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Swedish rowan can become a real decoration for a dacha. It looks great at any time of the year: in spring it pleases with snow-white inflorescences, in summer with green leaves with a silvery tint, in autumn with crimson shades, in winter with clusters of scarlet berries. The plant goes well with deciduous and coniferous trees and can itself become a background for decorative flowers and shrubs. It is also resistant to unfavorable conditions, grows well anywhere, and caring for it is not difficult, you just need to know the peculiarities of growing Swedish rowan, which is also called intermediate, or Scandinavian.
Description of intermediate rowan (Swedish)
The plant grows in the wild in Scandinavia and Europe; it looks like a tree reaching a height of 15 m, or like a bush. The trunk of the plant is smooth, gray, short. The crown is oval or pyramidal in shape with a diameter of up to 5 m. The older the tree becomes, the more rounded its crown. While the shoots are young, they have pubescence; later they become naked. The leaves of the Swedish intermediate rowan are pinnately lobed, similar to oak leaves, and pinnately felt underneath.In autumn the foliage turns red. The flowering of the crop begins in early summer. The photo of Swedish rowan shows that its inflorescences look in the form of white, thick shields.
The fruits have a sweet and sour pulp; there is no bitterness in them. The brushes are able to stay on the branches until winter. Intermediate mountain ash bears fruit annually. The berries are valued for their taste; they are collected for preparing preparations - jam, compotes, freezing.
Pros and cons of the variety
Swedish rowan (intermediate) has a number of positive properties. Its advantages include:
- unpretentiousness to cultivation;
- frost and drought resistance;
- easy tolerance to smoke and air pollution;
- fast growth;
- decorativeness;
- the presence of medicinal properties of intermediate rowan berries;
- resistance to fungal diseases;
- high taste qualities of fruits.
The variety has few disadvantages:
- the crop is not a shade-tolerant tree;
- does not take root well on soils with high groundwater levels;
- does not tolerate saline soils.
Planting and caring for Swedish rowan
The plant is propagated by layering and root shoots. It does not require special care; regular watering is important. For planting a tree, well-lit areas are chosen; the composition of the soil does not play a special role, but, ideally, Swedish mountain ash prefers drained loams, light moist soil with the addition of lime. The annual growth of the tree is about 40 cm in height and 30 cm in width. To accelerate development, intermediate rowan should be fed with fertilizers for fruit trees in the third year of life.
Preparing the landing site
Judging by the description, Swedish rowan is a tall tree when mature, so the optimal place for planting it would be the border of the garden.To prevent the crown from shading the space, it is planted on the north side of the site. A tree can grow in one place for up to 120 years, so it’s worth thinking in advance where to place it. It is unpretentious to growing conditions, but grows much better in fertile, moist soils. To plant intermediate mountain ash, it is worth preparing a hole in advance. Its size must correspond to the root system. Most often, the depth is no more than 80 cm. The width of the planting hole is more than 1 m, since the roots of Swedish mountain ash branch out and develop the upper layers of soil, rich in nutrients. The walls of the pit are made vertical, the bottom is loosened by 15 cm, and drainage is laid.
Landing rules
The best time for planting Swedish rowan (intermediate) is autumn or early spring, before the buds begin to swell. A number of rules must be followed:
- in order to increase the yield of Swedish intermediate rowan, despite its self-fertility, it is advisable to purchase several varieties;
- holes are dug at a distance of 8 m from each other;
- add ash, superphosphate and a bucket of three-year-old manure humus to them;
- install the seedling in the center so that the roots do not bend or rest against the walls;
- long roots are shortened somewhat;
- the root collar is located above the soil surface;
- the hole is filled with soil mixture and filled with water;
- install a support peg;
- form a landing mound to retain water;
- mulch the soil around the trunk of the Swedish rowan (intermediate).
