Colon-shaped plum is considered a novelty of modern gardening and is quickly gaining popularity in the vastness of our state. This type of plant attracts domestic gardeners, first of all, with its high productivity and extraordinary ease of care. What else are the advantages of a columnar plum and how to grow it - further in the article.
Features of Colon-shaped Plums
Colon-shaped varieties of plums appeared relatively recently, but have already managed to occupy a worthy place among fruit plants cultivated by domestic gardeners.
History of Colon Trees
Canada is considered the birthplace of the colony-shaped trees, where a local farmer in 1964 drew attention to the fact that the Macintosh apple tree has an unconventional shape of a branch growing from the main trunk at an angle of 90 °.
On such branches there were absolutely no horizontal processes, but they were abundantly covered with fruits. For several months, the scientist tried to propagate an unusual tree, and after 2 years his attempts ended in the creation of a compact apple-column, which pleased with good yields.
Important! Colon-shaped pear, unlike other genera, is not the result of selection or any human activity. This phenomenon is a mutation of nature, which was noticed in time by man and successfully used for further purposes.
Convinced of the benefits and simplicity of cultivating a columnar apple tree, scientists were able to gradually expand the list of tree columns, supplementing it with a pear and plum.
Description of Colon-shaped Plum
The column-shaped plum is a small compact tree, which in rare cases grows above 2.5 m. The trunk does not have spreading branches, and the crown looks like a pyramid, consisting of fruitful bouquet branches 15–20 cm long.
The tree is abundantly covered with boat-shaped leaves of medium size, green color with a shiny smooth surface.
Despite the external fragility, plum wood is quite powerful and strong, can withstand ripened fruits with a total weight of up to 12 kg.
The tree is characterized by early maturity and, as a rule, begins to bear fruit 2 years after planting.
Until the tree reaches the age of 6–7 years, crop productivity increases annually. In the next 7–10 years, this indicator remains at the same level, but when it reaches 11–17 years, the plum completely ceases to bear fruit.
Did you know? Despite the large number of plum varieties, all of them can be divided into 3 groups depending on the color: Hungarian - dark berries, mirabelle - yellow, greengage - green.
The fruits of the plant are beautiful, rounded, with a slightly elongated upper part of the plum, the color of which can vary depending on the variety: blue, purple or yellow. The average weight of the fruit is 50 g.
Flowering of the crop begins quite early in May: small female-type flowers appear on the tree that require pollination. The fruit ripening period is mid-end of August. The fruits have excellent flavoring properties, are used fresh or for cooking and winter preparations.
Description of Imperial Colon Plum
One of the most successful varieties of sink columns is Imperial Epinez. This is a mid-early culture. The harvest of these plums can begin in mid-August. The plant is characterized by a rather slow growth rate, the trunk has a height of 1.5–2 m. The crown is narrow, pyramidal, consists of annual, neatly located spears and ringworms, which give the tree compactness.
Despite the small size of the tree, it is characterized by high fruiting, which occurs already 2 years after planting seedlings. Productivity is high: under favorable conditions, 10-12 kg of fruit can be harvested from 1 tree.
Flowering culture occurs in the early days of May. Small flowers form on the branches, which later turn into fruits — large round plums weighing 40–55 g. The peel has a pink-purple color, dense, not prone to cracking, with a characteristic waxy coating on the surface.
The pulp is very juicy and tender, tastes pleasant, with a balanced ratio of sugar and acid. According to the tasting assessment, the taste of plums is 4.8 points.
The main positive qualities of this variety are considered compact tree and rich fruiting. Due to this, the process of crop care and harvesting is greatly simplified, which makes it possible to grow Imperial plum in both the household and industrial gardens.
Rules and peculiarities of planting Imperial cultivar
To achieve good and stable fruiting, it is necessary, firstly, to choose a quality seedling, and secondly, to observe several basic rules for its planting.
Favorable landing times
Favorable timing for planting seedlings is considered to be spring, since autumn planting can lead to freezing of the plant. In spring, planting work must begin after the soil has completely thawed and warmed up a bit.
Important! It is impossible to drag out much with planting operations - they must be carried out within 2 weeks after the complete disappearance of the snow cover.
The ideal time for planting is 5-6 days after the snow has melted. In southern regions where mild and not too frosty winters predominate, planting of seedlings in autumn is permissible.
How to choose the best seedling
When choosing seedlings of columnar plum, experts recommend giving preference to an annual plant that can quickly take root and begin to bear fruit in due time.
A seedling is considered to be of high quality, having a strong, healthy, flexible root system that does not contain damaged, dry or rotted processes. The bark should not have visible damage or signs of damage by ailments, pests.
It is recommended to purchase planting material from breeders, in special nurseries or from proven distributors.
Avoid buying seedlings from dubious companies and sellers.
Scheme bookmarks colonized garden of plums
Since the tree has compact dimensions, then, as a rule, several plums are planted in one area.
Did you know? There are no wild plums in nature. All of them originate from a wild turn.
Layout scheme of a column-shaped plum garden:
- the interval between seedlings should be 40-50 cm;
- the interval between rows is at least 1 m, and if the area allows, it is better to leave 1.5–2 m.
