
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Actinidia belongs to the genus of tree lianas and the Actinidia family. Under natural conditions, this vine can be found in the Himalayas, Southeast Asia and the Far East. China is considered to be the birthplace of actinidia. As many people know, the closest relative of actinidia is kiwi, but kiwi does not grow in our country, it freezes, which cannot be said about actinidia. At one time, around 1910, Ivan Vladimirovich Michurin literally fell in love with actinidium. He was engaged in this culture all his life and praised actinidia so much that he considered such crops as gooseberries and grapes to be secondary and requiring replacement for actinidia.

Fruiting actinidia
Fruiting actinidia

Actinidia is currently grown mostly in private gardens. There are no industrial plantations under this crop in Russia. In culture, you can often find types of actinidia - arguta, polygamy, Giraldi and colomicta, as well as hybrid. Most of the areas are occupied specifically under the actinidia kolomikta, because this species is distinguished by high winter hardiness and relative undemanding to growing conditions, and actinidia arguta and polygamous are also grown in the center of Russia.

Content:

  • The main differences between the species of actinidia
  • Description of actinidia
  • Boy or girl?
  • Planting actinidia
  • Support for actinidia
  • Actinidia care
  • Harvesting actinidia
  • Preparing actinidia for winter
  • Reproduction of actinidia
  • Actinidia varieties

The main differences between the species of actinidia

Actinidia kolomikta (Actinidia kolomikta) is a vine up to ten meters long with a trunk diameter of only 2-3 cm. Variegation is clearly visible: the tip of the leaf changes color from snow-white in early summer to bright crimson at the end. The flowers of this species are very fragrant. Fruit weight up to 6 g.

Actinidia acute, or Actinidia arguta (Actinidia arguta) is the most powerful vine, can grow up to three tens of meters. In perennial plants in the wild, the trunk diameter reaches 20 cm. The plant is dioecious (males and females grow separately). The fruits reach a mass of 6 g, ripen towards the end of September.

Actinidia polygamous (Actinidia polygama) - reaches a length of five meters. Trunk diameter 2-3 cm. Fruit weight up to 3 g. Often confused with actinidia kolomikta, but polygamy is less winter-hardy.

Actinidia Giraldi (Actinidia arguta var. Giraldii) - similar to the actinidia argut, but has larger and more palatable fruits. It is extremely difficult to find these plants in nature.

Actinidia purpurea (Actinidia arguta var.purpurea) - named for the purple color of the fruit. The main disadvantage is that it is practically not winter hardy. Fruits are maroon, weighing about 5.0 g.

Actinidia Hybrid is a hybrid of Arguta and Actinidia purpurea. The result is a winter-hardy hybrid with large fruits.

Actinidia kolomikta bush with color-changing leaves
Actinidia kolomikta bush with color-changing leaves

Description of actinidia

As we already know, actinidia is a liana, it has fancy leaf blades, usually thin and leathery, very interestingly colored. At the beginning of summer, about a third of the leaf at the tip is white, as if it is immersed in white paint, during the season this place turns pink. Scientists have found that in this way actinidia attracts pollinators to its flowers, which, by the way, have a unique, simply magical aroma (especially in the actinidia colomicta), some reminiscent of the smell of jasmine, but only "sweeter". The stems and shoots of actinidia are rather thin, they require mandatory support, otherwise they will creep along the ground, thicken and lose their decorative appearance. The kidneys are interesting in actinidia; they are hidden in the scars of the leaf blades and are turned downward with the tip.

Boy or girl?

Actinidia is a dioecious plant, that is, on one plant there can be both male flowers, and only female ones, like sea buckthorn flowers. Therefore, in order to get a harvest, representatives of both sexes of actinidia must be planted on the site. There are, however, individuals with both male and female flowers, but you should not risk it, it is better to trust professionals when choosing planting material. You can understand which sex the actinidia seedling is in front of you only during the flowering period, by carefully examining the flowers: female specimens usually do not have stamens, and male specimens have a pistil. There are, however, female flowers with stamens, but they are poorly developed, have sterile (non-viable) pollen, while the pistil is much better developed.

