What is the name of sea buckthorn crossed with red currant. Shepherdia is a tasty and healthy berry. Sea buckthorn varieties for cultivation in Russia
A promising migrant from the North American prairies to the Russian expanses is the silver shepherdia - Shepherdia argentea. Together with its related sea buckthorn and sucker, sheferdia forms the sucker family. The genus Shepherdia itself includes only three species: Silver Shepherdia (Shepherdia argentea), Canadian Shepherdia (Shepherdia canadensis), Round-leaved Shepherdia (Shepherdia rotundifolia).
Shepherdia canadensis — shepherdia canadensis
In the wild, vice grows in forests, along rivers and lakes in Canada and the USA north of Kansas, to Alaska. A spreading shrub about 1.5 m high, with brown shoots without thorns, blooms in April - before the leaves bloom. The plant is dioecious. The flowers are yellowish, barely noticeable during this period. Shiny gray-green leaves are ovoid, up to 5 cm long, silvery only on the underside, located oppositely on the shoot. Yellowish-red drupes, about 6 mm long, have a sweet and sour taste, sometimes slightly bitter. The fruits contain up to 250 mg% of vitamin C, up to 20% sugars, 3% organic acids, a lot of carotene, as well as tannins.
In GBS since 1967, 2 samples (3 copies) were grown from seeds obtained from Edmond (England) and natural habitats. At 8 years old, height 1.9 m, crown diameter 160 cm plant grows from mid-April to late October. The growth rate is average. Blooms in late April - early May. Fruits in 7 years, the fruits ripen in early August.
The shrub is unpretentious, drought-resistant and winter-hardy (in St. Petersburg it is winter-hardy and blooms). When planted in an open area, the shoots develop well. The bush will take on a beautiful shape. If necessary, sanitary pruning is carried out, the shrub tolerates a haircut well. Propagated by seeds, green cuttings, root offspring and grafting on sea buckthorn. Sowing seeds is carried out in the fall "before winter". When spring sowing requires cold stratification at a temperature close to 0 degrees for 2-3 months. It has been cultivated in America since 1759. Large-fruited varieties and a decorative form "Xanthocarpa" (Xanthocarpa) with bright yellow fruits were obtained. Can be used for ornamental plantings in contrast to flowering shrubs and conifers. Promising for the creation of sheared hedges.
Canadian Shepherdia does not have nutritionally valuable fruits.
Shepherdia berries serve as food for some wild animals, primarily for bears.
Shepherdia rotundifolia — Shepherdia rotundifolia
Shepherdia rotundifolia is not winter-hardy enough
Shepherdia argentea- Shepherdia silver
The name of the new botanical genus was given in honor of the director of the Liverpool Botanical Gardens, Shepherd, and the specific name emphasizes the characteristic appearance of the plant, the leaves of which are covered with silvery scales. At home, the plant is most often referred to as a bison berry - buffaloberry (buffaloberry).
The name is due to the fact that both the bison themselves and the people who used them to prepare pemmican, traditional Indian canned food, consisting of a mixture of dried meat of the same bison and shepherdia fruits, ate Shepherdia berries. Among other native names, one can point to such as Nebraska currant (for branches densely covered with fruits similar to red currants), rabbit berry (for red, like the eyes of rabbits, fruit color), crucified berry (for the cruciform arrangement of branches), silver leaf ( for the characteristic shade of the leaves), bullberry (similar to bison and eating beef with Shepherd's jelly). In our country, for its resemblance to the closely related sea buckthorn, shepherdia is sometimes called American sea buckthorn.
Shepherdia silver grows as a tree-like shrub, reaching a height of 4-6 m in adulthood. Shoots with spines, first silvery, then gray-brown. The leaves are opposite, narrowly elliptical or oblong-lanceolate, silvery on both sides due to stellate hairs. The flowers are unisexual, small, yellowish, with a simple petalless perianth, which has four lobes. Plants are dioecious, i.e. there are both female and male specimens, as well as sea buckthorn. During the dormant period, the sex of plants can be distinguished by flower buds: in male plants they are large, spherical, in female plants they are smaller, elongated. Flowering begins early - in April, simultaneously with dogwood. Unlike wind-pollinated sea buckthorn, shepherdia pollen is carried by insects. The fruits are spherical, about half a centimeter in diameter, red, juicy, weighing 0.3-0.8 g, fully ripen in August-September, although they become red from the end of July. For them, botanists have come up with a special name - lohoplodnik, or a nut in hypanthia. The fruits are firmly attached to the branches and do not fall off prematurely.
