Japanese medlar is a subtropical plant that came to us from Northern India and China. And recently, it has been actively cultivated in Japan, which is why it has acquired such a name. If you want to learn everything about growing Japanese medlar at home, then our article is for you. Today we will tell you about what this exotic fruit is and what useful properties it has.
Description
Another name for Japanese loquat is loquat. Despite the fact that the countries of Southeast Asia are considered the birthplace of this fruit, today it can also be found in our country, in regions with warm climates. For example, the Japanese loquat grows well in the Crimea and the Caucasus.
Its fruits are oval, close to pear-shaped and collected in dense brushes, consisting of 8-12 fruits each. The size of the fruit is quite small - from three to fivecentimeters in length. The dense skin of yellow or orange, as seen in the photo of the Japanese medlar, hides the juicy pulp underneath and is easily removed if the fruit is completely ripe. Its taste can be different - from sour to very sweet, the same applies to the color of its flesh - from white to bright orange. Its taste is reminiscent of a combination of apple, pear and strawberry.
Plant varieties
The climate of our country allows growing two types of this exotic fruit.
German medlar (also called Caucasian) is a tall, almost ten-meter tree, covered with elongated, hairless leaves that fall off with the advent of cold weather. The plant is frost-resistant, grows in the Caucasus and Crimea. In autumn, during the ripening period, the tree is covered with brownish fruits with a dense pulp of sour taste.
Japanese medlar is a subtropical plant that reaches a height of no more than seven meters. This variety of fruit does not tolerate long-term frosts. Therefore, the cultivation of Japanese loquat at home is considered optimal. But residents of the Black Sea coast can also plant it on their site - a warm climate is needed to get a crop. The leaves of this fruit tree are large - up to 25 centimeters long and 10 centimeters wide. Young leaves are pubescent on both sides, more mature - only on the bottom. The fruits of this medlar look like small apricots and have a sweet and sour taste.
Use in cooking
Japanese loquat can be consumed not only fresh, but also processed. Soaked fruits, juices and compotes are the most used options for its use. And from this exotic fruit they make excellent wine with an original taste and aroma. Also, jams and preserves are cooked from medlar, marshmallow is prepared and used as a filling for sweets and other confectionery. Fruit salads, desserts and pastries are prepared with it. Loquat seeds are a great alternative to coffee beans.
Useful properties
The highest content of vitamin C in this fruit makes it almost indispensable during the period of colds. Regular use of medlar has a positive effect on general well-being, increases immunity and protective functions of the body during the period of activation of viral and infectious diseases. The presence of B vitamins positively affects the functioning of the nervous system and brain development. Vitamin A nourishes the skin, slowing down the aging process, and also helps improve vision. And thanks to the folic acid contained in ripe fruits, medlar can be consumed during pregnancy. Potassium and calcium are also high in this fruit, which is good for the cardiovascular system and bones.
It is precisely because of these positive qualities that many people think about growing Japanese medlar at home. In the following sections, we will take a closer look at the features of this simple process.
Choosing a seat
Japanese medlar tree is desirable to be placed in a well-lit warm place. Light short shading is acceptable, despite the general photophilous nature of the plant. A bright room with windows located on the south side, spacious greenhouses or a winter garden are the best locations for Japanese medlar. The more sunlight it gets, the more abundant and tastier the harvest will be.
Irrigation
Due to the large leaves, the process of moisture evaporation is quite fast. Therefore, you should carefully monitor the condition of the soil - it should always be with moderate moisture. At the same time, do not overdo it with watering - excessive water content leads to rotting of the roots and, as a result, the death of the plant. young plants are especially sensitive to excessive moisture. In winter, the amount of watering is sharply reduced.
Use warm settled water, pouring it either into the pan or around the circumference of the pot to avoid exposing the roots. The top layer of soil should be loosened after each watering.
Cutting
At home, Japanese medlar does not require mandatory pruning and grows no more than two meters high. It is enough to remove only dried branches. Since the medlar is not prone to developing abundant branching, its crown does not grow too dense. But if you wish, you can independently form it, giving the desired shape - pruning is easily tolerated by the plant. To get a standard plant, you need to remove the extra lower branches. And to give the medlar the shape of a bush, pinch the upper and side shoots. After trimming, be sure to process all the cut pointsgarden pitch.
Care during flowering and fruiting
Growing Japanese medlar is not a particularly troublesome process. But the first fruits will have to wait. When growing medlar from seeds, the first flowering occurs 4-5 years after planting, the plant obtained by cuttings will bloom in 3 years. During the flowering period, the tree is covered with white or cream-colored flowers, which are collected in neat brushes. Since the size of the flowers is very small, this plant does not have a special decorative function. The flowering period begins in the autumn-winter period, most often in November. And since natural lighting is not enough at this time, experienced gardeners advise organizing additional lighting, increasing daylight hours to 10-12 hours.
