Caragana tree walker. Growing yellow acacia in a summer cottage. Economic importance and application.

or Yellow acacia-Сaragana arborescens Lam.

Naturally distributed in Western Siberia, Altai, Sayan Mountains, Kazakhstan and Mongolia. Grows in bushes or undergrowth of pine and deciduous forests on sandy soil. Photophilous mesophyte, mesotroph.

Tall shrub, up to 7 m tall, with smooth greenish-gray bark. All buds are partially covered by the remaining base of the leaf petiole, often 3 together, with the two lateral ones being small, tightly pressed to the middle one. The shoots are bare, faceted, covered with brown or brownish-green skin, cracking longitudinally. Leaves are up to 10 cm long, consisting of 4-7 pairs of obovate leaflets, 1-2.5 cm long. In spring, the leaves are bright green, pubescent; in summer - green, bare; in autumn - green, sometimes yellow, until falling. Blooms after complete leafing. The flowers are yellow, solitary or 2-5 in bunches. The duration of mass flowering is about two weeks. The fruits are brown, narrow, linear-cylindrical beans.

Caragana arborescens f. lorbergii
Photo by Kirill Kravchenko

It attracts with ease of reproduction, ease of cultivation, endurance and durability, unpretentiousness to the soil, but achieves better development on fresh sandy loam. It cuts well and produces abundant growth from the stump. In old plantings it becomes bare underneath. Propagated by seeds. To speed up germination, it is necessary to soak in water for 5-6 hours. It is better to sow in early spring, but you can also sow in summer with freshly harvested seeds. Late autumn sowings are successful only on light soils. The forms reproduce by grafting on the main species. It is good for making hedges, but requires systematic, double pruning, without which it becomes very exposed from below. In culture since 1752.

In GBS since 1937, 7 samples (34 copies) were grown from seeds obtained from Kyiv, Dnepropetrovsk, Arkhangelsk, Potsdam, there are plants of GBS reproduction. Shrub, height 3.2 m at 10 years, crown diameter 200 cm. Grows from 28.IV ± 9 to 16.IX ± 17 for 141 days. In the first 3 years the growth rate is rapid. Blooms and bears fruit from 2 years. Blooms from 30.V ± 6 to 10.VI ± 8 for 11 days. Fruits ripen 21.VII ± 22. Weight of 100 fruits is 26 g. Weight of 1000 seeds is 28 g. Produces plants from seeds of GBS reproduction. Winter hardiness is complete. Seed viability is 90-100%. When sowing seeds in the ground in April-May without stratification, seedlings appear in 20-30 days. Mature s. germinate successfully at temperatures not lower than 25 °C. Immature s. germinate more slowly and not all. Stratification p. at 1 - 5°C for 12 - 40 days it reduces the temperature at which germination is possible to 10°, and at 25° it increases its energy. 100% of summer cuttings take root when treated with a 0.005% IBA solution for 16 hours.

It has several interesting garden forms:

Lorberg(f. Lorbergii) - shrub up to 3.5 m tall. Most effective in standard form. Looking at the plant, it is difficult to guess that this is one of the forms of ordinary yellow acacia. The skeletal branches extending from the trunk form something like a bowl. Along the periphery of the crown, the shoots gracefully hang down. They are covered with very narrow and long (up to 20 cm) light green leaves, similar to larch needles. The crown is openwork and provides virtually no shade. Thin shoots and thread-like leaves give caragana an exotic appearance, which is why it is sometimes called the northern palm. The shrub blooms in late May - early June with yellow fragrant flowers. It grows quickly, grows up to 3 m, and is photophilous. Undemanding to soil, drought-resistant. Reacts well to pruning. Winter-hardy. The grafting is done on Caragana arborescens in a standard 0.75-2.5 m high.

In GBS since 1938, 3 samples (7 copies) were grown from seedlings obtained from Potsdam and of unknown origin. Shrub, height 3.6 m, crown diameter 230 cm. The timing of phenological development coincides with the main species. Winter hardiness is high. Decorative, occasionally used in landscaping in Moscow.

