The end of August and the beginning of September always delight us with delicious gifts. What could be better than a large, heavy bunch of grapes that you just want to pick from the vine? Each berry is filled with sunlight and seems to burn from the inside. And it seems that the sweet juice is about to burst out and flow down the palms. Monarch grapes can be safely called one of the most delicious varieties.
Variety description
This complex form of a table hybrid was bred by the breeder Pavlovsky by crossing Talisman and Cardinal varieties with the addition of pollen. The Monarch grape variety is notable for its particularly large marketable bunches, the weight of which can range from 500 to 1500 grams.
Flowering occurs at the very beginning of June. The flowers are bisexual. The berries ripen for 130 days, harvested after August 20. The bunch has, as a rule, a conical shape, less often - oval. After ripening, the brushes retain their taste properties and presentation for a long time, they hang on the bushes.for a long time. Monarch grapes are distinguished by a strong growth power of shoots (up to 2.5 m). The cuttings take root without any problems, the maturation of the vine is normal.
The variety is able to tolerate frosts down to -23 degrees Celsius. Resistant to anthracnose. You can also protect this variety from phylloxera by grafting, although it grows much better on its own roots.
Monarch grapes: description of berries
Grains store sugar well. The berries themselves are yellowish in color, with pink or reddish blotches that appear due to "sunburn" in the sun. The fruits are oval in shape and reach a size of 36x26 mm with an average weight of 15-25 g. With a long stay on the bush, the berries begin to raisin, but the taste of the grapes only improves.
Monarch grapes, the photo of which is presented in the review, has grains with a medium-density skin, but it is not felt at all during meals, and grapes can be eaten with pleasure. The taste of berries is simple and pleasant, with a slight aftertaste of nutmeg. It is also possible to harvest a second harvest from the provoked buds, while the taste of the berries does not change at all, but their size will be slightly smaller.
Shedding of the ovary during pollination
The Monarch grape variety is prone to shedding of the ovary during the pollination period. Many gardeners face this problem. At the same time, climatic conditions do not particularly affect the loss of flowers. It is interesting that even on practically empty bunches, these grapes still tie a couple of dozen berries,yielding a 500g harvest.
Shedding of inflorescences is unsystematic and occurs on strong thickened shoots. But weaker shoots have a good pollination phase.
Solving the problem of shedding
As it turned out, Monarch grapes shed their inflorescences when the shoots are heavily fattened. To prevent this from happening, you should follow some recommendations:
1. Young hybrid forms of bushes: in the fall, the entire vine that has matured is left, while nothing is cut off, including “doubles” and “tees” should be left. The entire vine that has come out of the bush should be left until the pea phase, after which the bush can be normalized.
2. Old powerful bush: you should plan at least 60 buds for fruiting. Fruit shoots must be thin, then the inflorescences will not crumble.
How to choose a landing site
Because the Monarch grape loves the light, the place should be sunny and protected from the wind. An excellent solution would be a plot near the southern wall of the house, barn or fence. In this case, the soil should be well drained. Grapes are best planted on a gentle southwestern or southern slope, while placing the row in the south-north direction. What if the site is completely flat, and the southern wall of the house is already occupied? In this case, you need to create a place where the vine will be comfortable.
To do this, anywhere in the adjoining area you need to build a fence up to two meters high, orienting it along the east-west line. Also for this purpose, you can use densehedge, you can still make a solid screen of vines or reeds.
Landing on the ridges
You can plant grapes in several ways, focusing on the type of soil. For example, in sandy soils, a trench planting method is recommended.
There is no need to rush to plant young plants in the ground, especially if you have not grown these varieties before. Let them stay in the school until the first signal brushes (it will be much easier to cover them this way). In the northern regions, it is better not to plant young grapes in the ground at all in the first year. It is better to keep them in buckets or barrels half buried in the ground. Such shoots will begin to bear fruit earlier.
You need a clear planning of the vineyard. It is not recommended to plant vines spontaneously. Varieties are best grouped according to purpose, since the planting interval may be different. The distance between grape rows should be at least two meters, and between individual bushes 0.8 m (for juice-wine varieties) or 1.5 m (for table hybrids). To facilitate further care of plants, their preliminary grouping according to the ripening of berries, the degree of frost resistance and other general characteristic qualities will help.
