Description and characteristics of the Ideal walnut variety, cultivation and care
Every gardener wants to grow a nut variety on his site that would be distinguished by early fruiting, attractive shape, size, unsurpassed fruit taste and did not require much time for planting and care. These include the Ideal walnut. It has already received high marks due to its positive characteristics and features.
Description of walnut varieties Ideal
In 1947, Uzbek scientists carried out selection work in order to find a variety that would be distinguished by its yield and early maturity. The result was the Ideal walnut.
Low-growing, fast-growing tree, 4-5 meters high, with a powerful massive crown. The bark is gray, fruiting shoots are brown. The plant is decorated with leaves of a large size, dense structure. Attention is drawn to small flowers, dioecious, painted white, with a green tint, collected in a brush of 10-15 pieces. The variety is prized for its oval-shaped fruits, which differ in size and have a thin, light beige shell. The average weight of one nut is 10 grams.
The kernel tastes good and has a range of vitamins and minerals.
Plant characteristics
Ideal walnut bears fruit in the 2nd year of life. Full harvests can be removed from the 5th year. Walnut blossoms begin in May. And at the beginning of summer, several green fruits appear on the tree on one branch. Nuts are harvested in September.
The peculiarity of fruiting lies in the second wave of flowering, which allows you to collect two crops per year. The re-formation of flower brushes begins 10 days after the first and continues until autumn. With proper care, the Ideal walnut pleases with a high-quality harvest and a beautiful appearance for up to 50 years.
Pros and cons of the variety
The main advantages, due to which the variety is recommended for cultivation, are:
- stable yield indicators - up to 120 kilograms per plant;
- early period of entry into fruiting;
- the ability to secondary flowering and double fruiting during the year;
- compactness of the tree, allowing the most efficient use of planting areas;
- frost resistance - it can tolerate a decrease in temperature indicators to -35 degrees, which allows growing the variety in the climate of Central Russia;
- undemanding to the composition and parameters of garden soils.
In addition to the advantages, it is important to outline the disadvantages:
- sensitivity to return frost;
- the fragility of the variety.
The minimum list of disadvantages allows gardeners to have no doubts in choosing the Ideal walnut.
Growing a nut
It is better to plant nut seedlings in the spring. Planting in the fall is required long before the first frost.
Site selection and preparation for landing
When choosing a place for planting, it is important to take into account the needs of the plant, for its normal growth, development and obtaining high yields:
- an area illuminated by sunlight, sheltered from the cold wind and draft;
- lack of groundwater close to the earth's surface;
- sod, carbonate, loamy soil.
Before planting a plant, you need to make a hole, keeping the distance between planting units 5 meters or 3.5 meters, provided that it is placed on a slope. Add peat and compost to the ground dug out of the hole. Enrich the resulting mixture with substances such as dolomite flour and superphosphate, in an amount of 500 grams per pit.
Preparation of planting material
Transfer the walnut seedling purchased in a container into the hole without processing. For planting material with an open root system, make a clay mash from clay and humus (3: 1). Mix everything well and add a growth stimulator. Dip the roots of the seedlings in the resulting chatterbox and leave for 30 minutes to dry.
Landing scheme
Every gardener needs an Ideal walnut planting scheme, since knowing how far to plant trees from one another, you can get a generous harvest.
It is necessary to plant seedlings with open roots following the following planting pattern:
- In the center of the previously prepared hole, form a hill from the resulting soil mixture and install a peg for reliable support of the plant.
- Place the seedling on top of the hill, carefully distributing the lower roots over the slopes and covering with fertile soil. And the upper ones should be placed in a horizontal position so that the depth of their occurrence is 7-8 centimeters below ground level.
- Cover the roots of a young tree with potting soil. In this case, the root collar should be 3-5 centimeters above ground level.
- Tie the seedling to a support, water and mulch the soil around the trunk.
If the material was purchased for planting in a container, then it must be removed from the container with a nutrient substrate and transferred into a planting hole, measuring 60x60x60 centimeters. Then cover with soil mixture and water.
How to care for a tree?
The implementation of the necessary care measures will allow the young tree to begin bearing fruit in the shortest possible time and form high-quality yields for a long time.
