Rowan Ruby

Rowan Rubinovaya was bred by Michurin and is a hybrid of pear and mountain ash. It so happened that after a while the variety was almost lost, but then it was nevertheless multiplied and after that it gained its well-deserved popularity. There is some astringency in the taste of the berries, which is why Rubinova's rowan berries are rarely consumed fresh. But they are actively used for making wine or liqueurs, juices and jellies, as well as dried and frozen for use in winter.

Rowan Rubinovaya: description and characteristics of the variety

Rowan Rubinovaya: photo of the variety

Ruby mountain ash is not a very tall tree, rarely reaching three meters, as a rule, its height is two to two and a half meters. The tree has a drooping crown, finely serrated leaves of a light green color and light brown bark. Small rowan flowers, like other varieties, are collected in corymbose inflorescences, have a white-pink color. The tree blooms in late spring or early summer - the timing may differ depending on the climate of the region in which the mountain ash grows. And thanks to its frost resistance, this tree can grow and bear fruit even in the coldest regions of our country.
Ruby rowan berries are round, slightly flattened, rich wine-ruby color with bright yellow pulp. Their taste is both sour and sweet at the same time, there is a slight astringency in it. Berries are suitable for making alcoholic beverages, as well as making juices and preserving. Harvesting usually falls in late September or early October.

Rowan Rubinovaya belongs to cross-pollinated varieties, therefore, to get a harvest, you have to plant at least one more mountain ash, but of a different variety. If there is very little space in the summer cottage, then you can graft a cuttings of a different variety on your tree.

Rowan Rubinovaya: pros and cons

Like any plant, the Rubinovaya rowan variety can boast of its strengths, but it also has disadvantages. The undoubted advantages can be considered:

• The beauty of the plant. The light green foliage in combination with the rich color of the berries looks very beautiful.
• Dessert taste of berries, which is due to the crossing of rowan and pear.
• Frost resistance, which allows the tree to grow in any climate.

For the sake of fairness, it should be noted that in the berries of the Rubinovaya rowan variety there is still some bitterness - this can be considered a disadvantage of this variety. Another disadvantage is that mountain ash cannot be grown in lowlands and wetlands.

Rowan Ruby: planting varieties

Rowan Rubinovaya: photo of the variety

Like other trees, Ruby Rowan can be planted in the spring or fall. Since the tree must necessarily take root before frost, the planting time depends entirely on the climatic characteristics of the region, and in cold areas with short summers, autumn planting is not recommended, while in the south of the country trees can be planted even in early November.
If you understand that you have delayed the autumn planting and are not sure that the plant will have time to take root before the onset of cold weather, then you can save the seedlings until spring. This can be done in different ways.

• First, you can keep the plants in your basement, if you have one. To do this, the roots of mountain ash must be placed in a container with moistened peat (or sawdust, or sand) and make sure that it does not dry out.The air temperature should not fall below zero and rise above + 7 ... + 9 degrees, the humidity should be very high.
• Secondly, the seedling can be dug in. To do this, you need to dig a hole and place the mountain ash in it at an inclination of forty-five degrees, and then cover it with sand and peat mixed in equal proportions.
• And the third way is called "snowing". The planting material must be wrapped in a cloth and buried in the snow, while all winter it is imperative to make sure that the snowdrift above the seedling does not decrease.

Dig deep and remove all weeds before planting. When choosing a place for Rubinova's rowan, remember that the tree needs space and sunlight, it should not be in the shade of other trees, or, conversely, shade less tall plants with itself.

The planting pit for Rubin's mountain ash should be 70-80 cm in diameter and about 60-70 cm deep - these are approximate dimensions, in fact, you need to start from the size of the root system of your seedling. Lay a drainage layer at the bottom of the pit, and then pour a specially prepared nutrient mixture consisting of garden soil, compost, rotted manure. Add some phosphate fertilizer and a glass of ash to that. The planting pit should be one third filled with such a mixture, then a seedling should be placed on it, straightening the roots if necessary, fill it up with earth, tamp it a little and water it using 10-15 liters of water.

Rowan Ruby: variety care

If you planted Rubin's mountain ash in the autumn, then additional watering, most likely, will not be needed, there is enough precipitation in the fall. But during spring planting, it is necessary to water the mountain ash regularly, so rooting will occur much faster.

An adult mountain ash of the Ruby variety will need watering only in the absence of precipitation. As a rule, the first time the tree is watered in the spring, at the beginning of the growing season. Then two to three weeks before the expected harvest, and the third time about three weeks after picking the berries. For irrigation around the trunk, you need to make a groove and pour water into it; for an adult Ruby Mountain ash, you will need about thirty liters of water.