Shepherdia is unpretentious to soil conditions, tolerates salinity. Due to the presence of nitrogen-fixing nodules on the roots, it can grow even on poor stony soils. Differs in drought resistance, winter hardiness, ecological plasticity. Observations of shepherdia have shown that it grows successfully in Moscow, the Volga region, and Siberia, so that amateurs in all gardening zones can cultivate this plant. True, the natural disasters of recent years are making their own adjustments, violating the natural rhythms of the development of introducers. So, in the east of Ukraine in 2002, after a very dry and hot summer, when there was practically no precipitation in July-August, and September turned out to be rainy, Shepherdia suddenly bloomed and even managed to bear fruit before the onset of autumn frosts. She has a short dormant period, so flowering can be observed not only in autumn, but also during long and strong winter thaws, which, of course, affects fruiting up to its complete absence in some years. On the other hand, shepherdia can give odds to many local fruit crops in terms of frost resistance. In 1999, when at the beginning of May there was the strongest frost in a century, which destroyed the harvest of almost all fruit plants, Shepherdia bore fruit normally.
Fruits contain a lot of sugars, as well as pectins, organic acids and vitamins, which determines their nutritional value. A large amount of vitamins C, P and carotene gives them a therapeutic and prophylactic value. Shepherdia fruits contain dry matter 24.8-29.6%, sugar 10.4-11.5%, organic acids 1.3-2.5%, ascorbic acid 66.9-168.96 mg / 100 g. They sour-sweet with an original aftertaste. Since the taste of fruits improves as sugars accumulate and astringency decreases, one should not rush to eat them. In one of the years, when there were no autumn frosts, they hung until the very winter frosts, acquiring an unsurpassed taste. Everyone who has tried Shepherdia fruits considers them much tastier than sea buckthorn, which many do not like for their “medicinal” taste. Despite the roundness of the branches, which interferes with the harvest, harvesting the fruits is quite simple, with light touches of the fingers or shaking on the film.
They are used fresh or processed. There are indications in the literature on the preparation of jams, jelly, jelly, compotes, mousses and other processed products from them. We prefer to freeze the fruits for later use in the winter-spring period. It is convenient to do this by filling a plastic drink bottle or special containers with clean fresh fruit and then placing them in the freezer. Fruit disposal methods require further study and improvement.
Our observations of the population of Shepherdia seedlings indicate sufficient potential for variability to improve fruit size and quality. At one time, intensive breeding work with sea buckthorn literally before our eyes turned it from a “wild” into an economically important fruit crop. By paying due attention to her American relative, of course, good results can be achieved. Amateur breeders have a very interesting and promising object of work in the face of a bison berry. It would be good to involve another species in crossings - Canadian shepherdia, which does not have thorns. Even more important is the hybridization of shepherdia with sea buckthorn. It would be possible to create hybrids with completely new traits and properties.
Shepherdia is easy to propagate by seeds that are sown in the ground in the fall or after a two-month stratification in the spring. Seedlings begin to bear fruit at the age of five. Among seedlings, the ratio of female and male plants is approximately the same. Since it is possible to determine the sex of a seedling only after it has entered the fruiting season, a slightly larger number of seedlings should be planted, for example, five or six, and then the extra male specimens that are necessary for pollination and do not produce fruits should be removed. When planting only two or three young seedlings, it is likely that they may all be of the same sex.
Seedlings of the required sex can be obtained by propagating approved mother specimens with green cuttings, layering or offspring. The latter are formed when the root system is damaged, although to a lesser extent than in sea buckthorn. Sometimes spring grafting is used with a cutting by the method of ordinary or improved copulation.
The pricklyness of the branches, from the point of view of fruit growers, is a negative sign, but, on the other hand, it allows the use of shepherdia to create impenetrable hedges. In the latter case, the seedlings are planted thickened in one row every 0.5-0.7 m or in two rows in a checkerboard pattern every 0.7-1 m. To reduce the height of the crown and give the hedge the desired shape and density, the plants are sheared and cut. Plants with silvery leaves and bright red fruit beads are highly decorative. In addition, they can be successfully used in phytomeliorative plantations and protective forest belts. As a plant with nitrogen-fixing nodules, shepherdia not only grows on poor soils, but also prepares them for the successful growth of other species. Its bushes in such plantations serve as a shelter for birds and animals and give them food.