Flowers in actinidia form in the axils of the leaf blades. During the flowering period, it is not always possible to notice the flowers, they seem to be hidden under the leaves. Sometimes, in order to make out a flower or make a spectacular shot, you need to raise a part of the vine. The flowering of actinidia is quite long, but it depends on the weather: if it is hot, then the flowers delight the eye for no more than a week, if it is cool, then the flowering is brighter, the aroma is strong, and it lasts 10-12 days. After pollination, the ovary begins to develop, which ultimately turns into small fruits of an elongated actinidia and, most often, a rich green color.

Actinidia fruits ripen towards the end of summer - beginning of autumn, when fully ripe, they soften and can be eaten. The taste resembles something between kiwi and strawberry, sometimes there is a pronounced strawberry aroma. Each berry is a storehouse of vitamins and minerals, but there is especially a lot of ascorbic acid in actinidia fruits - up to 3000 mg%, which is close in terms of the indicator to rose hips.

Flowering actinidia
Flowering actinidia

Planting actinidia

Actinidia can be planted both in spring and autumn, but, given the southern roots of this plant, it is still preferable to do this in the spring. We recommend choosing actinidia seedlings in the nursery for planting, which are at least two years old, the fact is that one-year-olds take root rather poorly and the older the seedling, the better. Ideally, it is better to buy a seedling with a closed root system that is three or four years old, the chance that it will take root is maximum.

After you bought an actinidia seedling, you need to choose a good place for planting. It is better to choose the most open and well-lit place, level, without depressions and depressions, with a groundwater level no closer than one and a half meters to the soil surface. Ideally, on the north side of the actinidia plant, the wall of the house or fence will protect it. Of course, you need to find a place with the possibility of installing supports in the future, that is, there should be quite a lot of free space. Considering the advice of professionals, you should not plant actinidia near large trees, for example, apple trees, because the powerful root system of the tree will consume most of the moisture and nutrients from the soil and oppress the vine. Actinidia can be planted next to shrubs, there will be no harm from this to anyone.

As for the type of soil, the ideal option is, of course, the soil is loose, nutritious, with sufficient moisture and a neutral reaction.

Spring planting of actinidia

So, spring is the best time to plant actinidia. Be sure to have time to do this before bud break, otherwise the seedling may not take root. Before planting, the soil in the selected area must be dug onto a full bayonet of a shovel with a selection of weeds and incorporation into the soil of 2 - 3 kg of well-rotted manure or humus, 250-300 g of wood ash and a tablespoon of nitroammophoska. When the soil is ready, you can start digging the planting holes. You need to dig them in accordance with the planting scheme, and it is determined by what kind you plant.

If you place actinidia arguta on the site, a very vigorous liana that is by no means modest in size, then you can leave a meter and a half or better two free areas between the pits, and if you plant the actinidia kolomikt (polygamy, Giraldi, hybrid), which grows less actively than arguta, then you can leave the meter. In the event that you decide to wrap a vine around a gazebo, a wall of a house or a fence, then you can plant the plants a little more often, leaving 75-80 cm between them. It is not worth planting more often, because it will be difficult to care for the plants, the vines can intertwine, shading each other friend.

Before planting, prepare the actinidia seedlings, carefully inspect them, if you notice broken shoots, remove them. Dip the roots in a mash made from a mixture of clay and nutritious soil in equal parts. Further, when the places of future holes are marked, you can start digging them. The size of the pits usually depends on the volume of the root system of the seedling, if the actinidia seedling is small and there are few roots on it, then there is no need to dig a large hole at all. The main thing is to dig it out with such a size that the roots fit freely in the hole, there is a place for drainage from expanded clay, pebbles or broken brick at the base, a layer of a couple of centimeters, and for a couple of kilograms of a mixture of nutrient soil and humus in equal parts, with the addition there 45-50 g of ammonium nitrate, 120-130 g of superphosphate and 50-100 g of wood ash.