Such planting will create optimal conditions for rapid, successful growth and abundant fruiting of garden crops.
Direct landing
For planting seedlings, it is recommended to choose a well-lit, warm and maximally open area, with enough sunlight, without drafts and cold winds, which have a detrimental effect on the condition of the trees.
Experts do not recommend adding mineral fertilizers to the ground, as they can burn the root system.
It is also necessary to pay attention to the depth of the groundwater: it must be at least 2.5 m, otherwise the roots may begin to rot. It is optimal to select a site on a hill with light and nutritious soil. Before landing, you need to dig the earth, deepening by 40-50 cm.
Planting seedlings is based on the following steps:
- Dig a hole for landing. Its size should be twice as large as the size of the root system, approximately 40 × 40 cm.
- Put a drainage layer about 10 cm thick at the bottom of the hole. Expanded clay, broken brick, and gravel are suitable for it.
- On top of the drainage layer, fill in a pre-prepared soil mixture consisting of garden soil and humus. For 1 pit, about 3-4 kg of humus will be required.
- Position the seedling in the pit, carefully spread the root processes and fill it with soil so that the root neck remains 3-5 cm above the surface.
- After planting, water the tree abundantly, as the seedlings respond positively to moist soil.
How to properly care for the imperial plum-shaped plum
Competent and timely care for the plum-column will allow you to get a healthy, strong tree with decent yield indicators.
Prune pruning
Although the column-shaped plum does not need cardinal pruning, sometimes in the early spring it is worthwhile to carry out sanitary measures, during which - remove dry, damaged or sore branches. After the winter, if there is a very frostbitten top, it is recommended to cut it a little.
Experts advise shortening the central conductor in case it is characterized by poor growth. Sometimes pruning shoots in order to vaccinate them to stocks of other varieties. Inoculate such branches can even be an ordinary plum. For this purpose, shoots 15–20 cm long are used.
Colon-shaped plum fertilizer
Since the Imperial Epinez plum-column was originally bred as a high-yielding variety, it requires regular top dressing, which must be done at least 3 times a season:
- the first portion of fertilizers is applied after the crop enters the vegetation phase;
- the second time they feed the tree 14 days after the first feeding;
- the third portion is added after another 21 days.
Urea is good to use as fertilizer: mix 50 g of the product in 10 l of water. In the second year, when the plant begins to bear fruit, its nutrition can be supplemented with foliar top dressing, which will accelerate the growth of the root system and activate the development of the fruit.
For foliar nutrition, it is recommended to use special store preparations, for example, heteroauxin. You can also water the tree in the spring-summer period with a solution of slurry or with a mixture of water and ammonium nitrate (1 tablespoon of the product per 1 bucket of water).
Watering technology
The crop prefers moist soil, so it needs weekly watering. When carrying out irrigation measures, it is necessary to maintain a moisture balance in the soil and not to allow excessive moisture or prolonged drought.
It is especially important to provide the tree with sufficient water during the laying of the kidneys and during the ripening period. It is recommended to water the plant under the root, using well-maintained cold water.
Protection against diseases and pests
The Imperial plum variety is distinguished by strong immunity and good resistance to ailments and parasites. In rare cases, the plant may become a victim of fungal rot, sawfly, codling moth.
To avoid diseases, it is necessary to carry out such measures:
- treat the plant with solutions of modern fungicidal and insecticidal preparations;
- strictly adhere to irrigation technology, do not lead to excessive soil moisture;
- to prevent strong growth of weeds around the trees.
Preparing a tree for winter
The Imperial plum-column negatively refers to lowering the temperature, therefore, requires careful shelter for the winter. Especially sensitive to cold weather are plants that have not entered the fruiting phase.
The trunk must be covered with snow and a large volume of hay and straw should be placed on top. Such measures will protect the tree from the cold, as well as protect it from rats, hares, and mice. To protect the culture from frost, experts also recommend that you carefully wrap the apical bud, which gives a “start” for the growth of the entire plant.
Did you know? All varieties of plums are not centenarians. On average, their life, depending on the variety, is from 15 to 60 years.
Harvesting and storage
As mentioned above, the Imperial plum is a mid-season crop whose fruits have been harvested since mid-August. The compact size of the tree makes the harvesting process easy and quick. Fruits are recommended to be removed in warm and dry weather. You should not engage in harvesting in the morning or after rain, since moisture on the surface of the drain will adversely affect their keeping quality.
Fruits must be picked before they become soft. Dense, healthy, without damage and signs of decay of plums, are suitable for storage. Fruits intended for transportation or long-term storage should be picked together with the stalks or trimmed with scissors. Collected plums are advised to be stored in wooden, plastic or cardboard trays.
It is necessary to store fruits in a dry, ventilated room, with temperature indicators of 0 ... + 2 ° C and relative humidity of at least 85%. Under such conditions, the fruits are able to maintain their presentation and taste for about 2 months.
The Imperial plum column is a great alternative to traditional wood. It allows you to save space on the site as much as possible while ensuring a stable and rich harvest. The culture is easy to care for, undemanding to the soil and, subject to the basic rules of agricultural technology, is able to please fruiting for a decade.
