Siebold's walnut or ailantolium is not as popular as walnut. And only a few gardeners plant this variety in their backyards. But in vain, because this tree, with a minimum of attention, bears excellent fruit, besides, it looks attractive and calmly endures even severe frosts.
Description
Siebold's walnut is a deciduous tree reaching 20 meters in height. In its natural environment, it can be found in the mountain, coniferous and deciduous forests of Japan, South Korea, as well as in Sakhalin and the Far East. The variety prefers to grow in small groups or singly. Since the natural range of the species is constantly shrinking, the Siebold walnut is listed in the Red Book.
A straight tree trunk reaches one meter in diameter. It has gray-green bark, covered with longitudinal cracks. The branches are smooth with a yellowish-gray tint. They are covered with leaves on long brown petioles. The leaf plate is ovoid, elongated, with pointed tips. Their length reaches 60 cm, and their width is 40 cm. Painted ingreen color, and the lower part is lighter than the upper one.
At the end of spring, the tree begins to bloom. At this time, in the axils of the leaves and at the tips of the shoots, earrings appear, collected in brushes of 18–22 pieces. After them, fruits are formed - rounded or oval drupes, reaching 2-4 cm in length. They are covered with a hard, thin shell with a smooth surface. Kernels ripening by the beginning of autumn have excellent taste and high fat content (65%).
Siebold's walnut begins to bear fruit only at the age of 8. But this disadvantage is compensated by the durability of the tree, which lives up to 300 years. In addition to tasty nuts, this crop is valued for the high technical characteristics of wood, widely used in furniture production.
Also, the variety is characterized by increased frost resistance, which makes it possible to grow Siebold's walnut in the Moscow region, Central and Northern regions. But in the south, the tree feels uncomfortable, as it suffers greatly from drought and heat. Nevertheless, here, too, the culture takes root and bears fruit, but not as abundantly as in the North.
Reproduction
Culture is propagated by seeds, cuttings and grafting. But the first way is the easiest and most affordable. So let's stop there. Start breeding in the fall, immediately after harvesting the fruit. Seed germination of this nut reaches 30-70%. However, to increase the likelihood of sprouts, pre-soak the seeds in warm water for 24 hours. And before planting, scarify the fruit.
For a plant, choose a well-lit area with nutrientand loose soil Be sure to prepare a landing site in advance. To do this, dig the soil to a depth with a spade bayonet and clear the soil of weeds and their rhizomes.
If in the future you will transplant seedlings to another place, then at a depth of 0.5 meters under the soil surface, lay sheets of slate or galvanized metal. This is necessary to prevent root growth in depth. And then, when transplanting, the seedlings will not suffer much.
Cultivation of Siebold's nut
Fruits deepen horizontally into the holes, to a depth of 7-9 cm, in groups of 4-5 pieces. From above, be sure to stretch the net or install other protection against rodents.
Sprouts will appear only next summer. First, the plant will release a whitish root, from which a stem will later form. Birds like to peck such sprouts, so they need to be protected from feathered pests. Leave the net cover until the plants are strong enough.
Do not forget to periodically moisten and loosen the soil, as well as remove weeds. Before winter, be sure to arrange a shelter for the seedlings. You can transplant young Siebold nuts for 3-4 years.
Planting seedlings
For stronger plants, choose open, lighted areas. But if there is no choice, then the tree will take root in the shade. The Siebold walnut does not make any special demands on the ground, moreover, it calmly tolerates lowlands. Therefore, there will be no problems with choosing a site.
But remember that an adult tree has a spreading crown, and no less extensiveroot system. So keep this feature in mind before landing. If you plant several trees, then keep a distance of 5 meters between them.
Start transplanting in the spring when the air temperature is kept within +10 °C. Then the trees will have time to take root by the cold. For plants, dig a hole large enough for the roots of the crop to fit freely. In fertile soil, there are enough holes with a diameter of 50-60 cm. If the soil is far from ideal, dig a hole with dimensions of 11 meter.
Mix the resulting soil with turf, sand and humus. And add some wood ash to the mixture. In such a substrate, the seedling will be as comfortable as possible. How to plant a tree:
- The day before transplanting the seedling, be sure to water it. At the bottom of the recess, pour a 10-centimeter layer of drainage. For these purposes, use broken brick, expanded clay, crushed stone.
- Cover the drainage with a layer of substrate and place the seedling on it.
- Next, carefully drive in a peg to which you will tie the tree.
- Spread the roots of the plant and fill the voids with soil. The root collar of the tree should be level with the ground.
- Tamp down the soil and form a watering ditch around the seedling. Moisten through the soil.
When the moisture is absorbed, be sure to mulch the trunk circle with sawdust, peat or hay. Such a layer will help retain moisture for the plant, and also prevent the appearance of a crust on the soil, blocking the access of oxygen to the roots.
Plant care
Siebold's nut, the photo of which is given in the article,can not be called a capricious plant. However, in order for a tree to bear fruit, it needs to create comfortable conditions. Plant care includes the following activities:
- periodic watering;
- loosening and weeding;
- feeding;
- cropping;
- disease and pest prevention.
Young trees will need to create shelter for the winter.
Irrigation
Siebold's walnut is a moisture-loving plant. Therefore, in the hot season, water the crop regularly, if the summer turned out to be dry, then moisten the soil at least 2 times a month. Pour 3-4 buckets of water under each tree. From mid-August, cancel watering. But if it was a dry autumn, then spend one irrigation before the cold. This will facilitate the wintering of the crop.
After each watering, be sure to loosen and weed the soil. Such procedures will improve air access to the roots and protect the plant from pests and diseases that live in weeds. If you want to simplify the care of the plant, then sprinkle the near-stem circle with mulch. Thanks to this layer, the need for loosening and weeding will disappear by itself. In addition, plants need to be watered less frequently after mulching.
Feeding
Feed Siebold's walnut twice a season. Apply the first top dressing in the spring. At this time, use nitrogen fertilizers that need to be dug into the soil to a depth of 4 cm. 10–15 g of preparations are enough for each tree. Be sure to moisten the soil before fertilizing.
Second timefertilize in the fall. At this time, it is useful to feed the culture with phosphorus-potassium compounds and organic matter.
Cutting
Prun the Siebold walnut every spring. During the event, cut out all damaged, diseased and frostbitten shoots. If you cut out large branches, then be sure to treat the places of cuts with garden pitch.
Check the tree regularly during the summer. If there are signs of diseases that cannot be de alt with in the usual ways, then do not wait for the next spring, but immediately cut out the badly affected branches. Otherwise, the disease will spread to he althy shoots and the tree will die.
Preparing for winter
Siebold's walnut is a hardy plant. But young seedlings of this species may not survive the winter, so they need to be prepared for the cold season. To do this, wrap the tree with burlap, lutrasil or other covering material. Mulch the trunk circle with a thick layer of rotted manure.
Planting and caring for a Siebold nut will not give you much trouble. Provide the culture with minimal attention, and it will surely thank for its rapid growth and a good harvest of tasty and he althy fruits.