Next, you can pour about half a bucket of water into the hole and place a seedling on the nutritious and moist soil, gently spreading the roots. It remains to fill the hole with soil, making sure that the actinidia seedling (more precisely, its root collar) is at the same depth that it grew in the nursery before, compact the soil, pour a bucket of water and mulch the surface with humus with a layer of 1 centimeter.

After planting for about a month, you need to shade the seedling from direct sunlight and protect it from cats, they love the aroma of actinidia and can literally eat the seedling.

Autumn planting of actinidia

The subtleties of planting actinidia here are the same as in spring, the main thing is to have time to place the seedling on the site before the start of frost in 15-20 days.

Actinidia plantation
Actinidia plantation

Support for actinidia

When an actinidia seedling on the site lives for two or three seasons, he will definitely need a support, of course, you can install it right away or plant a seedling with the expectation that the vine will cling to an already existing support in the form of a house wall, a fence and other things. If we talk about an artificial support, then it can be absolutely any form - such as an arch or a pergola, or just a pair of pillars with three or four rows of wire stretched between them, on which the vines will gradually pounce and tie to it with ordinary twine.

Actinidia care

Caring for actinidia is not very difficult. At their core, these are standard processes: loosening the soil, removing weeds, watering, feeding, pruning, sheltering, harvesting.

Loosening the soil

It is advisable to loosen the soil under actinidia in the first 3-4 years after planting the seedling, then the vine will grow and the need for loosening will disappear by itself. At the initial stage, it is necessary to loosen the soil after each heavy rain or watering in order to prevent the formation of a crust.

Weed control

It is necessary to fight weeds for four or five years after planting, in the future, weeds can be simply mowed in the bush zone.

Watering actinidia

Actinidia loves moisture, but moderate; it is in no case to overmoisten the soil. Do not allow excessive drying of the soil. Watering is desirable in a drought, pouring 2-3 buckets of water under the plant. He loves actinidia and swim, about once a week you can water it well with sprinkling in the evening, moistening the maximum of the leaf surface. The main thing is to try not to water during the flowering period, this can worsen pollination.

Top dressing actinidia

Top dressing of actinidia not only allows the shoots to grow and develop normally, but also increases the yield, as well as the drought resistance and winter hardiness of the plant. In the spring, it is advisable to feed actinidia with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers. You can use both nitroammophoska (a tablespoon for each plant), and individual elements - 25-30 g of nitrogen, 18-25 g of phosphorus and 12-20 g of potassium. It is advisable to carry out the second feeding as soon as the ovaries begin to form; nitrogen fertilizers are needed here in minimal quantities, 16-19 g is enough, but more phosphorus and potassium - 20-22 g for each plant.

The final time of the season, actinidia can be fed after harvest, around mid-September. Nitrogen fertilizers cannot be applied during this period; you can add a tablespoon of superphosphate and potassium salt under each bush. Fertilizers are best applied in a form dissolved in water, if applied dry, then loosen the soil beforehand and pour it with water, and then mulch with humus with a layer of 1 centimeter.

Pruning actinidia

Actinidia grows quite actively, especially on nutritious soil, so it can begin to thicken. To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to periodically prune actinidia, which is appropriate to start from the fourth year of the seedling's life on the site. Actinidia pruning is best done in the fall, after leaf fall. There are no clear instructions here, you just need to visually inspect the trellis, find out which shoots compete with each other, interfere, thicken each other. If you notice dry shoots, then they need to be cut out immediately. If you see unripe shoots with green tips, then it is better to pinch them, so they may have time to ripen.

As soon as the vine reaches the age of 12-13 years, you can start rejuvenating pruning. To do this, it is advisable to cut the actinidia strongly, leaving only parts of the growths 30-40 cm long from the ground. Rejuvenating pruning of this degree of strength should only be done in late autumn.

Fruiting actinidia
Fruiting actinidia

Harvesting actinidia

If you do everything right, then actinidia will begin to produce crops from the age of three, sometimes it can bear fruit a year later. Of course, at first it will be only a few berries, then the yields will begin to grow and their maximum will be reached by the age of six or seven, and when systematic rejuvenating pruning is carried out, the vine can bear fruit for several decades.