In the orchard, the plants are placed in a sunny place at a distance of 1.5-2.5 m from each other, forming in the form of a standard tree. Several female plants and one male are planted. With a lack of space, you can limit yourself to a single female plant by regrafting one of the branches with a cutting from a male pollinator plant. Shepherdia is resistant to diseases and pests and does not need protective treatments with pesticides, which significantly increases the value of the fruit. The harvest from a young tree is 2-5 kg, reaching 10-15 kg of fruit with age.
In addition to tasty and healing fruits, shepherdia has another advantage - it is very decorative. Silvery leaves and bright beads of fruits make it unusually elegant, and if the plants are planted after 0.5-1 m, they will make a very beautiful and impenetrable hedge.
V. MEZHENSKY,
Candidate of Agricultural Sciences, Ukraine
At home, in America, this culture is very popular - they call it a buffalo berry and make incredibly tasty jelly from the fruit. The famous breeder Ivan Michurin brought her to our country. But it still remains a rarity. And in vain. Shepherdia is very unpretentious and incredibly useful!
In nature, there are three types of this berry, but in orchards silver shepherdia is usually grown, which belongs to the sucker family and is the closest relative of sea buckthorn. They are also outwardly similar: a bush 2–6 m high, the same silvery leaves, and typical berries. Only in Shepherdia they are round and red. This plant, like sea buckthorn, is dioecious - it has male and female specimens.
What is the use
Shepherdia fruits contain more sugar and vitamin C than sea buckthorn. So, this is an excellent tool for boosting immunity, preventing colds and flu.
And they are also rich in anthocyanins, which reduce the risk of cancer, carotenoids and kahetins, which are useful for vision - these substances increase the strength and elasticity of the walls of blood vessels, reduce their fragility, and reduce the risk of strokes and heart attacks.
What is the beauty
Shepherdia fruits ripen in August-September and do not fall off for a long time - you don’t have to worry about the harvest. But if the tree is shaken properly, they will crumble - this greatly facilitates cleaning: I put polyethylene under the bush, and shook the berries. Moreover, manually collecting them is not very convenient - the plant is prickly.
The berries are sweet and sour with their original taste and slight astringency, which completely disappears after frost. Most gardeners believe that they are tastier than sea buckthorn, they do not have a "medicinal" smell.
This plant is winter-hardy, drought-resistant, undemanding to soils, can take root in any climate. It is not affected by pests and diseases. On the roots of shepherdia there are nodules in which special bacteria live - they capture nitrogen from the air and give it to the soil.
This culture blooms quite early, in late April - mid-May. And at this time there are frosts. But shepherdia has a wonderful property: the buds do not bloom all at once, so if some flowers are killed, the harvest will be given by others that opened later.
And these trees are incredibly beautiful! Especially when berries appear on them: red beads against the background of silvery foliage - this is unimaginable! It is not for nothing that many plant shepherdia not in an orchard, but in an ornamental one. Or as a hedge - these plants easily tolerate a haircut and eventually form an impenetrable wall.
Landing Rules
Shepherdia's only requirement is an abundance of sun. Therefore, it must be planted in an open place. And it is advisable to avoid areas where water stagnates in spring and after rains.
The garden should have at least two plants: one male and one female. But in general, one “boy” is enough for several “girls”. The distance between them is 1.5 m. If there is not enough space, only a female can be planted, a couple of male branches can be grafted into her crown.
Planting pits are dug with a diameter of 60–70 and a depth of 40–50 cm. Bushes (better than a two-year-old) are planted so that the root collar is at the level
soil. The roots are covered with fertile soil, watered well and mulched with humus or peat with a layer of 3–5 cm.
It is better to plant shepherdia in the spring.
Care tricks
Shepherdia's roots are not deep, so there should be no weeds in the near-trunk circle - they are strong competitors for the bush, they take away all the moisture from it. It is better to weed them out by hand, so as not to damage the roots. Better yet, keep the soil around the plant constantly mulched.
