Medlar or chinch tree is valued for its beauty, the beneficial properties of all parts, the taste of fruits with a high content of vitamins and trace elements. This unpretentious culture is a native of Central Asia, but perfectly acclimatized in the Crimea, in the Caucasus. It is found in large quantities on household plots of the climatic zone of the middle Urals, Siberia, and Moscow Region. It tolerates frosts up to -35 ° C. Medlar becomes a real decoration of the country house, bears fruit well, if you follow the nuances of agricultural technology.
Description of medlar
Under natural conditions, the height of the wild deciduous tree reaches 8 m. The trunk is curved, the bark with shallow cracks.
The leaves of the medlar are large, up to 10 cm long, 6 cm wide. Dense, leathery, slightly wrinkled, slightly concave towards the center. The top is smooth, the bottom is covered with velvety fluff.
Flowering is plentiful. Small flowers are collected in inflorescences, they have a white or cream color, light almond aroma, melliferous. Fruits are yellow-orange or red-brown, from 3 to 8 cm in diameter, are round, flattened, oval and pear-shaped. The pulp is tart, dense, after freezing and fermentation it becomes sweet, soft. In fruits from one to three seeds, there are more, up to eight.
Types and varieties of garden medlar
Among the three species of pine tree, two were most widely used: medlar German (Caucasian) and Japanese (lokva). They are successfully cultivated in the middle band, there are up to 30 varieties. For the middle climatic zone, a stunted one with a crown of up to 3 m in diameter has been bred. It grows well in Russia.
Caucasian medlar blooms in spring, in May-June, the growing season lasts until the onset of cold weather. Annual shoots often freeze. Seedless and seed varieties are cultivated in the middle lane.
| Varieties of German medlar | Features of the fruit | The presence of seeds |
| Apirena | Yellow with orange spray, round, medium. | not |
| Goyth | Tan, small. | there is |
| Huge Evreinova | Pear-shaped, large. | not |
| Monstrous d evreinov | Yellow-orange, pear-shaped, large. | there is |
| Sweet Dracheva | Yellow with brown spray, plum-like. | there is |
| Sochi | Bright yellow, small. | not |
| Hwamli | Round, brownish, medium sized. | there is |
Japanese medlar blooms in autumn, the fruits remain on branches in winter, ripen in early summer - in June. The ovaries do not crumble in winter only in conditions of southern and temperate latitudes. In other areas, such medlar is grown in apartments, greenhouses, conservatories.
| Varieties of Japanese medlar | Features of the fruit |
| Komun | Light yellow, round, large. |
| Frost | Red-brown, medium. |
| Prime | Yellow-orange, large. |
| Silas | Bright yellow, oval, large. |
| Tanaka | Orange, pear-shaped, medium. |
| Champagne | Yellow, pear-shaped, large. |
Location of medlar in the garden
Medlar is a photophilous plant, for its cultivation in the garden they choose the sunniest place. Given the size of the crown, observe a distance between plantings of up to 1.5 m. For full fruiting, two or three trees are planted nearby. It tolerates the proximity to currants.
Humidity is needed moderate, medlar does not like close water, prone to root rot. The distance to the aquifer should be at least 1 m. When choosing soil, preference is given to neutral and slightly acidic, there will be no large crop on podzol.
Proper planting and care in the open ground is the key to good productivity.
Planting a seedling
For the cultivation of seedlings, seeds are selected from freshly ripened fruits; during storage, germination is significantly reduced. Only strong seedlings with a height of up to 30 cm are transferred to the soil.
Landing Algorithm:
- a month before planting, a landing pit is prepared up to a depth of 50 cm;
- the extracted earth is well loosened, freed from weeds, then returned to the planting pit;
- before planting, dig small holes, 1/3 in volume larger than the size of the pot in which the seedling grew;
- prepare the soil mixture: humus, sand, peat, compost substrate are taken in equal proportions or get packed soil for tomatoes;
- water abundantly, crush, so that voids do not form, establish a support;
- the next day, the near-stem circle is loosened, mulched with humus.
Features of caring for medlar in the open ground
Medlar does not tolerate drought, needs regular nutrition. Non-standard varieties form a crown.
Watering
During the period of the mass growth of the branches, the medlar should be regularly watered for the first 4 years, preventing the drying of the near-stem earthen coma. In the hot season, the flowering period of the soil should be constantly moist. To do this, the trunk circle is mulched or covered with straw.
Top dressing
The first time organic fertilizers are applied a year after planting, root dressing in the growing season is carried out in the phase of active growth every 3 weeks, adult trees are fed 2-3 times per season. Use:
- fresh mullein is bred 1: 8, insist for a week;
- phosphate mineral fertilizers, make according to the instructions;
- potash fat for 1 tbsp. spoon in 10 liters of water;
- wood ash during the ripening period up to 5 tbsp. l per 1 m2.
During the growing period, foliar top dressing with phosphate nitrate is carried out, first diluted according to the instructions, diluted with water 1: 1 before spraying.
Pruning
Sanitary pruning is carried out every spring after the awakening of the kidneys. Clean:
- frozen shoots;
- growing perpendicular to the trunk;
- strongly curved;
- growing close to the main fruit-bearing branches.
Pests and diseases of medlar
Insecticides are used for insects for apple and pear trees, they are bred according to the instructions. From fungal infections - copper-containing fungicides. With prolonged rains, the soil is treated with Fitosporin so that root rot does not develop.
Medlar breeding
When planting cultivated varieties with seeds, the best traits are not always inherited.
The most effective way of breeding is cuttings. Strong 2-year-old shoots are cut into segments 12 cm long so that each has 2-3 buds. Cuttings are grown in tropical conditions (humidity up to 80%, temperature not lower than +30 ° С).
Air layering is obtained by tying containers to wet ground with branches. At the point of touch, the bark is removed. Scion is made scion for quince, pear, hawthorn or mountain ash.
