Recently, it has become fashionable to grow plants in your garden that have an exotic nature and previously grew far beyond the borders of our region. The low almond is one such example. The southern countries are considered its homeland, and therefore, caring for the plant requires appropriate attention. Steppe almonds attract gardeners not only for their fruits, but also for their beautiful appearance. When it is in the flowering stage, it looks simply irresistible.
General Description
Many novice gardeners are interested in the question: is low almond a tree or a shrub? We will immediately dispel all doubts. This type of almond is a shrub. It belongs to the rose-flowering family and, with proper care, grows for many years. The bush can reach one and a half meters in height. The leaves are medium in size with an oblong dark green color. When the flowering period begins in early spring, the bushcovered with small pink flowers. Despite the fact that this plant came to us from the south, it tolerates frost well and therefore immediately became a favorite among local flora lovers. Due to the fact that this is a southern plant, it also tolerates dry periods well, when there is no rain for a long time. This is mainly due to the special structure of the root system. The bush has the main strong roots that go far into the ground and take moisture from there to feed the plant. There are also small branches of the roots, but the main function is still the main roots. The fruits of the bush appear in the middle of autumn in the form of nuts. The nut is about six centimeters in length, the nucleolus has a delicate aroma and pleasant taste.
Varieties and species
Low almond (bean) has many different names, but they all belong to the same species: low, steppe, dwarf, bean. But there are other types of almonds that you want to remember:
- Georgian,
- ordinary,
- petunic,
- three-bladed.
These species differ in that they grow not only in the form of bushes, but also grow into full-fledged trees, sometimes reaching three meters in height. Further, the shape and tone of the leaves, as well as the color of the buds, differ. Today, we are interested in low almonds, and it is about him that we want to talk in detail. Indeed, in order for this shrub to grow and develop properly, you need to know everything about how to plant it, how to care for it and deal with possible problems.
Landing
The low almond, described here, prefers a place in direct sunlight or, in extreme cases, where there is a slight shadow. It is strictly forbidden to plant a bush in a draft and in a place where the wind is constantly walking.
After choosing the right place for planting, take care of the preparation of the soil. The acidity level should be around the number 7, 5. If you want to create the most favorable conditions for the bush, then make a mixture of such components as leafy earth (three parts), humus (two parts) and sand (one part). Next, you need to add lime or dolomite flour at the rate of 300 grams per bush. When planting several bushes, you need to leave a distance of about one and a half meters so that later the plants do not interfere with each other. In each hole, you need to create good drainage so that there is no stagnant water. This can be done with gravel or brick fragments, as well as sand. The whole process is as follows:
- Dig a hole big enough to fit all the roots.
- First, we put a drainage layer on the bottom, which should be about twenty centimeters.
- Pour five centimeters of sand onto the drainage layer.
- Pour prepared soil and plant a bush there so that the neck of the root is above the ground.
Care Secrets
Dwarf almond requires attention and proper care from its owner, so we recommend following these tips.
- Water the plant should be moderate. The bush requires the most moisture during budding, but stagnation of water at the roots should not be allowed. If the soil where the almonds grow is sandy, then you need to water more often. In order to understand when to water a bush, evaluate the condition of the soil and its degree of dryness. After watering, be sure to loosen the ground to allow air to enter the root system of the plant.
- Do not forget that the plant needs strength to grow, which means that it needs to be fed in the form of mineral and organic fertilizers. It is recommended to do this in early spring. Mullein is well suited for this purpose. Then, in the summer, you can add superphosphate. It has a good effect on the quality of wood and yield. It is enough to take thirty grams for one bush. In autumn, you can feed with fertilizers containing potassium.
- In early spring, be sure to prune the bush to maintain the correct shape. This helps to strengthen the roots and make the bush more lush. It is necessary to remove all unnecessary branches, including those that grow towards the center of the bush.
Plant propagation
Low almonds can be propagated in the following ways:
- seed,
- cutting,
- vaccinating,
- with the help of overgrowth.
The first way is that the seeds are planted in the ground in early spring, before that, loosening the area and adding fertilizer there. This should be done when the weather is warm. In this case, you will quickly get strong seedlings.
With the cutting method in the middle of summer, you need to cut the cutting with severalknots, place for several hours in a solution that stimulates root growth. Next, you need to plant it in the soil, leaving a couple of nodes above the ground. With the onset of cold weather, the cutting needs to be covered from the cold.
The last two ways are also quite simple. The shoot from the root must be dug up and transferred to a prepared place with the right soil. And for grafting, you need to take branches that are already well ripened and graft them onto trees such as peach or plum.
Pest control
The bush has an average immunity to the attacks of various insects, so it needs help. To do this, it is necessary to carefully monitor the condition of the almonds and, at the first sign of a problem, immediately begin to fight the pest.
- Leaves started to curl up? So, you were visited by a leaflet. In this case, you need to spray the bush with a 2.5% nitrofen solution if the process began before the appearance of the buds, and chlorophos with a concentration of no more than 0.3 percent will help to destroy the caterpillars.
- Aphid is a frequent visitor to the almond bush. You need to fight it in the standard way, spraying the plant with a solution of laundry soap, making a mixture of 200 grams of soap per ten liters of water.
- The application of a lime layer on the trunk of a tree saves from bark beetle. It is recommended to add glue to the mixture to extend the life of the protective agent.
Possible diseases
Low almonds can also suffer from disease. Gray rot leads to the removal of all damaged branches. Rust disappears after treatmentbush preparations containing sulfur. And Bordeaux liquid will save you from burns if you apply it once every fortnight. All manipulations boil down to seeing the problem in time and immediately starting treatment, otherwise there is a chance to lose the entire bush.
Applications
Steppe almonds are attractive not only for culinary specialists with their fruits, but also for landscape designers, as well as for cosmetologists. Nuts themselves are used in food in various dishes. Walnut contains a large amount of vitamins, minerals and other useful substances. Moreover, it is simply delicious. It is also used to make various drugs in folk medicine in the treatment of diabetes, asthma, anemia and other diseases. Almond oil is widely used in cosmetology as part of masks, creams, shampoos and gels. And in itself, a beautiful bush is used in the design of private plots and public areas in combination with other bushes and flowers.
