Kalina pride: description and characteristics, planting and care rules

Black viburnum, or pride, is a lush shrub on which delicious sweet berries ripen. The plant is used for decorative purposes. This shrub has an unusual look. At the time of ripening, the berries first turn red, and then one by one they become blue-black. The plant comes from southern Europe, but feels good in the middle lane. It is an unpretentious and very resistant shrub that can withstand any weather.

Peculiarities of culture

Kalina pride from the same Adox family as common viburnum and elderberry. True, it differs from relatives in a number of morphological features.This is a tall and densely leafy shrub with a lush, rounded crown. The plant has soft, rough castings that change color during the warm season from green to yellow and burgundy. They fall off in winter.

Kalina pride blooms luxuriantly in May-June, and after flowering, drupes appear in place of flowers, first green, then red, and at the time of ripening - black. They look like lingonberries first, then blueberries. Berries ripen gradually. In numerous shields throughout the summer, there are red and several black berries at the same time. It is this feature that gives viburnum pride a special decorative effect.

At the end of September, all the berries turn black, they do not crumble and can hold out on the branches until winter. Ripe black fruits have a fresh-sweet viburnum taste. Red berries - crunchy, astringent, bitter and tart.

Kalina pride is used for landscaping the homestead territory.From it form single and group compositions. It perfectly adapts to the climate of the middle zone. Viburnum pride comes from southern Europe and Asia. Ripe berries are used to make jam or compote. Due to the well-developed root system and the resulting shoots, the plant is recommended to be planted to secure slopes or slopes.

Characteristics of viburnum pride

This is a tall and lush shrub, 1.5-4 meters high, 0.5-1.5 meters wide. This plant can be shaped into a tree by pruning. Viburnum pride has a dense and dense crown of a spherical shape. This is a long-lived plant. For a year, young shoots grow by 30 centimeters. In youth, viburnum grows rapidly, over time, its growth slows down. Shoots are green at first, then brown, turning gray with age.

The leaves of the plant are green, oval, with a sharp tip, soft, slightly rough, pubescent below.In May-June, viburnum blooms. The plant blooms for 2-3 weeks. Viburnum pride has small white fragrant flowers, collected in umbellate inflorescences with a diameter of 10 centimeters. In June, instead of flowers, green berries appear. In July, the fruits begin to turn red. Berries-drupes ripen gradually. In August, several blue-black fruits appear in the corymbs. The berries are fully ripe by early October.

Pros and cons

Pros of viburnum pride:

• used for decorative purposes and to reinforce ravines;
• has edible berries;
• unpretentious, tolerates gas and dust;
• has good frost resistance;
• can grow in a shady spot.

Cons:

• requires a lot of free space;
• in dense plantings, aphids often bother her;
• does not tolerate waterlogged soils.

The nuances of growing a variety

Kalina pride is exactly the plant that can be planted in a place blown by all the winds. This shrub loves single plantings, but also looks good in group compositions. Thanks to its dense and dense crown, viburnum will create an excellent shield and protect the yard from the wind.

Where viburnum grows best

The shrub can be planted near the house, on the lawn in the garden, at the gate, as an extension or one of the elements of the hedge. The plant is undemanding to the landing site. It will be accepted everywhere, it will grow for a long time.

Light requirements

Kalina pride grows well if planted on the sunny side. True, this plant is excellent to tolerate shade. The main thing is that the place is spacious, well ventilated.

Soil Requirements

Shrub loves fertile, carbonate and well-drained soil. The soil can be sandy or loamy, but the main thing is light and alkaline. Poor land is enriched with fertilizers before planting.

For viburnum pride, a moderately dry area is selected that will not be flooded with water during rains or spring snowmelt.

When is the best time to plant the common pride

Shrub bought in a container in the summer can be planted in the garden at any time. The main thing is that the plant has time to take up and gain strength before the onset of frost. Usually young bushes are planted in the spring. You can plant viburnum in the fall, in September-October. Before wintering, the bush will need to be sprinkled with humus or compost.

Scheme of planting seedlings

Before planting, you need to dig a hole 50x50 centimeters. It is advisable to leave a distance of at least one meter to a neighboring plant. It is advisable to fertilize the soil selected from the pit with humus (half a bucket), mineral fertilizers (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium). You can add sand or sawdust for drainage, sod or garden soil. Soil acidity is reduced with lime, soda, wood ash.