Watering
Watering is necessary only for young trees, in spring and early summer, when they need a significant amount of moisture. Each plant should get 20 liters of water every 14 days, depending on the climate, soil type. Waterlogging or drying out of the soil must not be allowed. The number of waterings for plants that have grown up to 4 meters in height must be reduced.
Top dressing
Walnut Ideal is responsive to feeding. It is required to fertilize the crop twice a year - in the spring, by introducing nitrogen elements, and in the fall, before plowing - products based on phosphorus and potassium. The dosage of fertilization depends on the age of the tree, soil, climate.
Important: Excessive fertilization will weaken the plant's ability to tolerate winter cold.
Mulching
After each watering, the soil should be shallowly loosened and mulched with peat. A technique such as mulching the trunk circle will help prevent the soil from drying out, preserve nutrients in the soil, stop the spread of weeds, and also protect the root system from freezing.
Pruning
Ideal walnut seedlings require a cup-shaped crown. When planting in spring, the first pruning must be done immediately. After 3-4 years, the crown of the nut will be formed. In the future, only annual pruning will be required in order to provide all parts of the crown with the necessary lighting. It involves the elimination of all damaged, old, growing in the opposite direction of the branches.
Reproduction
Ideal walnut can be propagated using the seed method, or by grafting. The seed method is considered more labor intensive and time consuming. With it, the seed is able to inherit the characteristics of the parent plant by 70%. For sowing, take peeled and dried fruits and stratify at a temperature of +18 degrees for 45 days. In the spring, transfer the prepared material for planting into open soil.
During the first year of life, the Ideal walnut develops slowly, but at the end of winter it begins to grow rapidly and reaches a height of up to 1 meter by autumn. It is recommended to plant seedlings only after 5-7 years in a permanent place. When choosing material for grafting, it is better to use young seedlings at the age of two years. This technique will preserve the varietal qualities of the culture.
Preparing for winter
To prepare your crop for winter, you need to stop watering the tree from August. In the last days of September, remove all fruits and cut off the green tops of the shoots. This operation forces the plants to direct forces towards the maturation of the wood.
Mature trees hibernate without shelter. And annual plants and young seedlings need protection, they need to be wrapped using burlap or agrofibre. Also, the near-trunk circle should be mulched with humus, while retreating 10 centimeters from the trunk.
Possible diseases and pests
According to the description, the variety shows excellent resistance to crop diseases, but this phenomenon does not exclude the risk of infection of the Ideal walnut.
Common diseases:
- Brown spotting. This problem can be diagnosed by dark brown spots on foliage, ovaries, branches. The fruits start to rot. Treatment involves the removal and subsequent elimination of all damaged parts of the plant. Spray trees with fungicides to fight the fungus.
- Bacteriosis. The disease manifests itself in dark spots on the foliage, which provoke deformation of the leaf plate, as well as the falling of fruits. In order to treat and prevent plants, treat them with copper sulfate.
- Root cancer. The infection damages the root system, causing the tree to stop growing and fail to form fruit. Control measures are to remove growths on the roots and bark. After the procedure, lubricate the sections with caustic soda and rinse with water.
Of the pests dangerous for the Ideal walnut variety, the wart mite, walnut moth are considered. Such parasites should be controlled by treating trees with insecticidal and acaricidal preparations.
Landing features in different regions of Russia
Walnut Ideal is recommended for cultivation in Central Russia. The prevailing temperate continental climate is not terrible for trees of this variety, they can withstand all weather conditions.
When planting in northern areas, it is important to choose a flat, not shaded place, avoiding lowlands. Better to land in an open area protected from the wind.
Harvesting and storage of crops
Harvesting walnut varieties Ideal when the green shell is cracked. The collected fruits are sent to the basement for 7 days, this will allow you to quickly and easily remove the nuts from the softened, blackened pericarp. Rinse peeled fruits in water and put to dry in the sun.
Knowing all the pros and cons of the variety, its description and characteristics, as well as how to properly plant and care, you can grow a healthy Ideal walnut tree, which will delight you with fruits even in adverse conditions. And the harvested harvest will give memories of warm days in the cold season.