Watering and fertilizing
The first time after planting, Swedish rowan seedlings need to be provided with regular watering, especially in hot weather. Mulching the tree trunk circle will help conserve and retain moisture in the soil. Feeding is carried out starting from the third year of life.In the spring, before the flowering of intermediate rowan, it is recommended to apply 15 g of nitrogen and potassium and 25 g of phosphorus fertilizers for each square meter of tree trunk circle. In the fall, after picking berries, it is necessary to fertilize with phosphorus and potassium. Fertilizers are scattered over the surface and embedded to a depth of 15 cm.
Trimming
In order not to harm the intermediate rowan, pruning the bush must be carried out correctly so that it contributes to abundant fruiting, as well as the prevention of diseases.
The summer procedure is tolerated by plants better than the spring procedure. It is carried out on a dry, sunny day to prevent fungal infections from entering the wounds. The sections are treated with garden varnish.
In the Swedish mountain ash, the lower branches are removed in a circle 50 cm from the ground, the skeletal branches are shortened, and the conductor is cut so that it is 25 cm longer than the skeletal ones. With the help of such manipulations, the crown of the tree is formed and the growth of new shoots is stimulated.
In autumn, pruning is not recommended, since the plant is preparing for winter and additional trauma leads to its weakening.
Gardeners recommend pruning in February. Trees that are at least three years old and already frost-resistant are suitable for this. Remove damaged, weak branches or crowns that are out of shape. Their shortening is carried out to the last external bud. A heavily thickened crown should be thinned out, and rowan trees with weak growth should undergo rejuvenating pruning. In addition, it is necessary to constantly remove root growth.
Preparing for winter
Swedish rowan (intermediate) is frost-resistant, so it does not require special preparation for winter. The exception is young autumn seedlings that have not had time to grow stronger.Their root system should be hilled up by pouring a mound 20 cm high, and the trunk circle should be insulated with a layer of leaves and spruce branches.
For adult plants, preparation for winter involves removing fallen leaves, and along with them, insect pests, as well as mulching the tree trunk circle.
Pollination
Swedish rowan, or intermediate, is a triple hybrid obtained from three varieties - the ordinary variety, rowan glogovina and round-leaved. The tree is widespread in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Germany, and Poland. Intermediate rowan reproduces without pollination and is spread by birds, which eat the sweet fruits and spread the seeds.
Harvesting
As can be seen in the photo, Scandinavian or Swedish rowan has red, hemispherical berries collected in clusters with a diameter of up to 1.2 cm, weighing -1 g. They differ in taste from the fruits of ordinary rowan in the absence of bitterness in the pulp. They begin to ripen in September and remain on the branches for a long time. Harvesting can be done at the end of September or after frost.
The berries are used in cooking, as a base for jam, compotes, and in the food industry they are used to prepare drinks, jellies, and candies. The medicinal properties of the berries are used in folk medicine as an anti-inflammatory, astringent, diaphoretic, and diuretic.
Diseases and pests
Swedish rowan (intermediate) is resistant to diseases and pests. Damage by pathologies and insects is observed in some years. The main diseases include:
- rust;
- scab;
- septoria;
- Phomasis;
- powdery mildew;
- black;
- cancer;
- wood rot.
The following insect pests are found on intermediate rowan trees (photo):
- caterpillars;
- sawflies;
- mites;
- aphid;
- gall midge
To treat intermediate rowan and kill insects, chemicals and folk remedies are used.
Reproduction
The Swedish intermediate mountain ash reproduces most successfully by layering and root shoots.
The diversion method scheme is as follows:
- Dig up the area and remove weeds.
- Dig a ditch.
- Choose a long rowan shoot.
- Bend it to the ground and pin it with staples.
- After the first shoots appear, cover them halfway with humus.
- After a year, separate the cuttings from the mother plant and transplant them to a permanent place.
A simpler propagation method is to use young shoots that periodically appear near the trunk. It is carefully dug up and planted in a permanent place, following all the rules for planting a seedling.
Conclusion
Swedish rowan is an excellent ornamental plant for the site. It looks great in the foreground in a composition with deciduous and coniferous plants. The culture itself easily becomes a background for shrubs and flowers. In autumn and winter, the berries attract birds, making the area even busier.