"Walker"
Photo by Anetta Popova

weeping(f. pendula) - a shrub with thin branches spread over the soil surface, when grafted into a trunk it forms very graceful, weeping plants. It differs from the usual yellow acacia in the bizarre shape of its crown, formed by highly twisted skeletal and long, hanging down young branches. In May - early June they are covered with yellow flowers collected in bunches. The curved branches of weeping acacia look no less attractive in winter. The plant is light-loving, but tolerates light shade. It is undemanding to soil fertility and tolerates soil compaction. Grows best in fresh sandy loam soils. Drought-resistant, does not tolerate wetlands. Winter-hardy. The grafting is done on caragana tree in a standard 2.5-3 m high.

In GBS since 1938, 1 sample (6 copies). Shrub, height 1.9 m, crown diameter 135 cm. Grows from late April to early October. Blooms in June. The fruits ripen in August. Winter hardiness is complete.

And: low(f. nana) - dwarf bush form; grandiflora(f. grandiflora) - flowers up to 3 cm; broadleaf(f. latifolia) - leaves measuring 3.2 x 1.4 cm; blunt-leaved(f. obtusifolia) - with obtuse leaves at the apex; sophorolifolia(C. arborescens x C. heterophylla) - an elegant hybrid form. Sort " Walker" (Walker) - of hybrid origin ("Lorbergii" x "Pendula"). This low bush, spread on the ground, is unique and elegant if grafted high on a standard. Such standard forms are an excellent material for single plantings. Variety " Albescens"(Albescens) is distinguished by the golden color of its leaves.

Caragana tree, or Yellow acacia(lat. Caragana arborescens) - deciduous shrub, less often a tree, of the legume family ( Fabaceae).

Description

Shrub 2-5, less often a small tree up to 7 m tall. Forms stems up to 10-15 cm thick. The bark on old stems and branches is smooth, greenish-gray, glossy. Shoots and young branches are green, brownish or gray-green, thin, flexible, faceted, pressed-pubescent.

Leaves up to 10 cm long, of 4-7 (8) pairs of obovate or oblong-elliptic leaflets 8-35 mm long, 5-13 mm wide, rounded at both ends, less often with a broadly wedge-shaped base, with a short spine at the apex , light green, silky pubescent in youth, later almost naked. The leaf shaft is thin, grooved, 7-9 cm long, pubescent, ending in bristles, falling. Stipules subulate, up to 1 cm long, sharp, falling or remaining, hardening.

The flowers are solitary, rarely paired, on long (up to 2.5 cm), pubescent pedicels, articulated in the upper half, pubescent, collected in a bunch of 2-5 at the bases of the leaves. The calyx is fused, bell-shaped, about 6 mm long, pubescent, with 5 very short and wide teeth. The corolla is yellow, moth-type, up to 20 mm long. The pollen is pale orange.

Fruits are linear-cylindrical, slightly curved at the end or straight beans 3.5-6.5 cm long, 3.5-5 mm in diameter, cracking at both seams, containing 5-8 oblong-reniform seeds, about 4.5 mm long and 3.3 mm thick, light yellow, with an olive tint. 1 thousand seeds weigh 25-44 grams, 1 kg contains 22-40 thousand seeds.

Chemical composition

Green leaves contain high amounts of protein (20.8-35.3%) and very little fiber (12.5-16.5%). They also contain the bitter glycoside caraganin, 285-400 mg% ascorbic acid and 138 mg% carotene.

Spreading

Range - Eastern Kazakhstan (west to the Arcadian Mountains), northern Central Asia, Mongolia. In Russia, it is distributed throughout the European part, in Western Siberia, Altai, Sayan Mountains (in the east to Irkutsk), and in the Far East.

In the Saratov Right Bank it often breeds in parks, forest belts and sometimes runs wild. In the Rtishchevsky district, it was noted in the forest plantations of the Rtishchevo - Shilo-Golitsyno route, in the area of ​​the Shuklino station, on the slopes of the Olshanka River.