From time to time, a shoot appears in shepherdia and it must be removed. It is undesirable to simply cut off at ground level - there will be even more shoots. It is best to carefully dig the soil around the unwanted shoot, cut it from the horizontal root “to the ring”.
Shepherdia is formed in the form of a tree with a low trunk (30–40 cm). Pruning is carried out annually in October: all vertical shoots are shortened so that the crown height does not exceed 2–2.5 m. Every 3–5 years, all old branches are cut out, leaving only 1–2–3-year-old ones. If this is not done, the yield will decrease, and the berries will be small.
ACADEMIC COUNCIL
Shepherdia can be propagated by seeds, green cuttings, layering. But the easiest way is by root offspring. The strongest of them are chosen (preferably at the age of two), carefully separated from the mother plant and planted in a new place. You can do this both in spring and autumn.
OUR REFERENCE
It is possible to distinguish between male and female shepherdia plants only at rest, when the buds are clearly visible. In "boys" they are large and round, while in "girls" they are small and oblong.
V The first harvest of Shepherdia is given for 3-4 years. From a young tree, you can collect 2-5 kg of berries, and from an adult - 10-15 kg. They make jam, jelly, kissels, compotes and much more. Trees bear fruit annually for 40–50 years.
The article is mainly devoted to sea buckthorn, because one can write about it and its useful and medicinal properties for years and consider only an insignificant part of them. Also in the article you will find information about what kind of plants these are with the exotic names of shepherdia and sucker (the name is not very pleasant, but the plant is very useful).
Sea buckthorn belongs to the genus Hippophae of the Elaeagnaceae family. The genus includes three species. The main species, whose representatives are introduced into the culture, is sea buckthorn (H. Rhamnaides L).
Origin.
Wild sea buckthorn grows in most of Europe and Asia and almost throughout Russia, excluding only the northernmost regions. Sea buckthorn was cultivated for cultivation in gardens almost only in the 20th century. Before that, on the territory of Russia, its wild varieties and species were successfully used on the territory of Siberia, which is mentioned in the most diverse literature, including medical books, even dating back to the 18th century.
Nutritional and medicinal value.
We will tell you more about the beneficial and healing properties of sea buckthorn in the second part of this article, below. We will only mention here that sea buckthorn is truly a "storehouse" of vitamins (for example, the content of vitamin "C" reaches 450 mg /% and up to 10-11% carotene) and useful substances, a wide variety of macro and microelements. It contains sugars (on average 3-5%), pectins, acids (on average 1.5%) and a lot of other substances that are beneficial to the health of not only humans, but also animals, on the basis of which it is often used not only in “human” medicine. , but also veterinary medicine (the first mention of the use of sea buckthorn in veterinary medicine is already found in ancient Greece, where it was used to treat horses, which were valued then, worth their weight in gold). The pulp of sea buckthorn berries can contain up to 15% fatty oil containing vitamins "F" and "E", carotenoids.
The processing of sea buckthorn berries is a wide field for the creativity of any hostess or herbalist. Berries are canned, dried, syrups and oils are prepared from them, as well as all kinds of tinctures, jams, wine according to the most exotic recipes.
Juice or tincture of sea buckthorn berries is widely used to eliminate the effects of beriberi.
But the most valuable of all the products obtained from sea buckthorn is, of course, its healing oil, famous throughout the world (for the recipe for making sea buckthorn oil, see below in the text).
They treat burns and frostbite, it promotes sore healing of wounds and eczema, is an excellent remedy for pain of various origins. Candles from sea buckthorn oil are one of the best remedies for hemorrhoids and prostatitis, even with a chronic course, it provides significant relief. It is also used in the treatment of coronary heart disease and atherosclerosis, eliminating the consequences of radiation injuries. The leaves and bark of sea buckthorn also have medicinal properties - the leaves help to cure rheumatism, gout, and the infusion of the bark helps very well with dysentery.
Morphological and biological features.
Sea buckthorn is a small tree or rather a large tree-like shrub. Almost all varieties of sea buckthorn do not exceed 3.5-4 meters in height. The diameter of the plant along the crown is most often about 1.5 - 2 meters.
Sea buckthorn has three types of shoots - gerative, mixed and growth.
