In the pursuit of various exotic trees or shrubs, which are not only capricious, but also require increased attention, our gardeners often lose sight of some unpretentious plants. But many of them are no less decorative and useful. Among them, the pretty bush irga stands out. The plant also has a number of useful properties. In folk medicine, not only berries are widely used, but also the bark and leaves of this deciduous shrub.
Planting a shadberry plant and caring for it are quite simple. And the culture itself is so interesting and unusual that it is simply amazing how it could end up in the backyards of domestic garden plots. This article provides detailed information about the irge plant - photos, medicinal properties, cultivation features. Another name for the culture is cinnamon. From the Mongolian language, the meaning of the word irgai is translated as "very hard wood."
General information
The irga plant, the photo of which is presented below, is foundalmost throughout the Northern Hemisphere. It grows in North Africa and America, and in the countries of the Far East, as well as in the Caucasus and in the Crimea. Often it can be seen in forest glades, as well as in the mountains among thickets of other shrubs. Irga is a plant that feels great on any soil. The only place where it grows is marshy land, where there is stagnant water. The main condition for the normal ripening of fruits is a sufficient amount of light. In such conditions, the fruits become large, juicy and he althy. This feature is inherent in all cultivated varieties of plants of the pink family, which includes shadberry. A plant under normal agrotechnical conditions, on average, produces about fifteen kilograms of berries from each bush for the entire period of fruit ripening. In addition, they are incredibly useful and widely used in cooking.
What does the plant look like
Irga looks especially attractive in early spring. When the first flowers appear on its branches, the bush is completely covered with very delicate villi. They completely cover the plant. Irga, whose photos are incredibly beautiful this season, gets a unique charm in early spring. She appears to be wearing a white or pinkish shawl. When the inflorescences begin to fall off, the villi also gradually disappear. The description of the irgi plant depends on the variety of culture. In our country, the round-leaved species is more common - a native of the Caucasus and Crimea. In addition to it, spiked, Canadian, blood-red varieties are also cultivated.
From the titleyou can already understand how these species differ from each other. The common thing that unites all representatives of this plant is erect young shoots, painted in brown-red color. Their growth continues until mid-July. The length of the annual growth is from 60 to 100 cm. The leaves of the shadberry, located on long petioles, can be round, ovoid and oval, depending on the species. They have serrated edges. The leaves sometimes reach a length of 10 cm. If you look at the photo, what the irga plant looks like in spring, summer and autumn, you can see that a color change is taking place. The leaves are brownish-green when blooming, in June they become bluish-green, but after picking the berries they acquire golden-purple hues.
Varieties
Cute green irga plant has about 25 species. Some of them have a special beauty. Let's consider the most common of them. For example, a plant found in northern gardens canadian shadberry, also known as a fig, can grow up to seven meters. Its oblong branches create a wide dense oval crown. The leaves are ovoid in shape. During the flowering period, they are brownish, in summer they are gray, and in autumn they are golden or reddish. To the touch, the leaf plate is soft, slightly rough and with a gentle fluff. The Canadian irga plant blooms in late spring: its large white buds are collected in graceful brushes. The fruits of this shrub are similar to wild roses.
Another large deciduous plant - Lamarck's irga - is widely used in cooking. It grows up to 5 m and is distinguished by oval-shaped leaves,with scalloped edges. The inflorescences of this variety are small, white. They appear in large numbers on the bush, so this plant looks very beautiful in the spring and summer.
Irga, photo, medicinal properties and cultivation features of which are presented below, blooms for about ten days. Healing berries appear only on mature shrubs that are at least four years old.
Another variety, common irga, grows only up to three meters. Culture can grow in one place for more than fifteen years. Another garden shrub, round-leaved currant, reaches a height of four meters. She has slightly drooping shoots, painted in bright brown.
The berries on the bushes of this variety are green at first, then scarlet, and when fully ripe they are dark blue, almost black.
Flower period
All specific forms of irgi are distinguished by a neat appearance. Irga is a flowering plant that is attractive to insects. During the flowering period, it is covered with many buds. The shade of flowers, depending on the variety, can be not only pure white, but also pinkish. The buds are not located singly: they are removed in delicate inflorescences.
Cinnamon blooms in spring. The excellent compatibility of the irgi with other plants makes it possible to plant it in rows mixed with other shrub plants characterized by a summer flowering period. In this case, you can get a garden that will delight with the beauty of multi-colored inflorescences, both in spring and summer. After the irga completely fades and sheds its petalsfragrant inflorescences, the fluff from the leaves also disappears. And then it turns into an ordinary shrub with a well-developed stem and a lush crown.
Fruits
During the fruiting period, small berries with pink barrels can be seen on the currant. They are collected on one brush. The immature fruits of most varieties of shadberry are cream-colored, and as they ripen, they become purple or purple. The berries have a pleasant taste. Their delicate sweetness and juiciness attract both young children and adults. They like to feast on the fruits of irgi and birds, after which they spread the seeds of the plant throughout the district. Berries from the bush should only be picked when ripe, otherwise they will not have healing properties.
Fruits contain a huge amount of nutrients - dietary fiber (up to 25 percent), glucose and fructose, vitamins C, P, and group B, pectin and phytosterols, carotene, fiber, and various trace elements.
Irga plant: medicinal properties
Few people know that all parts of this wonderful shrub are useful: flowers, berries, leafy part, and bark. The irge plant contains a huge amount of vitamins, folic acid. It is used in folk medicine for beriberi, to strengthen the immune system, as well as to prevent heart attack, stroke and atherosclerosis. It is believed that the irga plant also helps fight the development of cancer, strengthens the walls of blood vessels, improves vision, and prevents cataracts. It is excellent for healing festering wounds. For thisyou need to apply bandages moistened with berry juice to them.