In addition to watering Rubinova's mountain ash, additional feeding will be required. You don't need to worry about this for the first two years, as you added enough nutrients during the planting process. But from the third or fourth year, the tree must be fertilized in order to maintain good yields.
In the spring, humus or compost is introduced under the tree, embedding it in the soil. In the first half of summer, chicken manure or mullein can be used as fertilizer, diluting them in water (1 to 10 and 1 to 5, respectively). For one tree, one bucket of such fertilizer will be enough, but it is necessary to water not dry, but pre-moistened soil. In the autumn, when digging up the soil of the trunk circle, add ash and phosphorus fertilizer.

One of the most difficult maintenance procedures has been and remains tree pruning. Ruby rowan is not recommended to be trimmed in the fall, since with such trimming, the wounds do not have time to completely tighten before the onset of frost. In this case, even the natural frost resistance of the plant will not help, the tree may freeze. Therefore, all the necessary procedures for the formation of the crown should be carried out in early spring. And cosmetic pruning, with the help of which broken or diseased shoots are removed, can be carried out in the summer, if necessary.

In the first year after planting, the main trunk is left intact - the thickest vertical shoot. And all the side branches will need to be cut off, leaving three buds each. You will also need to cut off all branches that grow lower than forty centimeters from the soil. From year to year, you have to form the crown of the mountain ash, not allowing it to become too thick.You have to regularly inspect the tree and cut off diseased and broken shoots, very old branches, those branches that grow in the direction of the ground, root growth, as well as branches that are trying to compete with the trunk. These are all recommendations for the formation of a young mountain ash in the first few years. Mature trees have to be rejuvenated every two to three years, cutting off old branches and thereby stimulating the development of young shoots.
The first fruiting can be expected no earlier than three or four years later. This tree will bear fruit every year and has a high yield.

Despite the frost resistance, which we praised a little higher, discussing the advantages of Rubinova's mountain ash, in cold regions it is better to cover it for the winter, especially for young trees. To do this, it is necessary to mulch the trunk circle, wrap the seedling in several layers with burlap or geotextile, then arrange spruce branches around the trunk, and in winter cover this entire structure with snow and make sure that there is always enough snow.

Diseases and pests

Rowan Rubinovaya: photo of the variety

Rowan Ruby is no exception, like any tree, it can get sick or be invaded by parasites. To prevent this, it is necessary to carry out preventive treatment in a timely manner - this will save the tree from diseases, and the crop from possible contact with chemicals. And besides, there are such diseases that it is simply impossible to cure ("moniliosis", necrosis). If they appear, you just have to remove the damaged areas to a healthy place, process the sections with garden pitch, and immediately burn the diseased parts of the tree.

It is a little easier to cope with insects than with diseases, but timely preventive measures will protect you from their invasion. If the pests did appear, then:

• use Chlorophos to combat mountain ash moth caterpillars.
• use Actellik or Decis to combat apple or mountain ash aphids.
• spraying with a solution of calloidal sulfur helps against gall mites.
• to remove the weevils, spray the mountain ash with "Karbofos".

And remember that the better you take care of the plant, the healthier it will grow. And a tree with a strong immune system growing in good conditions is less likely to get sick.

Rowan propagation

It is possible to grow mountain ash Ruby from seeds as an experiment, since this does not at all guarantee that you will get a seedling of the same variety. To preserve the varietal characteristics of the plant, it is necessary to use vegetative propagation methods: cuttings or grafting.
If you plan to propagate Ruby Rowan by cuttings, then you can use both young green and already lignified shoots. If you decide to be vaccinated, then the following varieties of mountain ash are the most suitable as a stock: "Nezhinskaya", "Moravskaya", ordinary.

Rowan Ruby reviews

Ruby rowan is used both as a decorative and as a fruit tree, this variety is very much loved by gardeners, as evidenced by numerous reviews.

Marina, Novosibirsk
The Ruby Rowan variety was acquired after they saw the image on the Internet - the decorative appearance of the Rowan attracted attention. The seedlings were bought from a nursery with a good reputation, and the first crop was harvested in three years. Despite the fact that we bought the plant as a decoration for the site, now we actively use it in cooking - delicious fruit drinks, jam, and also an excellent tincture are obtained from Rubin's rowan berries!

Sergey, Obninsk.
This tree was bought and planted in the country for beauty, but then it turned out that the berries are very tasty, cannot be compared with ordinary mountain ash. Moreover, Ruby's mountain ash practically does not require maintenance, and bears fruit every year for six years (the first harvest was in the fourth year after the seedling was planted).

Larisa, Moscow.
Like many, she planted Rubin's mountain ash because of its decorative effect, the trees really look amazing throughout the entire summer season. But now I recommend this variety to my friends, not only because of its beauty, but also because of the rather tasty berries. There is almost no need to care for Rubinova's ashberry: pour it in the heat and cut it off as needed.