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Rowan is most often used for growing for decorative purposes, since its fruits are practically inedible when fresh. But today, breeders have obtained many cultivated varietal rowan trees with sweeter fruits. Liqueur rowan is one of the cultivated varieties that are popular among gardeners.
Description of mountain ash Lickernaya
Rowan Lickernaya is considered the brainchild of I.V. Michurin. He created this variety by crossing the common rowan with chokeberry, otherwise called chokeberry. True, for a long time the variety was considered irretrievably lost, until it could not be restored. So it is still 100% unclear whether it is a complete copy of the liqueur mountain ash that Michurin managed to obtain. Or is it just some kind of mountain ash, obtained much later, which is successfully promoted and sold, using Michurin’s name to attract buyers. Further in the article you can find a description of the rowan liqueur variety with photos and reviews from gardeners.
It has the shape of a medium-sized tree, growing up to 5 m in height. The diameter of the crown can reach 4 m.Rowan liqueur is distinguished by a fairly rapid rate of growth and development; per year the growth is about 25-30 cm. The tree looks quite impressive, having an almost regular oval crown shape, although slightly sparse.
The odd-pinnate dark green leaves are arranged alternately on the branches. In autumn, the leaves turn all shades of yellow, orange and red, making the tree even more attractive.
Small white-pink flowers are collected in dense corymbose inflorescences. The diameter of the inflorescences reaches 10 cm. The flowering of rowan berries of this variety can be observed at the very end of spring or at the beginning of summer.
The fruits are spherical, dark purple, almost black in color. They slightly resemble the fruits of chokeberry. The ripening period occurs around mid-September. The weight of one fruit is about 1 g, size – 12-15 mm. The cross-section of the fruit pulp of the rowan liqueur is shown in the photo; it is sweetish, with a slight tart aftertaste.
The table below shows the composition of rowan fruits of this variety.
Sugar | 10, 8% |
Cellulose | 2.7 g/100 g |
Vitamin C | 15 mg/100 g |
Carotene | 2 mg/100 g |
Organic acids | 1,3% |
The berries can be kept fresh for up to one month.
This variety requires cross-pollination for good fruiting. This means that other varieties of rowan must grow nearby. The best variety for cross-pollination is Burka and other varieties of Nevezhin rowan.
Rowan liqueur is characterized by high winter hardiness (zone 3 b).
The fruits are well suited for making jam, richly colored compotes, as well as a variety of wines, liqueurs and liqueurs.
Pros and cons of the variety
The advantages of this variety of rowan include:
- attractive wood look;
- high frost resistance;
- moderate drought resistance;
- dessert taste of fruits, without bitterness.
Planting and caring for rowan Lickernaya
Rowan liqueur is in the most related relationship with such famous fruit trees as apple and pear. Therefore, planting and caring for trees are very similar in their agricultural technology.
Preparing the landing site
It is better to choose a sunny place for planting a fruit tree. Although the plants can tolerate partial shade, they will bear fruit worse in such conditions.
This variety of rowan does not have any special requirements for soil, although it is better to avoid excessively heavy soils with excessive moisture. Saline soils will also not be the best option for it. The best yields can be achieved when planting the tree in well-drained, loamy, fertile soil with a slightly acidic or neutral reaction.
Landing rules
Considering the good resistance of this rowan to cold, it can be planted in the ground in a permanent place in two terms. Either in early spring, before the buds open, or in the fall, after all the leaves fly off.
The roots of the tree are located quite close to the surface, so the planting hole must be prepared not so much deep as wide. That is, the depth of the planting hole can be 60 cm, with a diameter of 100 cm. Before planting a tree with an open root system, it is soaked in a bucket of water a day before the process itself.
Then the roots of the seedling are placed in the prepared hole, straightened and carefully covered with the removed soil mixture. For better tree development, you can add wood ash, sand and compost or humus to the soil mixture.
If several rowan trees are planted, then the distance between them should be at least 4-5 m.
It is customary to mulch the root zone with available organic material: rotted sawdust, mown hay, straw or tree bark. This will help retain moisture at the roots, protect against the most aggressive weeds and provide additional nutrition. In addition, due to the shallow location of the root system, loosening may not be a safe procedure for the tree's roots. And mulching will take over all its functions.
Watering and fertilizing
In the first few years after planting, young trees need regular but moderate watering. This especially needs to be done during the hot and dry summer period. Mature trees over 5 years old no longer need additional watering, except during periods of extreme drought.
Fertilizers are usually applied when planting mountain ash. In addition to a bucket of humus, it needs 500 g of superphosphate, 1000 g of wood ash or 250 g of potash fertilizer per tree. In the future, fertilizing is carried out once a year in the spring. You can use both organic and mineral fertilizers.
Trimming
For rowan liqueur, all types of pruning are performed in early spring. Moreover, this needs to be done as early as possible, because the buds of these plants wake up quite early, already in April.
In the first years after planting, formative pruning is especially important. It is necessary to shorten or cut off all branches that thicken the crown, as well as those growing at an acute angle to the trunk.This will avoid future trunk fractures and increase the illumination of the central part of the crown. Which in turn will lead to increased productivity.
At an older age, thinning and rejuvenating pruning is carried out. After these procedures, the trees need additional care: fertilizing, regular watering, and mulching.
Sanitary pruning should be carried out annually, trying to promptly remove dry, damaged, diseased and rubbing branches.
Rowan shoots grow and ripen quickly, so even after severe pruning there should be no problems with their ripening by winter.
Preparing for winter
Rowan liqueur can withstand frosts down to -40 °C and therefore does not need special shelter for the winter. It is much more important to protect young plantings from damage by rodents and hares, as well as from possible sunburn in early spring. To do this, the trunk is whitened in the fall using a special garden composition and, in addition, it can be wrapped in burlap to protect it from small mammals.
Pollination
As mentioned above, rowan of this variety is practically a self-fertile tree. Therefore, for good harvests, she needs several trees of other varieties growing nearby. Rowan varieties such as Rubinovaya, Kubovaya, Daughter Kubovaya, Burka will play their role well.
Harvesting
The fruits begin to ripen approximately 4-5 years after planting. They are able to stay on branches for a long time. But birds love to feast on them. Therefore, sweet varieties of rowan, which includes liqueur, are recommended to be collected as quickly as possible, even before frost.
From one tree you can collect up to 20 kg of berries.
Diseases and pests
If certain care rules are not followed, primarily high humidity, rowan ash trees may suffer from fruit rot, brown spot and powdery mildew. To prevent these diseases, in early spring they are treated with copper-containing preparations or biological agents, for example, Fitosporin.
Some insects are also not averse to feasting on the leaves and young shoots of rowan, for example, the moth. To protect against insects, spraying with insecticides is used. To keep the fruits edible, it is better to use biological agents, like Fitoverm.
Reproduction
Rowan liqueur, if desired, can be propagated by all possible means. The seed method is too labor-intensive and does not allow preserving the original properties of the mother plant.
Layers can be used if there are branches growing low from the surface of the ground. In this case, they are tilted, dug in, and after the roots appear, they are separated from the mother plant.
Green cuttings are cut and rooted during flowering. The percentage of rooting is small, ranging from 15 to 45%.
The easiest way to propagate a plant is by grafting. But this procedure must first be learned. Rowan seedlings usually act as rootstocks. It is advisable to use the sweeter Nevezhin and Moravian varieties.
Conclusion
Liqueur rowan is an interesting variety that inspires many gardeners. It is distinguished by its unpretentiousness and abundant fruit harvest if suitable conditions for cross-pollination are created.