On good, nutritious soil, with sufficient moisture and good care, actinidia will produce up to six dozen kilograms of delicious fruits from one bush. Fruits ripen at different times, sometimes, in order to harvest the entire crop, it is necessary to carry out up to five harvests. You should not rush and pick the first ripe actinidia berries, you can wait a little and harvest in two or three doses, but you should not delay too much, strongly overripe berries may begin to crumble. The first fruits of early actinidia varieties usually ripen in mid-August, the latter can be found on vines and at the end of September. Immediately after harvesting the entire crop, the liana can be fed, suitable for this is either wood ash in the amount of 250-300 g under a bush or a tablespoon of potassium salt and superphosphate under a bush.

Preparing actinidia for winter

Actinidia kolomikta is a completely winter-hardy culture, in the southern regions it tolerates winters without problems, but if you grow a different species or live in more northern regions, you will have to cover the actinidia. To do this, around the end of October, when stable cool weather is established, the vine must be removed from the supports and carefully laid on the ground. After that, the vines need to be covered with dry leaves or spruce branches. Any covering material such as lutrasil can be used to cover actinidia.

The main thing is to provide protection from mice; for these purposes, you need to put poisoned baits under a shelter or next to it. It will be possible to remove the shelter in the spring, when the temperature is stable above zero, in the center of Russia - this is the month of April.

Reproduction of actinidia

If you want to propagate a varietal plant while preserving all its cultural characteristics, then only vegetative propagation methods should be used. This can be propagation by layers (usually arcuate), as well as green or lignified cuttings.

Reproduction of actinidia by arcuate layering

This method of propagation of actinidia is quite simple and guarantees a small amount, but high-quality planting material. They begin reproduction in this way in the spring, immediately after the blooming of the leaf blades. It is necessary to choose the longest, youngest and most well-developed shoot (shoots) of actinidia, then tilt it with the top of its head to the soil and pin it with a wooden or metal corner. The place of attachment itself must be covered with soil, with a layer of 12-14 cm, and then watered abundantly (3-5 liters of water), the formed mound from the shoot must be mulched, it can be with sawdust, or it can be humus.

The main thing is that the very top of the shoot is not covered with soil. Further, during the growing season, you need to water the soil near the actinidia bush and moisten the mulch, as well as fight weeds. The cuttings, which will surely appear from the maternal shoot, bent by us, must be separated, trying not to damage the young roots and planted in a permanent place. This is best done in the spring.

Propagation of actinidia by green cuttings

This method of reproduction of actinidia is the most effective in terms of obtaining planting material, but it requires the mandatory presence of a greenhouse covered with a film. Usually, young growths are cut and cut into cuttings 12-15 cm long around mid-June, although the timing, depending on the region, may shift in one direction or another. It is advisable to cut the cuttings of actinidia in cloudy weather and in the morning, when they are saturated with moisture. Try to cut the cuttings so that each has three buds and a couple of internodes. Ideally, the lower cut should go directly under the kidney and be oblique, at an angle of 45 degrees, but the top one should be done a couple of centimeters higher than the kidney, it can be either even or oblique.

After that, you need to remove all the leaves except for a couple on the top of the head or one, if they are very large. You can not remove the leaves, but cut them in half. When the cuttings of actinidia are ready for planting, they can either be soaked in a solution of any growth stimulant (root and the like), or planted in a greenhouse without soaking. In the greenhouse, by that time, it is necessary to prepare the soil, which should consist of equal parts of humus, sod land and river sand. At the base of this mixture, you need to put drainage, in the form of expanded clay, a couple of centimeters thick.

On top of the mixture, you need to pour river sand 2-3 cm thick and moisten it well. It is into this mixture that the cuttings of actinidia will sink. It remains only to water the soil well and plant the cuttings, deepening by 2-2.5 cm according to the 5x5 cm scheme. Next, you will need to monitor the soil moisture in the greenhouse, it will have to be watered often: in the heat 6-7 times a day, and in cloudy weather - 4-5 times a day. It is great if you have the opportunity to install automatic watering in the greenhouse, if not, then it is advisable to water from a watering can with a nozzle having the smallest holes, and use settled water at room temperature.

