Features of sea buckthorn care from planting to harvest

It is difficult to find a plant as useful and at the same time specific as sea buckthorn: planting and caring for it brought disappointment to more than one summer resident. The reason for this is simple and lies in ignorance of the peculiarities of culture. The branches of sea buckthorn, completely covered with large sweet berries with a pronounced sourness, can delight the owner from year to year, but only if high-quality varietal material has been selected for breeding. From wild growth and seedlings such a result can not be expected. A good seedling is obtained by cuttings. When purchasing it, you should pay attention to the size. It should be small. In this it differs markedly from seedlings and basal processes, which the shrub gives very abundantly.

Soil, lighting and moisture

Sea buckthorn loves light. It should be planted in areas open to the sun, where there is no shade. At the initial stages of development, it is characterized by rapid growth. In the future, it slows down, and the bushes located in the vicinity of the sea buckthorn and just tall plants catch up and shade it. Lack of light in the first year of life can destroy the seedling. Adult shrubs are also demanding of the abundance of sunlight. Most of the berries are formed on their top, which is better illuminated than the middle and bottom of the plant.

Sea buckthorn prefers moist soil, but does not tolerate swampiness. If the groundwater at the site comes close to the surface, its cultivation will not end successfully. The shrub will develop poorly and will quickly die from podoprevanie. The same fate awaits sea buckthorn in the lowlands. The optimal place for planting it is on small slopes, where a shrub or tree will receive vital drainage for them and will not suffer from stagnant moisture. But the plant will react badly to a systematic lack of water, shedding leaves, and during the period of fruit formation (from June to July) - and the ovary.

Sea buckthorn is best suited for light loam and sandy loam soils. The soil must be fertile. If it is poor in minerals, planting sea buckthorn is carried out only after fertilization. On too light soils containing a lot of sand, the shrub will wither. They do not retain moisture well, and sea buckthorn roots will suffer from a lack of moisture. It is not necessary to plant the culture in dense and heavy clay soil. It is insufficiently drained, prone to waterlogging and poorly permits air, which is necessary for the development of the root system of the shrub.

When choosing fertilizers for sea buckthorn, you need to take into account its needs. The most important element for a plant is phosphorus. It ensures the normal activity of the nodule bacteria living on the roots of the shrub. Sea buckthorn needs nitrogen in small quantities, and it is indifferent to the introduction of compositions containing potassium.

Site preparation

If the soil on the site is acidic, it is neutralized for growing sea buckthorn. You can use slaked lime for this (0.4-0.6 kg of substance per 1 m² of surface). Having scattered it over the site in an even layer, dig it up. The recommended depth is 1 shovel bayonet. To plant a shrub in the spring, liming the soil must be carried out during autumn work in the garden, in October.

Heavy loam for growing sea buckthorn is prepared by mixing its top layer with the following components:

• coarse sand;
• humus (peat);
• superphosphate (200-300 g);
• potassium salt (30-50 g).

Sand and peat, taken in equal proportions with loam, will increase its air and water permeability.

Advice

Nitrogen-containing preparations and lime should not be introduced into the pit prepared for planting. They can burn the roots.

When highlighting the area on which sea buckthorn will grow, it must be borne in mind that it has a highly branched root system that extends far beyond its crown. It is impossible to dig up soil near it. Its top layer is loosened with a hoe, deepening by 5-10 cm and pruning weeds.

In the spring, during the procedure, fertilizers are applied:

• humus or well-rotted compost (0.5-1 bucket);
• nitrophosphate (2-4 tbsp. l).

Correctly repeat such dressings annually. You can do it differently: in the spring, add urea (15 g) under the sea buckthorn, and with the arrival of autumn, enrich the soil with useful components:

• humus (1 bucket);
• double superphosphate (30 g);
• potassium chloride (15 g).

Scheme and landing dates

In height, the shrub grows up to 3 m. Its crown is medium spreading. If a place is chosen for planting it around the perimeter of the site, then 1-2 m should be retreated from its border. The row spacings are made wide - 2-2.5 m. You can plant sea buckthorn near the walls of buildings or near tall trees with a dense crown. So that they do not shade the bush, holes are dug at a distance of at least 3 m from them.

Spring and autumn planting of sea buckthorn is practiced. If weather conditions in the second half of winter are unfavorable, the shrub may die. It will be badly affected by prolonged thaws, after which frosts come. Sea buckthorn has a short rest period, and it can wake up ahead of time. Experienced summer residents prefer to plant shrubs in the spring, at the beginning of May. By the onset of cold weather, its root system will develop well, and it will be able to more easily survive winter stresses.

Sea buckthorn belongs to dioecious crops. In order for it to bear fruit abundantly, male and female plants must be cultivated on the site. It is optimal to place them in 2 ways.

1. Curtain - a male bush is planted in the center and surrounding it with female ones.
2. In rows. The landing pattern here is determined by the prevailing winds. Male bushes (1-2) begin the first row from their side, 4-5 female plants are placed behind them.

Sequence of landing works

A hole for planting sea buckthorn is dug of medium depth (35-40 cm), but wide - 0.5 m in diameter. A stake is driven into the center. The bottom of the pit is covered with a drainage layer. Suitable for this:

• broken brick;
• crushed stone;
• shell rock.

Its thickness should be at least 10 cm. Then fertile soil is poured into the hole, filling it by ⅔. Having formed a low mound from the soil, they put a seedling on it. It should be on the north side of the support. They plant it strictly vertically. If the trunk is even slightly tilted, buds will form on it and the crown of the tree will lose its decorative effect.