Part of the fertilized earth is put back into the hole, a bush is placed on top, its roots are sprinkled with the remaining soil. The root neck is left at ground level or deepened by only 5 centimeters. The planted plant is abundantly watered with water (2-3 buckets). The trunk soil is mulched with sawdust.

Rules for the care of viburnum

The shrub is undemanding to care. It can do without pruning and watering. Kalina is frost-resistant, rarely gets sick, grows in the shade and in the wind. This plant is often used for landscaping city parks and strengthening the slopes of ravines.

Water and fertilize shrubs

It is advisable to water Kalina pride only during the dry season. In the rain, the plant does not need watering, it does not tolerate severe waterlogging. In dry weather, it is watered 1-2 times a week (2-3 buckets of water). Viburnum pride is fed three times a season. In early spring, during irrigation, nitrogenous substances are added to the water. At the beginning of summer, the bush is fed with phosphorus and potash fertilizers. In late autumn, before wintering, the trunk circle is mulched with rotted manure.

Pruning the pride shoots

The shrub is not touched for the first 2-3 years. Allow the plant to grow and grow stronger. Formative and sanitary pruning is carried out for 4 years in early spring, before the juices begin to move. The branches are pinched 20-30 centimeters so as to give the growing bush the shape of a ball. For 6-8 years, it is desirable to make a rejuvenating pruning.Old branches need to be cut to a strong bud, young ones can be left. Every year, in early spring, sanitary pruning is done, that is, diseased, dry, broken branches are removed.

Disease and pest control methods

Kalina pride rarely gets sick. If the shrub grows on poor soils, it is affected by powdery mildew, spotting. As a preventive measure, the plant is fed with fertilizers three times a season. In the spring, the base of the bush is treated with slaked lime or Bordeaux mixture. In early summer, the foliage is sprayed with fungicides (Skor, Horus, Ridomil Gold).

Kalina pride must be protected from pests (aphids, scale insects, leaf beetles). As a preventive measure, the trunk circle is sprinkled with wood ash and tobacco dust in early spring, irrigated with insecticide solutions (Aktara, Aktellik). Leaves in early summer can be sprayed with Karbofos, Chlorophos or other insecticidal agents.Biotlin, Fitoverm helps to get rid of aphids. Treatment with chemicals can be carried out 2-3 times per season, but no later than 30 days before picking berries.

Does the shrub need special care in preparation for winter

Before wintering, the trunk circle can be sprinkled with a thick layer of rotted humus. Such a mulch will warm the plant in winter, and in the spring it will serve as fertilizer. It is not recommended to cut branches before the onset of cold weather. Shrubs weakened by pruning may not survive the winter well. There is no need to carry out any more preparatory activities before wintering.

How to propagate viburnum pride

There are several ways to propagate this shrub. The easiest way to propagate viburnum pride is with the help of shoots, which are formed in sufficient quantities near the bush.

Offspring

Kalina pride gives abundant shoots. It can be propagated by root offspring. The young shoot is separated from the mother plant in the spring, the main thing is that it has a well-developed root system. The offspring is transplanted to a permanent place in a prepared pit with fertilized soil and watered with water.

Dividing the bush

You can dig up a young bush and divide it into two divisions. The procedure is carried out in early spring or autumn, immediately after leaf fall. There should be three renewal buds in each division. The divided parts of the bush are immediately planted in a prepared hole with fertilized soil and watered abundantly.

Seeds

The plant reproduces with the help of seeds. They are planted in open ground immediately after collection - in October-November. You can plant the seeds in cups with earth, but they must first be stratified for 6 months, that is, kept in the cold (preferably outdoors in the ground).The seedlings that have appeared under artificial conditions must be looked after for a whole year, periodically irrigated, kept in a warm room. The grown sprouts in May next year can be transplanted into the garden.

Shanks

You can propagate pride with the help of lignified cuttings. Twigs 10 centimeters long with two leaves or buds are cut from a shrub in June-July and placed in water, to which a root formation stimulator or a plant with a well-developed root system is added.

When the roots appear, the cuttings are transplanted into containers with earth. Throughout the year, the sprouts are looked after, periodically watered. The next season, closer to summer, grown plants are transplanted into the garden.

Collection and storage

Ripe viburnum berries can be harvested in October. It is advisable to leave the fruits on the branches until the first frost. After the frost grabs the berries, the taste is sweeter. Collect brushes in dry weather. They are carefully cut with garden shears.The collected berries can be dried, frozen in the freezer or made a delicious jam. They dry the viburnum in brushes, tying them in a bundle and hanging them from some support in a dry and cool pantry.

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