Features of biology and ecology

Grows in the forest zone along river banks, on sand and pebbles, along forest edges, but on the slopes of ravines, on rocky slopes and rocks; in the steppe region it is confined to rocky slopes and cliffs. It often forms sparse thickets, usually in somewhat shaded places, sometimes in the undergrowth.

Blooms in late May - June, about two weeks; bears fruit in July - August. Seeds retain good germination for up to three years.

Economic importance and application

It has very great decorative and economic importance. In culture since the 18th century. Introduced into cultivation by the Apothecary Garden in St. Petersburg (now the Botanical Garden of the V.L. Komarov Botanical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences) in 1752. It is very widespread in culture in Russia. There are many garden forms. Widely used in gardens and parks in plantings of single bushes, groups, for edges, undergrowth, trimmed hedges, strengthening ravines, river banks and slopes; runs wild in places, reproduces by self-sowing and shoots.

In field-protective afforestation, caragana tree is recommended for planting on dark chestnut soils of the Saratov region.

It is a valuable early summer melliferous and pollen-bearing plant, often used for lining apiaries. Bribes from her are constant. It has been noticed that with the flowering of this plant, bee colonies are well strengthened. In Altai it is considered the main plant. Caragana honey is very light, with a soft, delicate taste; when planted, it becomes dense, greasy, white, medium-grained, without a pungent odor. Its honey production under the most favorable conditions reaches 200, sometimes 250 kg per 1 ha in Altai, and 100-125 kg per 1 ha within the European part of Russia. The flower produces 1-4 mg of nectar containing 0.2 to 0.5 mg of sugar.

The wood is used for small turning products, hoops; bast and thin branches for knitting and weaving baskets.

According to observations in Altai, leaves and young branches are readily eaten by sheep, goats and, somewhat worse, cattle. In Altai it is one of the main winter food for deer. The seeds are good food for birds.

Literature

• Burmistrov A. N., Nikitina V. A. Honey plants and their pollen: Directory. - M.: Rosagropromizdat, 1990. - 192 p. - ISBN 5-260-00145-1. - P. 81
• Glukhov M. M. Honey plants. Ed. 7th, revised and additional - M.: Kolos, 1974. - P. 223
• Golovkin B. N., Kitaeva L. A., Nemchenko E. P. Ornamental plants of the USSR. - M.: Mysl, 1986. - (Reference books for geographers and travelers). - pp. 185-186
• Trees and shrubs of the USSR. Wild, cultivated and prospects for introduction / Ed. in 6 volumes. T. IV. Angiosperms: legume family - pomegranate. - M., Leningrad: Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1958. - P. 192-193
• Elenevsky A. G., Radygina V. I., Bulany Yu. I. Plants of the Saratov Right Bank (flora summary). - Saratov: Publishing house Sarat. pedin-ta, 2000. - ISBN 5-87077-047-5. - P. 42
• Forage plants of hayfields and pastures of the USSR / ed. prof. I. V. Larina. - T. II Dicotyledons (Chloranthaceae - Legumes). - M., L.: State Publishing House of Agricultural Literature, 1951. - P. 682

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Family: legumes or papilionaceae (Fabaceae, Leguminosaceae, Papilionaceae).

Homeland: Siberia, Central Asia, Far East.

Form: woody shrub or small tree.

Description

A shrub or tree from 1 to 7 m tall with pinnate leaves on yellowish branches and yellow flowers characteristic of legumes. Caraganas are drought-resistant, smoke-resistant, and frost-resistant. Caragana is an excellent honey plant. Caragana fruits are long narrow beans.

