Tladianta dubious is a unique herbaceous plant with perennial vines. For a long time it grew only in southeast Asia, from where it was later brought to Europe. Today, this culture is common in many countries of the world and has become known as the "red cucumber". What is tladianta, why it has an unusual color, read the article.
Description
Red cucumbers are representatives of the genus of pumpkin crops. Since these are pollinated plants, hybrids can be found in nature - the result of crossing with a pumpkin, melon or cucumber of another variety. Tladianta is considered an unpretentious plant. The main condition for growth is the presence of support. With a minimum of maintenance costs, you can get a good harvest.
The plant grows up to five meters in height. On the hairy stem there are numerous tendrils, thanks to which this plant clings to any blade of grass, just to climb up. Why is it so important? Without supports, the stems spread along the ground, as a result of which the bush thickens with scout shoots, which will throw out more and more tendrils to find vertical support. The plant will not bloomuntil he finds her.
For the inhabitants of the middle lane, a red cucumber is unusual for perception. A detailed description is evidence of this. The pubescent light green leaves are heart-shaped. Bright yellow flowers are very similar to tulips, and the fruits are like ordinary small cucumbers or red melons. On green vegetables, bright longitudinal stripes are clearly visible. The combination of yellow flowers, red fruits and green leaves at the same time is an amazing sight! A ripe cucumber becomes soft and sweet in taste. Why is he red? If you cut it open, you can see the dark orange flesh. Hence the name.
Pollination
This culture is dioecious, has male and female plants. With intensive pollination, red cucumbers bear fruit abundantly. In Japan, for example, a symbiont bee carries pollen. Male flowers close at night, and insects hide in them. In the morning they fly to the females and feed on their nectar.
There is no such insect in Russia, and bees rarely participate in pollination. Therefore, this procedure is best done artificially, using a brush, or by applying flowers of different sexes to each other. Tladianta is well pollinated by pollen of other plants: pumpkins, common cucumbers, squash. Red cucumbers bloom all summer, until frost.
Reproduction
In autumn, the tops die off, but the plant does not die. The fact is that tubers appear at the ends of the shoots, similarfor potatoes. Of these, plants will appear next spring. Tubers can be left in the ground for the winter. They tolerate frost very well. Although they can be dug up and stored in a cool cellar, refrigerator or under a layer of snow, pre-packed in a film, and planted in early spring, in April. To do this, use a single-row scheme with a distance between landings of 60-70 centimeters. Seedlings can be expected in May. They will grow quickly. If the weather is sunny, the shoots grow 15 centimeters or more. Red cucumbers can not be transplanted to another place for several years if they were planted with tubers.
Propagated by tladianta and seeds, which are very small in size, black in color and round in shape. Planting material is necessarily subjected to stratification, for which the seeds are soaked for a day in cold water. After the time has elapsed, the liquid is drained, and the swollen seeds are placed in a wet cloth, wrapped and left in a dark place until sprouts appear. After germination, they are sown in a pot or immediately on a bed of several pieces, in order to then determine the female and male individuals.
The best time for sowing seeds is the beginning of March. Tladianta - red cucumber - grows well in low light, so the seedlings do not need additional illumination. They quietly develop in conditions of low temperature, but not less than zero degrees. Pots with seedlings can be taken out to the insulated loggia. Seedlings are planted in the ground after spring frosts. If the seeds are planted in a garden bed inwinter, then in the spring you can get a lot of plants. However, there will be no fruits in the first year, since all the forces are spent on the formation of numerous tubers.
Proper care
This crop does not tolerate heavy soils. The plant prefers fertile loose soil. When the seedlings planted in the ground take root, they should be fed with complex mineral fertilizer or s altpeter. As soon as the first buds appear, fertilizer with phosphorus should be applied to the soil. During the fruiting period, top dressing is carried out only with organic fertilizers: mullein or bird droppings. After planting and in dry weather, the plant needs watering.
Tladianta takes up little space and takes root well at the fence, wall of the house or garage, which serve as its support. Some prefer to plant exotic cucumbers under the crowns of trees. This does not require any additional hassle and will not harm the plants, as they are comfortable with shading.
Practical advice for installing cucumber supports
At a distance of five meters from each other, vertical pipes 3-4 meters high are installed. Of these, a U-shaped arc is made. Slate with a flat surface is dug between the pipes so that its edge protrudes slightly above the ground. Grooves are made on both sides of the horizontal partition, into which tubers with a female and male beginning are placed separately. Planting is sprinkled with soil and fenced off so that the plant does not entangle the entire garden.
Use
The flowers of the plant eventually form ovaries, which in the process of growth turn into fruits. Untilripe red cucumber, vegetable dishes are prepared from fresh green vegetable. Salads with the addition of feather onions and butter are especially good. Such fruits are preserved and s alted. As soon as the color turns red, tladianta acquires a sweet taste, and marmalade, jams, jams are cooked from it.
Healing properties are preserved during processing. It is the high sugar content that is the distinguishing feature of the red cucumber. This plant is widely used as an ornamental hedge. For example: just two plants are enough to braid a garden arbor from all sides in a short time.