The plant is bisexual, dioecious. Male and female (pistillate) flowers are formed on different bushes. Sexual differences in plants are not distinguishable until the onset of fruiting and the formation of color buds, which occurs approximately at the 3rd year of the plant's life - then it becomes clear that the female sea buckthorn plant has single flowers, while the male produces flowers collected in inflorescences from several (from 2-6 up to 10-12).
The fruit of sea buckthorn (berries) is a false juicy achene. The mass of 100 fruits in wild-growing sea buckthorn does not exceed 4 grams, while in cultivated varieties - up to 80-100 g. The root system is weakly branching, located at a depth of 0.5-1.0 m from the surface. It has been established that nodule bacteria live on the roots of sea buckthorn, supplying the tree with nitrogen.
Sea buckthorn blooms in May, fruits ripen 90-100 days after flowering.
Sea buckthorn, like many other tree-like bushes, can be successfully grown on poor, unfertilized lands, but it reacts very sharply, in a negative direction, to high standing groundwater and high soil moisture (as well as, for example, an ordinary cherry grown in a garden). Excellent results can be achieved by growing sea buckthorn on well-ventilated, carbonate soils.
Sea buckthorn is well winter-hardy - without tangible damage, most of its varieties tolerate frosts of -50 degrees.
Sea buckthorn varieties for cultivation in Russia
For the most part, varieties of selection from the Research Institute of Horticulture of Siberia and the Novosibirsk Fruit and Berry Experimental Station are grown in industrial plantations. According to the ripening period, sea buckthorn varieties are divided into early, middle and late.
Early varieties of sea buckthorn:
Vitamin, Gift of Katun, Golden cob, News of Altai, Nugget, Chuiskaya.
Varieties of medium maturity:
Giant, Golden Siberia, Zyryanka, Katunskaya-24, Oilseed, Abundant, Orange, Popular, Excellent.
Late varieties (according to some herbalists the most pleasant):
Vladimirka, Otradnaya, Gift to the garden.
The largest fruits (0.7-0.8 and up to 1.0 g) are varieties Velikan, Golden Siberia, Abundant, Gift to the garden, Excellent. In terms of yield (up to 20-25 kg / tree), the varieties Dar Katun, Golden Cob, Abile, Popular are distinguished.
Planting sea buckthorn in the garden.
The best planting time in the south is autumn, and in the center and north-west of Russia - spring (early dates), before bud break. Landing is carried out in pits 30-35 cm deep, filled with a mixture of sand, humus and earth in a ratio of 1:1:1.
In the garden, sea buckthorn seedlings are usually planted, which are 1 or 2 years old.
In order for sea buckthorn seedlings to take root better, water them for one or two months at least once a week.
It has been grown for several centuries specifically for the manufacture of various medicinal sea buckthorn oils, tinctures, and everyone can tell about the extraordinary taste of tea from this berry. In addition, the bushes of the plant have a fairly nice neat appearance and can be a good decoration. Not so long ago, a very close relative was brought from North America -. The plant, nicknamed red sea buckthorn, is in no way inferior to the usual one for us, but it looks even prettier and is well suited for use in.
Description and photo
Shepherdia It is customary to name one of the three genera of the family. In fact, this family also includes itself. Shepherdia is a small prickly or non-prickly, whose height reaches 4 meters. This is a dioecious plant, the genus of which the experienced have learned to distinguish by flower buds. In male bushes they are round and large, while in female bushes they are sharp and small.
The plant has small oblong leaves up to 7 centimeters long with fine fluff. It blooms even before the leaves themselves bloom in the second half of April, the inflorescences are small and.
Location and lighting
In general, the plant will adapt quickly to the landing site. It is worth considering that the "bullberry" loves the sunny side. If the American sea buckthorn gets enough light and heat, it will definitely "thank" you, as this will contribute to bright abundant flowering, and later the harvest will be better and sweeter.
A strong wind and even a draft will not affect the tree in any way. In addition, if it is reasonable to plant a shrub on the site, it will protect the estate from gusts of wind, making the place quiet, comfortable and secluded. 
Soil Requirements
For proper cultivation and effective further care of shepherdia, it is worth taking care of a suitable soil content. The plant can live on different: rocky, sandy and even saline lands. should be loose so that the roots have the opportunity to be enriched with oxygen and other nutrients. It is desirable that it be fruitful, so the chances of growing a beautiful tree are much higher.
