Walnut Ideal: variety description and characteristics, cultivation and care with photo

Every gardener wants to grow a nut variety on his plot that would be distinguished by early fruiting, attractive shape, size, unsurpassed fruit taste and did not require much time for planting and care. These include walnut varieties Ideal. It has already received high marks due to its positive characteristics and features.

Description of Ideal walnut

In 1947, Uzbek scientists carried out selection work in order to find a variety that would be distinguished by productivity and early maturity. The result was the Ideal walnut.

Short, fast-growing tree, 4-5 meters high, with a powerful massive crown. The bark is painted gray, the fruiting shoots are brown. The plant is decorated with leaves of large size, dense structure. Attract the attention of small flowers, dioecious, painted white, with a green tint, collected in a brush of 10-15 pieces. The variety is valued for its oval-shaped fruits, which differ in size and have a thin, light beige shell. The mass of one nut, on average, is 10 grams.

Kernel has good flavor and a range of vitamins and minerals.

Plant characteristics

Walnut variety Ideal bears fruit in the 2nd year of life. Full crops can be removed from the 5th year. Walnut blossom begins in May. And at the beginning of summer, several green fruits appear on the tree on one branch. Nut picking takes place in September.

Feature of fruiting is the second wave of flowering, which allows you to collect two crops a year. The re-formation of flower brushes begins 10 days after the first and continues until autumn. With proper care, the Ideal walnut pleases with a quality harvest and a beautiful view up to 50 years.

Pros and cons of the variety

The main reasons why this variety is recommended for cultivation are:

stable yields - up to 120 kilograms per plant;
early fruiting period;
secondary flowering ability and double fruiting throughout the year;
compactness of the tree, allowing the most efficient use of planting areas;
frost resistance - can tolerate a drop in temperature to -35 degrees, which allows you to grow a variety in the climate of Central Russia;
undemanding to the composition and parameters of garden soils.

In addition to the advantages, it is important to identify the disadvantages:

return frost sensitivity;
The fragility of the variety.

The minimum list of disadvantages allows gardeners to have no doubts in choosing the Ideal walnut.

Walnut cultivation

It is better to plant walnut seedlings in the spring. Planting in autumn is required long before the first frosts.

Choosing a site and preparing for landing

When choosing a place for planting, it is important to take into account the needs of the plant, for its normal growth, development and obtaining high yields:

an area lit by sunlight, covered from cold wind and draft;
lack of groundwater close to the ground;
turf, carbonate, loamy soil.

Before planting a plant, you need to make a hole, keeping a distance between planting units of 5 meters or 3.5 meters, subject to placement on a slope. To the earth dug out of the hole, add peat, compost. Enrich the resulting mixture with substances such as dolomite flour and superphosphate, in an amount of 500 grams per pit.

Preparation of planting material

Walnut seedling, bought in a container, transfer to the hole without processing. For planting material with an open root system, make a clay mash of clay and humus (3: 1). Mix everything well and add the growth stimulator. Dip the roots of the seedlings into the resulting mash and leave for 30 minutes to dry.

Plant pattern

Every gardener needs an Ideal walnut planting plan, because knowing how far apart to plant trees from one another, you can get a generous harvest.

It is necessary to plant seedlings with open roots, following the following planting pattern:

In the center of the pre-prepared pit, form a hill from the resulting soil mixture and set a peg to securely support the plant.
Place the seedling on top of the hill, carefully distributing the lower roots along the slopes and falling asleep with fertile soil. And the upper ones should be placed in a horizontal position so that their depth is 7-8 centimeters below ground level.
Fill up the roots of a young tree by applying soil mixture. In this case, the root neck should be 3-5 centimeters above ground level.
Tie the seedling to a support, water and mulch the soil around the trunk.

If material was purchased for planting in a container, then it must be removed from the container with a nutrient substrate and transferred to a planting hole, 60x60x60 centimeters in size. Then fill with soil mixture and water.

How to care for a tree?

The implementation of the necessary care measures will allow the young tree to bear fruit in the shortest possible time and form high-quality crops for a long time.