Don't be afraid to remove extra fruits if there are too many of them. In the case of medlar, it is not the richness of the crop that matters, but its quality. In the first fruitful year, it is desirable to leave no more than twelve fruits. Fruit ripening occurs in the summer, and this process may be uneven.
Feeding
The main conditions for growing Japanese loquat are maintaining soil moisture and organizing sufficient lighting. But fertilizing the plant will not be superfluous at all. Top dressing is necessary only during the period of active growth - from the beginning of spring to the onset of autumn. Top dressing is carried out with the help of complex mineral and organic fertilizers. Duringfruit formation, it is desirable to introduce into the soil an infusion of mullein and ash, prepared from two hundred grams of manure and twenty grams of ash, infused in two liters of water. In summer and autumn, nitrogen and phosphate additives serve as fertilizer. Before fertilizing, it is important to water the plants well, in order to avoid feeding on the roots of the plant through dry soil. In general, the fertilization process is carried out every 3-4 weeks.
Seed propagation
Seeds look like dark brown hazelnuts, about the same size. For reproduction in this way, it is important to choose only the freshest seeds - their germination percentage reaches 90 percent, and for those that have lain for 30-35 days, this percentage drops to 60. The soil for seed germination should be light and loose. The optimal ratio of leaf mixture and turf land is considered to be 2: 1. If there is no soddy soil at hand, you can replace it with a mixture of sand and peat. For planting, a container with a volume of about two liters is used, on the bottom of which a three-centimeter layer of drainage is poured. After that, the soil is filled up, in which the seeds of the medlar are planted, to a depth of about three centimeters. Planted seeds are well watered and sent to a room with an air temperature of at least 22 degrees.
If all the conditions mentioned above are met, the first sprouts can be expected in a month. Very often, two shoots sprout from one seed, they can be planted when two full-fledged leaves appear on each. Young plants are located ina well-lit place, but protecting them from direct exposure to the sun's rays.
Vegetative propagation
For this propagation method, cuttings are prepared in advance. Their length must be at least fifteen centimeters and have a horizontal cut on both sides. Each cutting must have at least two developed buds. It is desirable to remove most of the leaves from the cutting to prevent excessive evaporation of moisture. The best substrate for their germination is ordinary river sand, which must be calcined in the oven and cooled before the sowing process. Before deepening the cutting, the lower cut will be processed with crushed charcoal - this will protect it from decay. The cutting is planted vertically, to a depth of 3-4 centimeters. Landings need to be poured with warm water, and then covered with a film or glass jar. Rooting occurs in about a month.
Rooting cuttings is also permissible in water. For this, longer samples are used (at least twenty centimeters), the leaves from which are not removed. The lower sections of the cuttings are wrapped in cloth and immersed in a glass container with water. Wrapping the cuttings with a cloth is carried out for their additional darkening. Since it was noticed that in the dark the roots develop much more actively. With this method of propagation, a good root system can be obtained in 40-50 days.
Diseases and pests
When properly cared for, the Japanese loquat is virtually immune to pests. Most often, novice gardeners are faced withcertain problems, which we will talk about next:
- Drying of the plant. First, the medlar leaves dry up along the edge, and then the leaf dries completely. This mainly occurs in the winter season and the reason for this is too dry air. Heating raises the temperature of the air in the room and dries it out excessively. To save the plant from drying out, spray the air around it daily with water.
- Another problem is black spots. A fungal disease that causes black spots on the leaves appears with excessive watering and low air temperature (less than 15 degrees). In this case, the number of waterings should be significantly reduced and spraying should be avoided.
- Loss of leaf elasticity. Leaves begin to sag in conditions of lack of water and oxygen in the soil. You should loosen the earth more often and adjust its moisture content.
Use of medlar for treatment
Useful properties of lokva are widely used in folk medicine. For example, a decoction of unripe fruits with their seeds is able to improve the functioning of the stomach and intestines. It will be useful to use such a decoction for diseases of the genitourinary system. During the flowering period, you can collect and dry the leaves of the plant, so that later diarrhea and bleeding can be stopped with their decoction. In a cold, this infusion is good to gargle for pain relief and disinfection. The high content of tannins in lokva makes it an anti-inflammatory and healing agent, which also soothes pain. A sweet syrup made from the juice of this fruit is used to treat coughs andother respiratory problems. An infusion of the flowers and leaves of the plant is used for gargling and ingestion for sore throats and inflammation of the mouth.
Harmful properties of the fruit
Do not eat medlar fruits for those who have found themselves allergic to this fruit or completely intolerant to this product. Loquat is also contraindicated for people with increased acidity of the stomach, peptic ulcers and inflammation of the pancreas. These restrictions apply to fresh fruits, but jams, compotes and jams do not have such a high acidity that can harm the body. And in general, medlar should not be consumed in immense quantities, since it can cause ailments even in people with excellent he alth.