Tincture of irgi inflorescences will help normalize blood pressure and sleep. It is difficult to list all the ailments in which this miraculous shrub helps.
Site and ground requirements
Irga is a long-liver. The shrub grows in the wild for about seventy years. Moreover, over time, its trunk becomes like a tree. On the site, you can choose any place for planting shadberry: after all, the plant is unpretentious and can develop normally even in shading, besides, it is not afraid of drought and drafts.
But if there is a sunny place in the garden, then it is ideal: in this case, the branches will not have to reach up in search of sunlight.
Irga is also not demanding on the soil. The main condition is that the place should not be swampy. You need to know: the more fertile the soil, the more he althy the plant will grow on the site and the richer the harvest will be.
Landing
The place for the irgi must be prepared in advance, first of all by clearing it of all weeds. Before planting, you need to dig it up and add phosphate and potash fertilizers at the rate of 40 grams of each type per 1 sq. m.
Seedlings should be one or two years old. If it is planned to plant several bushes on the site at once, then experts recommend planting them in a checkerboard pattern one and a half meters from each other. The layer of earth that was dug out of the hole must be mixed with compost and sand in proportions of 3: 1: 1. At the bottom of the hole, you need to fill up a little fertilizer - potash andphosphate, as well as humus. Seedlings should be sprinkled with a pre-prepared mixture and poured abundantly around the trunk. When moisture is absorbed into the soil, you need to add a little more earth, level the hole, and mulch the soil. After that, the bush should be slightly cut, leaving no more than four buds in each shoot.
Care Tips
Irga is considered an unpretentious culture. Many gardeners say that after planting they don’t remember about it until the very season when it comes time to harvest. Although it would be nice if this shrub still receives minimal attention. It consists in regular watering.
In some cases, the plant needs pruning so that this beautiful shrub does not lose its visual appeal. Yes, and rejuvenation of the plant will only benefit, for example, in terms of harvest. From time to time it is better to weed the weeds. Irgi has a very developed root system, so it is recommended to water it only in drought.
Fertilizer and top dressing
The first fertilizer after planting should be given to irga after she reaches the age of five. Once a year, the trunk circle should be dug up with the addition of 300 g of superphosphate and one bucket of humus.
In addition, from early spring to mid-July, you can also feed the plant with liquid organic matter. For this, a solution of chicken manure, diluted in water in a ratio of 1:10, is suitable. For each bush, you need to prepare about 5 liters of the mixture.
Reproduction
Cinnamon can be grown from seeds. But in this caseyou need to be prepared for the fact that with this type of reproduction, all varietal characteristics will disappear. Seeds extracted from ripe berries should be immediately planted in the ground to a depth of two centimeters. They need to be well watered, and mulched on top. In winter, the seeds undergo a natural stratification and in the spring young shoots appear from them. In some cases, the seeds germinate in the same autumn.
Another way is propagation by green cuttings. From an adult bush, cuttings about 15 cm long should be cut, all leaves should be removed from them, leaving only the top two. The lower cut must be placed in a special solution for the formation of roots. After that, the cuttings should be washed with cold water and placed in a greenhouse at an angle, sprinkled with a layer of sand on top. The distance from the dome of the greenhouse to the top of the planting material should be about 20 cm. It is necessary to water the cuttings so that the water does not fall on the root part, but only splashes. After a maximum of three weeks, they will already take root normally, so you can open the greenhouse during the day.
There is another way - propagation by layering. To do this, you need to choose strong young shoots, dig them in in early spring, after pinching the tops. When young growth appears from the buds, it must be covered with earth. There are three ways to propagate irgi, but experts call the simplest division by green cuttings.
Diseases and pests of irgi
Cinnamon has fairly good immunity, but from time to time it still suffers from tuberculosis: the plant firstturn brown, and then dry up and fall off the leaves. Following them, branches are affected, on which small red tubercles begin to appear. After detecting these symptoms, you should immediately cut off and burn the diseased parts, and spray the shrub itself with copper sulphate or Bordeaux liquid. Some gardeners carry out this procedure in the spring as a preventive measure.
In addition to tuberculosis, sometimes phyllostic blotch can be found on the shadberry, manifested by wilting of the leaves, on which brown spots appeared. The treatment of the bush is the same - with the help of vitriol with the removal of the affected parts.
Another disease - gray rot - is manifested by the appearance of sprawling spots on the leaves. The green part of the bush begins to turn yellow, then it is covered with fluffy gray mold. As a result, the leaves fall off. The cause of this disease is excess moisture. Therefore, the first step is to eliminate it, and if possible, transplant the irgu to a drier place.
As for the pests that infect the bush, the main enemies of the currant are the seed-eaters. Already by the name, you can immediately guess that this parasite, penetrating inside the fruit, begins to eat the seeds. In the same place, in the berries, he pupates. Sometimes on the irga there is also a moth-moth, which harms the foliage of the shrub. As a result, it dries up. You need to fight these pests with the help of either karbofos or fufanon.
A few recommendations
Blackcurrant, raspberry, gooseberry grow quite calmly next to the irga plant. Neighborhood with other plants, for example, with birch or Manchurianwalnut is not recommended. They oppress irgu and consume a lot of moisture.
Irga will not bring unnecessary trouble, will not take a lot of time, but she will decorate the garden plot and delight with a harvest of delicious and incredibly he althy fruits.
Besides, it is winter-hardy, so even Michurin once recommended this crop as a rootstock for apple and pear trees in the north.