Irrigation

Water only young trees, in spring and early summer, when they need a significant amount of moisture. Each plant should get 20 liters of water every 14 days, depending on the climate, soil type. Waterlogging or drying of the soil should not be allowed. The number of waterings for plants that have grown to 4 meters in height must be reduced.

Feeding

Walnut Ideal is responsive to top dressing. It is required to fertilize the crop twice a year - in the spring, introducing nitrogen elements, and in the fall, before plowing - products based on phosphorus and potassium. The dosage of fertilizer application depends on the age of the tree, soil, climate.

Important: too much fertilizer will weaken the plant's ability to endure winter cold.

Mulching

After each watering, the soil should be loosened shallowly and mulched with peat. A technique such as mulching the trunk circle will help keep the soil from drying out, retain nutrients in the soil, stop the spread of weeds, and also protect the root system from freezing.

Cutting

Walnut seedlings Ideal require crown formation in a cupped way.When planting in the spring, the first pruning should be done immediately. After 3-4 years, the walnut crown will be formed. Subsequently, only annual pruning will be required in order to provide all parts of the crown with the necessary lighting. It involves the elimination of all damaged, old, backward-growing branches.

Reproduction

Ideal walnut can be propagated by seed or by grafting. The seed method is considered more labor intensive and time consuming. With it, the seed is able to inherit the characteristics of the mother plant by 70%. For sowing, take peeled and dried fruits and stratify at a temperature of +18 degrees for 45 days. In the spring, transfer the prepared material for planting to open soil.

During the first year of life, the Ideal walnut develops slowly, but at the end of winter it begins to grow rapidly and reaches a height of up to 1 meter by autumn.Seedlings only after 5-7 years are recommended to be planted in a permanent place. When choosing material for grafting, it is better to use young seedlings at the age of two years. This technique will preserve the varietal qualities of the crop.

Preparing for winter

To prepare the crop for winter, you need to stop watering the tree from August. In the last days of September, remove all the fruits and cut off the green tops of the shoots. This operation causes the plants to direct their forces to the maturation of the wood.

Mature trees hibernate without shelter. And annual plants and young seedlings need protection, they need to be wrapped using burlap or agrofibre. Also, the trunk circle should be mulched with humus, while retreating from the trunk 10 centimeters.

Possible diseases and pests

According to the description, the variety shows excellent resistance to diseases inherent in the culture, but this phenomenon does not exclude the risk of infection of the Ideal walnut.

Common diseases:

Brown spotting. You can diagnose this problem by dark brown spots on foliage, ovaries, branches. The fruits begin to rot. Treatment involves the removal and subsequent elimination of all damaged parts of the plant. To combat the fungus, spray the trees with fungicides.
Bacteriosis. The disease is manifested by dark spots on the foliage, which provoke deformation of the leaf plate, as well as falling fruits. For the purpose of treatment and prevention, treat the plants using copper sulfate.
Root cancer. The infection damages the root system, due to which the tree stops growing and does not form fruits. Control measures are to remove growths on the roots and bark. After the procedure, smear the sections with caustic soda and rinse with water.

Of the pests dangerous for the Ideal walnut variety, the warty mite, nut moth are considered. Such parasites should be controlled by treating trees with insecticidal and acaricidal preparations.

Features of landing in different regions of Russia

Walnut Ideal recommended for cultivation in Central Russia. The prevailing temperate continental climate is not terrible for trees of this variety, they steadfastly withstand all weather conditions.

It is important when landing in the northern areas to choose a flat, not shaded place, avoiding lowlands. It is better to land in an open area with protection from the wind.

Harvesting and storage of crops

Harvesting the walnut variety Ideal when the green shell cracks. Send the collected fruits to the basement for 7 days, this will allow you to quickly and easily remove the nuts from the softened, blackened pericarp. Rinse the peeled fruits in water and dry in the sun.

Knowing all the pros and cons of the variety, its description and characteristics, as well as how to properly plant and care, you can grow a he althy Ideal walnut tree that will delight you with fruits even in adverse conditions.And the harvest will bring memories of warm days in the cold season.