No doubt, even a small child will not be at a loss to answer what the plum looks like. But that in addition to the usual household plum, there is also a peach plum, it is not known to all adults. We decided to correct this misunderstanding and dedicated our article to these amazing and so unusual plums of the "Peach" variety.
Plum "Peach" - a bit of history
Today it is difficult to say for sure who was the author of this class. It is generally believed that the homeland of peach plums was one of the West European countries - England or France. The very first mention of them is found in the literature of the 30s of the 19th century. Although since then almost two centuries have passed, the range of distribution of this variety is relatively small. It is successfully grown in the southern regions of Ukraine and Russia, the North Caucasus, Moldova and Georgia - in general, where winters are not particularly severe.
Plum "Peach" - description of the variety
Young trees of plum "Peach" are characterized by a high growth rate - they reach the average height rather quickly and even exceed it. The crown has a round or back-conical shape, over the years acquiring an increasingly sprawling appearance. Skeletal branches and shoots are thick, pubescent and have a gray-brown color. Fruits are formed on bouquet branches. The leaves of the peach plum are quite large and thick, pubescent and have a dark green color. The first fruits of the seedlings are given at 5-6, and sometimes 7-8 years after planting. At first the fruiting of young trees does not differ either in abundance or in regularity. But from the age of 15 onwards, each tree can give at least 50 kg of delicious aromatic plums.
Blooms peach plum quite late, and yields in the period from mid-July to early August. Fruits ripen together, holding on to the branches long enough and not losing their presentation. The fruits of the peach "Peach" are large in size (on average from 50 to 70 grams) and excellent taste qualities. The pulp is dense and elastic, has a delicate aroma and a pleasant sweet taste with a slight sourness. When grown in regions with colder climates, the flesh can acquire a little bit of tartness. The shape of the fruits is rounded, slightly flattened at the apex. The dense skin is colored in a delicate green-yellow color with a reddish blush that occupies most of the surface of the plum. The stone of the peach plums is rounded and well separated from the ripe pulp.
The essential disadvantages of the "Persikovaya" plum variety include its extremely low frost resistance and winter hardiness. In conditions of winters of the north of Ukraine and the center of Russia, the trees are quite freezing, so they need mandatory shelter for the winter. But the resistance to fungal diseases in this variety is quite high. In particular, stability of peach plum to polystigmosis was noted.
Plum "Peach" - pollinators
Since peach plum refers to self-fertilizing plants, it needs a series of pollinating plum to produce a crop. Experience of domestic gardeners shows that the best pollinators for her are the following varieties:
- "Hungarian home";
- "Anna Shpet";
- "The Hungarian Azhansky";
- " Renklod green."
Plum "Peach" - growing
In cultivation, the peach plum is quite capricious. To make it safely grow and give a harvest, it is necessary to make a lot of efforts. Planting seedlings should be in well protected from the wind places, while avoiding lowlands. The soil must be fertile and well moistened, but protected from stagnation of ground and thawed waters.