Planting and caring for an incredibly tasty exotic - the sharafuga tree
Ripe and juicy apricots, plums, peaches from their garden are the dream of many Russians. Unfortunately, in central and northern Russia, such southern, heat-loving beauties do not mature, they are often removed sour, solid. Not everyone knows that there is such a hybrid as a sharafuga, and planting and caring for a sharafuga tree allows you to grow fruits with an interesting, unusual taste on your site.
The history of the sharafuga
If you delve into history, learning what a sharafuga is, it should be noted that the hybrid was cultivated by the biologist F. Seiger. He developed the theory that all stone fruits can be inter-pollinated. For proof, the scientist crossed a plum, a peach and an apricot. As a result of the experiments, I got a new plant that does not reproduce with the help of seeds.
The fruit of the sharafuga has an unusual aroma, it combines notes of plum and apricot. After their use, there is a slight peach aftertaste. The hybrid can be grown even in central Russia, although there are southern plants in its “pedigree”. Sharafuga can withstand frosts as low as -3 and survives 25 degrees of frost due to the genetic stability of the plum. If the shoots freeze in winter, the tree will quickly recover. The tree begins to bear fruit 3 years after planting, the highest yield is observed at 7-10 years.
Gardeners note the following benefits of the sharafuga:
- high yields;
- resistance to frost and disease;
- excellent taste;
- good transportability.
This hybrid also has a number of disadvantages:
- grows exclusively on fertile soils;
- regular feeding and watering are necessary;
- seedlings are quite expensive;
- the hybrid does not produce seed.
It is difficult to find a sharafuga on sale. It is better to purchase it in special nurseries, otherwise there is a high probability of buying a fake.
Planting and caring for a sharafuga tree
The sharafuga has all the varietal characteristics of apricots, plums, peaches, so caring for it is similar to caring for these trees. The hybrid is grown throughout the Russian Federation. Planting outlines in the Moscow region and in other cities of central Russia is carried out in the spring, and in the southern strip also in the fall. Choose a sunny, well-ventilated place without drafts. The trees are susceptible to fungus, so the site should be far from water bodies.
The plant prefers well-drained, neutral soil. If the soil is acidic, it is alkalized by adding lime (300 g per square meter of land).
Planting and caring for a sharafuga tree involves the following:
- Rotted manure, superphosphate and potash fertilizers are applied to the soil.
- Dig up the soil, while getting rid of weeds and loosening it.
- Dig a hole 80 cm in diameter.
- Drainage is placed at the bottom (broken slate, pebbles, expanded clay).
- A peg is installed for the sapling garter.
- Fill the hole with soil mixture.
- They plant a tree, gently straighten the roots, cover with earth to the edges of the hole, lightly ram the soil, tie the trunk to a peg, water the sharafuga.
- The plant is mulched with non-woven, needles, straw.
Further care is not much different from caring for ordinary fruit trees.
Watering and feeding
Watering the plant is carried out as needed. In the dry season, the sharafuga is watered more often than in the rainy season.
For watering, an irrigation system is installed, or a small canal is dug near the trunk, filled with water at the rate of 2 buckets per square of soil.
Spring / autumn feeding is required for this hybrid. In autumn, the sharafuga is fed with organic fertilizers, and in the spring, nitrogen fertilizers are applied. Every year in the spring, dead grass is harvested under the tree, last year's foliage, rotten fruits, they dig up the soil. If nothing grows next to the tree, mow the grass next to him and her mulch soil.
Hybrid pruning
During the season, the sharafuga grows shoots up to 80 cm long. Broken, dry, old and damaged branches are cut in autumn and spring. The trunk is carefully examined, revealing damage, treated with potassium permanganate.
The hybrid of plum apricot and peach sharafuga in the photo does not need pruning. It has excellent branches and good fruiting.
They form a crown regularly, since the sharafuga grows sprawlingly and the extra branches prevent it from developing normally. The branches are cut in the spring, before the sap flow begins. So the tree will quickly heal wounds and adapt. Autumn pruning often leads to the fact that the tree does not have time to recover before winter and dies during the first frost. The trees of the first year of life are not pruned. Then the side branches are cut annually up to 50 cm. The central shoot is shortened to the main bud. The procedure is repeated until the scarf grows to the desired height. After that, every year, the side branches are cut with sharp, disinfected tools by 20 cm. The saw cut is treated with potassium permanganate, paint on drying oil. The cut tree is abundantly and constantly watered, so it is easier for him to survive the procedure.
Features of the reproduction of the sharafuga
Sharafuga is propagated only by cuttings. Planting material is prepared in the fall just before planting. Cuttings are cut to 20 cm each, free from foliage, leaving 3 healthy buds. They are soaked in solution for a day. Kornevin, and then planted in soil for germination until spring at home in pots.
The seedlings are regularly watered and fed. And in the spring, after the establishment of warm weather, they are planted in open ground. The sharafuga hybrid is resistant to diseases and pests, but experts still advise treating the trees in spring with insecticides and fungicides for prevention, whitening the trunk and lower branches in autumn and spring.
Periodically, garbage is removed from under the trees, treated from pests with decoctions of onion husks, garlic, soapy water, copper sulfate, Bordeaux liquid, strong wormwood, nettle, chamomile infusions.
The fruits of the sharafuga ripen in the southern regions in late summer, in the central ones in early autumn. Harvested by hand, carefully removing from the branches. It is not recommended to shake the tree, otherwise the fruits fall off, get damaged and quickly deteriorate. Ripe and correctly picked berries lie for several weeks in a cool room. They can be transported over long distances.
The sharafuga tree, planting and caring for which is not particularly difficult, is quite an exotic fruit. But it can be grown in your garden. It is only important to choose a sunny, ventilated place for planting seedlings, fertilize and water them in a timely manner. And after a few years the harvest of amazing fruits will ripen.