Caragana tree , or yellow acacia (C. arborescens). Fast-growing shrub up to 5 (less often 7 m) high and up to 3 m wide; the lower part of the bush gradually becomes bare; shoots are smooth, grayish-green. Yellow acacia is a very unpretentious shrub, hardy and durable. Caragana tree (yellow acacia) blooms for about two weeks in May. Flowers are solitary or collected in small bunches. The leaves are oblong, light green (they hardly change color in autumn). Yellow acacia (Caragana arborescens) is wind-resistant.

Caragana shrubby (C. frutex). Shrub no more than 2 m high; shoots are thin, ribbed, brownish. Caragana shrub tolerates soil compaction. It is growing strongly. Caragana bush blooms in May-June. The flowers are similar to those of Caragana vulgare.

Caragana dwarf (C. pygmaea). Shrub up to 2.5 m tall. Dwarf caragana blooms throughout the summer and bears fruit abundantly. The flowers are yellow. In winter, protection from cold winds is needed; the tops of young shoots of dwarf caragana can freeze over in severe winters.

Caragana prickly (C. spinosa). The shrub is slightly more than 1 m in height. Prickly caragana forms a loose heap of unbranched prickly shoots with small leaves. The central shaft of the leaf ends in a spine. Caragana prickly flowers are single, light yellow, 2 cm long.

Ussuri caragana (C. ussuriensis). Prickly shrub up to 1.5 m tall. The shoots are bare, straight, ribbed. Blooms up to 20 days. Ussuri caragana is very decorative. It tolerates cutting well and is suitable for hedges. Ussuri caragana is also good as a tapeworm.

Caragana orange (C. aurantica). A thorny, compact, densely branched shrub up to 1 m tall with spherical bark. The shoots are dark, brownish-gray. The leaves are narrow and small. The flowers are solitary but numerous, orange-yellow. Orange caragana grows well; propagated by seeds without. Caragana orange tolerates harsh climatic conditions. Suitable for creating borders and low thorny hedges.

(C. jubata). A thorny shrub up to 1 m tall with saber-shaped branches (thorns reach 7 cm in length). The leaf consists of 2-3 pairs of small leaves. Caragana mane has green leaves only on the tops of the branches - the lower part is covered with dried prickly petioles. Caragana mane is suitable for group and solitary plantings.

Growing conditions

Prefers sunny areas, tolerates partial shade. Caragana is undemanding to soils, tolerates salinity, but grows better on sandy substrates with the addition of peat.

Application

Caragana is especially decorative during flowering. It is used as or in group plantings. The standard caragana is especially good as a tapeworm. Some species (for example, Ussuri caragana) are suitable for.

Caraganas have a powerful root system, so they are suitable for strengthening sandy slopes and ravine slopes.

Care

When planting, it is necessary to apply mineral fertilizers; old plants do not need to be fed (karagana enriches the soil with nitrogen). Young plantings must be watered and mulched. Decorative forms of caragana tolerate harsh winters even at a young age.

It is advisable to regularly trim yellow acacia low so that the bushes are lush (since with age it becomes bare from below. Other types of caragana can do without pruning.

Reproduction

By seeds, layering and dividing the bush. Caragana is planted in spring or autumn.

Diseases and pests

Acacia aphid, psyllid; golden beetles, glass beetles, longhorned beetles; rust. When affected by diseases and pests, spraying is carried out.

Popular varieties

Varieties of caragana tree

‘Lorbergii’. Shrub up to 3.5 m tall with narrow (almost thread-like) light green leaves; unpretentious, fast-growing caragana variety; cuts well.

'Pendula'. Caragana arborescens ‘Pendula’ has weeping branches and a bizarre crown shape; does not tolerate wetlands. Caragana arborescens ‘Pendula’ is usually grafted onto wild forms.

'Nana'(dwarf form).

‘Grandiflora’(large-flowered form).

‘Latifolia’. Broad-leaved form.

‘Obtusifolia’(blunt leaf form).

'Walker'- a low, graceful, prostrate bush. Hybrid of ‘Lorbergii’ and ‘Pendula’ varieties. It is also grafted onto a standard.

• ‘Albescens’(leaves are golden).