Gently spreading the roots of the sea buckthorn over the mound, the pit is filled with soil to the top. Correctly, if the root collar is 3-5 cm below ground level if the soil is normal, and 5-7 cm if it is light. A hole is made around the future bush, which is watered abundantly (spending 2-3 buckets of water). The soil under the seedling is covered with a thick (5-6 cm) layer of peat or sand, and humus is added on top as mulch.

Watering and loosening

In order for the cultivation of sea buckthorn to bring a generous harvest, you need to carefully monitor the condition of the soil. It should not be allowed to dry out, even for a short time, but it is not recommended to fill the tree. Air passes poorly through too moist soil, as a result, the development of the root system and the formation of nitrogen-fixing nodules slow down. Freshly planted sea buckthorn is often watered until it releases young shoots. Abundant moisture for the shrub is necessary during the entire growing season. It affects the most important processes:

• leaf growth;
• kidney formation;
• the formation of ovaries;
• ripening of berries.

In arid spring and sultry summer, watering young plants, they spend 3-4 buckets of water per 1 m² of soil surface in a near-trunk circle. If the sea buckthorn is already bearing fruit, the volume of the liquid is doubled. It is recommended to moisten such bushes at least 4 times per season:

• at the beginning of flowering;
• when a month has passed since the first watering, this will prevent the ovaries from falling off;
• during the period of active growth of fruits, in order to increase the filling and accelerate the ripening of berries;
• when the harvest is already harvested - in September or October. At this stage, watering will help the plants prepare for winter. It will protect their roots from freezing, and shoots from drying out.

Regular loosening of the soil is a guarantee of the health and productivity of sea buckthorn. They must be carried out after watering or rain. The roots of the shrub, resembling branching cords, extending from the plant in different directions for many meters, are located almost at the soil surface (at a depth of 20-30 cm). They are easily injured, which greatly weakens the sea buckthorn and stimulates the growth of basal offspring. Therefore, loosening is correct to carry out to a maximum depth of 5-7 cm near the bush trunk and 10-12 cm away from it. If the roots of the plant are exposed, they are immediately mulched with a mixture of peat and sand. In the fall, having collected the harvest from the bushes, the trunks are loosened, and then watered abundantly.

Weed control and pruning

Sea buckthorn does not like weeds in the neighborhood. They deprive her of the bushes of moisture and nutrients. Therefore, you need to weed the plantings regularly. You can use this proven method to help you spend less time and energy on weed control. After the first loosening of the soil in the spring, it is covered with dark plastic wrap. They leave her for the whole summer. The soil under it warms up well and does not deplete, but care must be taken that there is no stagnation of moisture. The film is removed when the berries are ripe and it is time to pick them.

To keep the sea buckthorn decorative, it is cut off. This is done in the spring while the buds on the plant are still sleeping. If the shrub is young (up to 4-5 years old), pruning will help form its crown. Carrying out it, shoots that grow incorrectly, parallel to the trunk, as well as excess branches are removed. Older shrubs (8-10 years old and older) need anti-aging pruning. 3-year-old shoots are left on them, and all old ones, with minimal growth, are removed. Every year, preventive pruning is done, ridding plants of damaged, dry, frost-bruised, pest-infested and diseased branches.

Numerous root suckers slow down the growth of the bush. Therefore, they also need to be cut off. It is convenient to do this with a shovel or a hoe. The root offspring is cut off at its base, leaving no knot. To do this, you have to clear the soil. If the cut line is made too high above the surface of the soil, the dormant buds that remain in the soil will release new shoots.

It is convenient to pick berries from a bush if it is not too tall. In overgrown sea buckthorn, the upper branches can be cut off. She tolerates this procedure painlessly. The peak of fruiting occurs in 8-12-year-old shrubs. Older plants are treated radically - they are cut down without regrets. New offspring will go from the stump, and the sea buckthorn will quickly restore its former beauty, and healthy young branches will again delight you with an abundance of berries.

In the first year in a new place, sea buckthorn does not need feeding. In the second year of her life, nitrogen fertilizers are applied to the soil on the site, which will contribute to the intensive growth of shoots. This is done in the spring by dissolving 20-30 g of urea in a bucket of water and watering the plant under the root with this composition. For each bush, correctly spend 0.5-1 bucket of nutrient mixture. If the sea buckthorn is already bearing fruit, every 3-4 years the soil around it is enriched with organic fertilizers: humus, compost (1 bucket per 1 m²). The optimum depth of their embedding in the ground is 10-20 cm.

Sea buckthorn berries are a generous gift from nature. They have a unique composition that seems to have collected the most important of the existing elements: almost all vitamins, minerals, biologically active substances, flavonoids, carotenoids. Sea buckthorn fruits can be eaten fresh, dried, dried, frozen, soaked, canned.They make jams, preserves, compotes, jellies, mashed potatoes, juices, butter, grind them with sugar, apples, hawthorn... In any form, bright orange berries are tasty and healthy. They are also used in cosmetology. A mask based on their juice refreshes and nourishes the skin well.

Sea buckthorn will become a wonderful decoration of the garden, standing out against the background of the lush greenery of other trees and shrubs with its leaves of an unusual shape and color. They are olive green above and silvery below. The shrub is also useful for soils. It strengthens the sandy soil, preventing landslides. It is not difficult to grow sea buckthorn. Even beginners can handle her care. The main thing is not to be mistaken with the choice of a seedling and to provide the plant with the most comfortable conditions for it.