Scheme of planting seedlings
Planting American sea buckthorn is very simple. It is better to do this (in April), so that the young plant has time to take root well and get stronger before the onset of winter cold.
Consider the step-by-step instructions for planting a bullberry:
- We choose a quality seedling at the age of 1-1.5 years.
- pit, the depth of which is up to 40 centimeters.
- We add sand there to make it softer, as well as fertilizer (the presence of these components together with the earth should be in a ratio of 1: 1: 1).
- Carefully remove the seedling from the container so as not to disturb the root system of the plant.
- We immerse the shepherd in the pit and sprinkle.
- From above, the tree is not too plentiful with water.
Seedlings are recommended to be placed at a distance of 20-40 centimeters from each other. After planting shepherdia, moisturizing will be the most important component of care. young seedlings of American sea buckthorn are recommended regularly twice a week and for at least three months from the moment of planting. Sufficient water will have a good effect on growth and development. Reproduction methods
Successful reproduction of silver shepherdia is possible, as in other plants, by seeds and vegetatively. The main thing is to approach this matter responsibly and do everything right.
Reproduction by seeds - the most laborious and longest way. In this case, the first color and fruits of the "bull berry" will please not soon - in 4-5 years. Despite this, seeds are an effective form of propagation, and they deserve the right to exist. The algorithm is the following:
- in October / November, holes are made in open ground up to 3 centimeters deep;
- seeds are laid in these recesses and sprinkled;
- for the cold period, the landing site is covered with snow.
Vegetative methods
There are several vegetative ways of propagating American sea buckthorn. This is the detachment of the root processes and, of course, cuttings.
The first type is that in the third year of life shepherdia she has a root offspring, located at a distance of 2 meters from the main one, and it can be separated from the mother tree. Such still small plants are planted in the same way as ordinary seedlings.
The second species is probably the most popular breeding method, with a significant advantage. The stalk is good because when choosing it, you can immediately distinguish the male plant from the female. This is a very significant factor in gardening.
Propagation by cuttings is done as follows:
- in early spring, green cuttings with 2-4 buds up to 15 centimeters long are chosen;
- carefully cut these branches;
- put the cuttings in a solution of a biostimulating substance for a day;
- the next day, indentations up to 4 centimeters are made in sandy-peat soil and cuttings are planted there;
- it is better to insulate the soil from above with a film;
- by the middle, young shrubs will already be well developed and ready for transplanting to a permanent place.
Rules for the care of "red sea buckthorn"
American sea buckthorn care consists in loosening the soil, fertilizing and pruning the tree.
"Mature" trees are possible, but not at all necessary. Usually shepherdia has enough natural moisture, the plant needs additional only in hot, dry times.
Loosening the soil and getting rid of weeds is very important for foreign sea buckthorn. It should be done every two months.
You can fertilize the plant once a year, introducing substances rich in calcium, magnesium, like ordinary trees.
The plant is necessary for its accuracy and attractiveness. This process depends on your desires and imagination. In order to make it easier to harvest, you can limit the growth of the crown
They sit in very dense groups, almost sticking to the branches, which is why this plant got its name.
The family of suckers ( Elaegnaceae) surprisingly rich in variety. It combines 3 types: goof ( Eleagnus) , Shepherdia ( Shepherdia) and sea buckthorn ( Hippophae) distributed in Europe, Asia and North America. These are evergreen deciduous trees and shrubs, both dioecious (sea buckthorn, sheferdia) and monoecious (suckers), all similar and different, but they are all one family - suckers. All parts of plants: shoots, leaves, flowers and fruits are covered with thick silvery stellate scales. All three genera are characterized by the presence of root nodules with nitrogen-fixing bacteria that enrich the soil with available nitrogen, due to which suckers not only can grow on very nutrient-poor soils, but also prepare them for the successful growth of other species.