Usually, by the fall, a full-fledged root system is formed on the cuttings of actinidia, but it is not advisable to dig them out of the greenhouse in the fall. The greenhouse must be opened, the already independent plants must be insulated with dry leaves and so left until spring. In spring, cuttings of actinidia with roots should be carefully dug up and planted on a bed with loose and nutritious soil according to a 10x10 cm scheme for another season, for growing, after which two-year-old actinidia seedlings can be planted in a permanent place.

Propagation of actinidia by lignified cuttings

This method is used less often because woody cuttings take root less well, but it also gives a positive result. The harvesting of lignified actinidia cuttings, unlike green ones, should be carried out not at the beginning of summer, but practically at the end of autumn. After harvesting cuttings 12-15 cm long, like green ones, they must be placed vertically in boxes and covered with river sand. Cuttings should be stored at a low plus temperature of + 2-4 degrees.

If there is nowhere to store, then the cuttings of actinidia can be cut before planting, that is, in early spring, as soon as the snow melts, but strictly before the start of the growing season. Next, the cuttings should be planted in the greenhouse in the spring with the same mixture as for green cuttings, but they should be watered much less often - usually once a day. In the fall, the cuttings of actinidia should form roots, it is also better to dig them up and plant them in the garden for growing in the spring.

Actinidia grade Dachnaya
Actinidia grade Dachnaya

Actinidia varieties

The State Register currently has 44 varieties of this wonderful culture. First of all, it is worth paying attention to new items, these are actinidia cultivars: Dachnaya (2016), Kivaldi (2016), Krasnaya Maiden (2017), Monty S (2016), Sunny (2016), Hayward Russian (2016) and Allison (2016) …

Let's consider these varieties in more detail.

The variety of actinidia "Dachnaya" is obtained from the actinidia arguta, it is very winter-hardy and does not require shelter in the center of Russia. Leaf blades do not have variegation. Fruit weight is about 9.7 g, the maximum reaches 13.6 g. Fruits are green in color, elliptical with an average skin thickness. The taste is pleasant, but the acidity is felt, so the assessment of the tasters is 4.7 points. The fruits practically do not crumble. Resistant to pests and diseases.

Actinidia variety "Kivaldi " is more suitable for the North Caucasus region. Has no variegation. Requires pollinators. Fruits are very large, up to 101 grams, dark brown in color, elliptical in shape, densely pubescent and have a thin skin. The taste is pleasant, rated 4.8 points by the tasters. Alas, it does not possess winter hardiness.

Actinidia cultivar "Red girl" - obtained from polygamous actinidia. Strong variegation of leaf blades. Fruits weighing up to 5.7 g, their color is orange, cylindrical in shape, the skin of the fruit is thin. The taste is without signs of acid, but bland, that's why the tasting score is 4.6 points. The variety does not require shelter, it is resistant to pests and diseases.

Actinidia variety "Monti S" - this variety is weakly winter-hardy and is more suitable for the North Caucasus region. The fruits reach a weight of 85 g, they are brown in color and obovate, strongly pubescent and thin skin. Fruit shedding is absent. The taste is very good - up to 4.9 points. Pollinating varieties required.

Actinidia variety "Solnechny" is a variety from actinidia arguta, it is winter-hardy enough to do without shelter in the center of Russia. It is a good pollinator, does not bear fruit itself. There is no variegation. Quite winter hardy. Does not get sick and is not affected by pests.

Actinidia variety "Hayward Russian" - intended for warm regions of the North Caucasus. There is no variegation. Fruits weighing up to 135 g, brown, elliptical, pubescent and have a thin skin. The taste is pleasant, although the acid is felt, it is rated by tasters at 4.7 points. A pollinator is required.

Actinidia variety "Allison" - suitable for warm regions of the country. There is no variegation. Fruits weighing up to 66 g, brown in color, pubescent and have a thin skin. The taste is pleasant, with a strawberry aroma, the tasting score is 4.7 points. A pollinator is required.

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