Varieties of caragana bush

‘Grandiflora’(large-flowered), ‘Latifolia’(with large flowers and shiny leaves), 'Globosa'(with a compact spherical crown).

If you are a gardener and have decided to decorate your plot with caragana shrubs, then our article is just for you. Today we propose not only to get acquainted with the main varieties of this plant, but also to consider in more detail a species such as caragana shrub.

general information

Caragana is a shrub plant, and some species are small trees. It is also called yellow acacia, because during the flowering period the caragana is covered with yellow flowers that look like moths. Not a single photo of caragana shrub can convey the beauty and aroma that it possesses when flowering. The fruits of the plant are pods ranging in length from three to five centimeters.

Towards mid-summer, the ripened pods begin to gradually crack, releasing small seeds similar in appearance and taste to peas.

Types of Caragana

Quite an interesting plant, growing in height from one to five meters. It is characterized by thick branches, which are gradually covered with needle-shaped petioles of last year's leaves and young leaves with a white shaggy surface. The uniqueness of this species lies in the beautiful pink or white flowers of a rather large size - about four centimeters in length.

Ussuri caragana - most often growing in height no more than a meter. The shoots are straight, with a ribbed surface and dense leaves. The flowers of the Ussuri caragana have a classic yellow color at the beginning of flowering, but by the end of summer they acquire a pleasant red tint. In Russia, this species can be found in Primorye.

Dwarf caragana is a small shrub, reaching a height of about a meter, with smooth golden bark and a shiny surface. Thin and flexible shoots cover light bluish leaves. The species is characterized by a rather long flowering period - about four months.

Prickly caragana is a shrub about one and a half meters high, consisting of a large number of short shoots covered with small leaves and a thorn on the central stem.

Caragana tree - this species is most often called yellow acacia. A fairly tall tree (from three to seven meters in height) is densely covered with lush green leaves and yellow flowers, which seem to be collected in neat bunches. A striking representative is the Pendula variety, which received its name for its branches hanging downwards.

Among the variety of different species, one more is distinguished - caragana shrub. This is what we will talk about in the next section.

Description of Caragana shrub

This type of plant is a shrub reaching a height of one and a half to three meters. In Latin, "bush caragana" sounds like Caragana Frutex. It is popularly called dereza. The Grandiflora variety is quite popular among gardeners. Characterized by large flowers. The broad-leaved form is represented by the Latifolia variety. With its spherical crown, Caragana shrub Globoza stands out clearly against the background of other garden plants.

The bark of such a culture is most often yellowish or gray-green in color and mottled with very thin whitish stripes. A distinctive feature of the shrubby caragana are young pubescent shoots of medium diameter, which are quickly covered with petioles in the form of white non-thorny lentils. The flowering period of this species lasts about one and a half months. At this time, the bush is covered with bright golden-yellow, most often single flowers located in the axils of the leaves. The shrubby caragana begins to bear fruit in mid-summer. The fruits ripen with a diameter of about five millimeters and from two to four centimeters in length.

There are several basic recommendations for planting caragana, which are suitable for growing any variety. The advantages of caragana shrub are its excellent resistance to drought and bright sunlight. That is why, when planting a plant on your site, you should choose open sunny areas with acceptable light shading.

The most effective way to propagate caragana is by seed. Sowing is done in early spring. You first need to soak the seeds in water for a day. The depth of their occurrence in the soil should not exceed four centimeters. You should not expect rapid growth in the first two years after planting the seeds. Be patient, and in three to four years you will get a shrub about one and a half meters high.

Since caragana is a plant that itself enriches the soil with nitrogen, no special fertilizing is required. But if desired, you can add a little peat and humus. It is advisable to use mineral fertilizers only when planting shrubs. The more abundant and frequent watering, the faster the shoots will grow.

An important factor is protection from pests. The most dangerous for caragana are considered to be acacia aphids, glass beetles and psyllids. To protect the bush from pests, it is necessary to use approved chemicals, which must be used to periodically pollinate the bush.