The most famous fruit crop that the sucker family gave us is sea buckthorn, the “golden fruits” of which have long attracted human attention. They sit in very dense groups, almost sticking to the branches, which is why this plant got its name. Three types of sea buckthorn are known. Widely used in culture Hippophaë rhamnoides) . This is a tall, up to 3.5 m dioecious bush or tree with a dense spreading crown of irregular shape and thorny shoots. Sea buckthorn fruits are juicy golden-yellow and orange-red drupes with a shiny skin. The pulp of the fruit has a pleasant sweetish-sour taste and unique aroma, for which the berries of this crop are called "northern pineapple". Sea buckthorn berries are not only tasty, but also extremely nutritious and healing. It is the richest source of natural vitamins, sugars and pectin substances. In terms of vitamin E content, sea buckthorn surpasses all known berries and fruits. It contains more carotene (provitamin A) than carrots and it is well absorbed, vitamin C -100-200 mg / 100 g. Sea buckthorn fruits have been used for medical purposes for a long time. The main medicinal preparation is sea buckthorn oil. Sea buckthorn is a winter-hardy and light-loving crop. Grows best in well aerated calcareous soils.
In the Botanical Garden of Moscow State University, for several decades, work has been carried out on the selection of large-fruited varieties of sea buckthorn. The Vorobyovskaya, Botanicheskaya, Krasnoplodnaya and Nevelena varieties have the largest and most decorative fruits. These varieties have a weak roundness of shoots.
But if sea buckthorn is known to everyone, then its closest relative Shepherdia silver ( Shepherdia argentea ) is still quite a rare guest in garden plots and is more common in botanical gardens, although this plant has no less advantages. Its homeland is the West of North America. Americans have long appreciated it as a fruit plant, which they called the bison berry, or Nebraska currant. They collect fruits and make jelly out of them. In Russia, sheferdia was introduced into culture by I.V. Michurin.
silver shepherdia- a beautiful spreading dioecious shrub. In Moscow and the Moscow region, it grows up to 2.5 m. Shoots with thorns, first silvery, then gray-brown. Male and female specimens of fruit-bearing plants can only be distinguished by their buds. In male plants they are large, rounded, in female plants they are small, pointed. Flowering begins early, in April, before the leaves appear. Male flowers are collected in short spikelets, female flowers are usually solitary. The flowers are yellow, covered with silvery scales, resistant to frost. Blooms for 10 days.
The fruits are rounded or ovoid drupes, up to 10 mm in diameter, red, juicy, sweet and sour, with an original taste reminiscent of red currants. The fruits are harvested in late October-early November after the first frosts, although they begin to ripen from the end of July. Shepherdia fruits are a pantry of vitamins. In terms of sugar content and vitamin C content (more than 250 mg / 100 g), sheferdia is several times superior to its relative sea buckthorn. Used fresh and dried for making jams, juices, compotes and tinctures.
The presence of thorny branches, good tolerance for shearing, low branching and dense crown allows the use of shepherdia to create impenetrable hedges. In the latter case, the plants are planted thickened in one row every 0.5-0.7 m. To reduce the height of the crown and give the hedge the desired shape and density, the plants are sheared and cut. Plants with silvery leaves and bright red fruit beads are highly decorative. In addition, they can be successfully used in phytomeliorative plantations and protective forest belts. This plant is frost-resistant and undemanding to growing conditions.
And the largest species in the family is the goof genus, which has about 50 species. They mainly grow in the temperate latitudes of Asia and the Mediterranean. Loh was introduced into culture in ancient times and to some extent replaced dates for the peoples of Central Asia.
The most famous in culture is Goof narrow-leaved ( Eleagnus angustifolia) . Under natural conditions, the narrow-leaved sucker grows along the banks of rivers in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Northern China. Under the conditions of the middle lane, it grows as a tall bush - from 3 to 5 m tall, or, as in nature, as a tree. Run with thorns. It got its name from the oblong shape of the leaves. They are very pleasant to the touch, soft, grayish green above and silvery white below. The flowers are very fragrant, orange-yellow inside and silvery outside. The duration of flowering is 15-20 days.
The narrow-leaved sucker begins to bear fruit from 5-6 years. Abundant drupes have an ellipsoidal shape, 14 mm long, 10 mm wide. At first, the fruits are light green in color, with numerous silvery scales, hardly noticeable among the foliage. By the time of ripening, at the end of September, the fruits acquire a yellow-brown, olive color and are no longer covered with scales. The pulp of the fruit is not juicy, but mealy, crumbly, sweet. It may not seem tasty to everyone, but it is nutritious: it contains up to 60% sugars, 10% proteins, up to 45 mg / 100 g of vitamin C, potassium and phosphorus salts. Due to the low water content, the fruits keep well fresh. The fruiting loja tree produces 6-8 kg of fruit. The fruits of the narrow-leaved sucker are used raw and as a seasoning for various dishes. They are used to make compotes, cereals. Delicious sweet confectionery products are baked from flour, to which the pulp of the fruit of the sucker is mixed, which do not stale for a long time. In folk medicine, the fruits of loja are used as a tonic and tonic, for cardiovascular and gastrointestinal diseases. A decoction of the leaves is used for colds and fever.
