In countries with a warm and humid climate, it is very common to grow a small beautiful tree or an evergreen shrub - a medlar of the Japanese common, rich in useful properties . This plant refers to a family of Rosaceae. He has large leaves and flowers glossy from below and glistening on top, collected in panicles of a gentle light yellow color.
The jewel of the medlar begins in October, and it blooms quite a long time, so it is also called the Japanese winter coat. The smell of flowers medlars resembles the smell of bitter almonds. In spring bright yellow fleshy fruits collected in a brush of the most diverse forms ripen. To taste, juicy and fragrant fruits resemble apples, apricots and strawberries at the same time.
Gardeners are often interested in: how to grow fruit medlar and can it be grown from a bone?
The plant is thermophilic, but it does not frighten the frost to -30 ° C. A loquat is a plant self-pollinating, the fruits of it mature without cross-pollination. It plentifully fructifies every year, however if there are a lot of fruits, they become rather small. Harvest the loquat in early spring, when the fragrant red-brown fruit will lose excessive astringency and become sweeter.
Reproduction of medlar
The difference between a loquat and other subtropical cultures is that it can reproduce both vegetatively and with seeds. On the seeds should be postponed the ripe and large fruit. Within each fruit there are on average three seeds with good germination, and seedlings grown in this way retain all the properties of the mother plant. During the day, the seeds should be kept in a solution of potassium permanganate. Cultivation of the loquat is possible both in the indoor conditions, and in the winter garden , and in the open ground. If you do not limit its growth, at home the plant can grow up to one and a half meters in height. The tree is well tolerated by pruning, so you can easily form its crown. Sometimes a single vase is sown with several seeds of medlar and obtains an excellent composition of this plant.
It is possible to grow a loquat and from a bone, but this process will be long. After removing the stone from the fetus, it is necessary to dry them for three days. Then you need to make a bone marble: rub it with sandpaper for a few minutes. This process will destroy the solid shell of the stone, which means that the sprouts from it will appear faster than usual. Two days before planting, the scarified ossicles are soaked in a solution of humus.
Mushmula - planting and care
Cultivation of a medlar is a simple process, but a good harvest can be obtained only with proper care. As a rule, the medlar should be planted in spring or autumn, after destroying all the weeds from the place where the loquat will grow. In addition, bone meal and complex mineral fertilizer should be added to the soil. Then a stake is driven into the ground, to which the tree will subsequently become attached. A wide pit is being dug out (so that the roots spread out). Approximately 5 cm from the stake is planted a tree. The soil is well kneaded, light soil is mulched with a layer of compost or overgrown manure. Under such a layer of mulch the soil will be moist and cool.
The loquat loves copious watering, but always by standing water. Before the emergence of sprouts should be fertilized planting complex mineral fertilizer.
Every year a young plant must be transplanted for active growth and good development. But an adult medlar should be transplanted every three to four years, but it is desirable to change the top layer every year in a container with a plant. The plants begin to bloom at the age of five.
As for medlar diseases, they occur most often from excess moisture or its lack (the leaves are covered with spots). Also, the plant can hit the black fungus.
Plant in your garden or in the house a tree loquat, and soon it will please you with its remarkable useful fruits.