This plant well withstands the conditions of strong smoke and air pollution, has phytoncidal properties. Due to a well-developed root system and the ability to form adventitious roots, the narrow-leaved sucker is suitable for strengthening the soil on slopes. It is also used when creating hedges, roadside protective strips. The sucker is quite heat-resistant and winter-hardy and tolerates frosts down to -30º C.
To create calm compositions in silver tones, a good choice would be Goof silver ( Eleagnus argentea)
. Its height does not exceed 4 m, its leaves are ovate, leathery, silvery on both sides. Before leaf fall, they do not change their color. At home, in North America, it is also called a silver berry, and for its resemblance to an olive, it is also called a wild olive. At the end of May - June, the sucker blooms, and a pleasant aroma, which is spread by small, bell-like flowers (yellow inside, silver outside), is felt for several meters. Flowering lasts 2-3 weeks, and all this time the smell does not weaken and attracts bees. In August-September, silvery fruits ripen - oval or rounded, about 1 cm in size. They are edible, but their flesh is dry, mealy and fresh in taste. For harvesting for the future, they are ground with sugar and some sour fruits are added, since sucker berries are sweet. In addition to making jam, goof is salted or pickled, getting a product that looks like olives. Lough is a monoecious plant, so one bush is enough to set fruits. The plant grows slowly - the annual growth is about 10cm. At the age of 15 years, specimens have a height of about 2.5 m. The life of the plant is up to 80 years. When planting a sucker, choose a sunny place for it. It is not afraid of the wind, so it can grow in windy areas, withstands slight shading. It is not picky about soil fertility and acidity level - it prefers loams and sandy loams, but grows on any soils, including stony ones. Tolerates relative drought and periods of spring flooding, slightly salinized soil. The plant is quite winter hardy. The silver sucker is beautiful as a tapeworm and in groups, in contrasting compositions (with dark conifers or red-leaved plants). When planting in groups, it is necessary to take into account the diameter of the crown of each plant, in the sucker it reaches 2.5-2.8 m. In decorative compositions, the silver sucker is a universal plant and is combined with almost the entire natural color palette.
Loch multiflorous (Elaeagnus multiflora) or gummi in a wide culture is not as well known as the previous species. It is a one and a half meter shrub with oblong-oval leaves, the upper side of which is dark green and shiny, and the reverse side is matte with a silvery-metallic sheen.
The birthplace of gummi is central China, where it has long been revered as a magical, mysterious plant that gives strength and rejuvenates the body. Gummi is very decorative during flowering, its flowers are elongated, bell-shaped with a surprisingly pleasant and unique aroma that attracts bees, so gummi is also an excellent honey plant. It starts fruiting at 3-5 years. The fruits are bright red, covered with silvery dots, in appearance resemble dogwood. They begin to ripen already in mid - late July, sometimes at the end of August, if the summer is cool and rainy. Usually the shape of the fruit is cylindrical, up to 2 cm long and about 1 cm in diameter. They "sit" on thin long stalks. Inside each fruit there is a stone with a striated surface. Gummi tastes sweet and sour, pleasantly refreshing, especially in conditions of lack of moisture. The taste of the fruit resembles a ripe persimmon or fig. Gummi fruits can be eaten fresh (as a dessert), frozen and decorated with them in winter dishes, as well as dried and used in decoctions or infusions. Many delicious products can be prepared from the fruits of the many-flowered sucker: jam, sweet jelly, rich juices and strong pleasant wines. In total, 17 amino acids were found in fruits, including 7 essential ones. Vitamin C in the leaves is several times more than in the well-known blackcurrant. Therefore, developments are currently underway to produce therapeutic herbal teas for the prevention of acute respiratory infections and influenza. Planting gummi is best on the south side. The plant does not tolerate acidic soils. The shrub begins to bear fruit already at the age of five, giving up to 4 kg of berries from the bush.