Dwarf forms of the banana tree plant can be grown at home. True, in this case, it will be necessary to allocate a fairly large tub to the culture, because even a short pawpaw can grow up to one and a half meters.

What does the pawberry banana tree look like: photo and description

Banana tree (azimina) is a genus of dicotyledonous flowering plants belonging to the Annonaceae family. Deciduous tree reaching favorable conditions several meters (at home about 12 meters). Easily formed into a dwarf form. This is very ornamental plant with a wide pyramidal crown and beautiful smooth bark. The leaves of the banana tree are quite large (up to 30 cm long and 10 cm wide). Large drooping paws leaves are damaged when strong wind, which must be considered if you grow it on a balcony or in a garden.

Look at the photo, what the flowers of a banana tree look like - they are red-violet, monoecious, large (up to 4 cm in diameter):

The calyx has three leaves, the corolla has six petals. Blooms in spring before the leaves unfurl. Flowering is long (about three weeks). It is a cross pollinated plant. When growing a banana tree at home, artificial pollination is necessary with a soft brush or cotton wool.

The plant is native to the southern United States. It is currently distributed in Spain, France and Italy; it was brought to Russia in the last century. The plant is very frost-resistant and can tolerate even harsh winters with frosts (down to -29 °). Flower buds tolerate spring frosts quite freely.

As you can see in the photo, the fruits of a banana tree reach 12 cm in length and 5 cm in diameter, they are collected in seedlings of eight or more pieces:

Beneath the thin skin of the banana fruit is a pulp rich in fructose and sucrose with a very sweet taste and a delicate pineapple-strawberry aroma. The fruits contain all the essential trace elements for humans, which are found in tropical bananas and. The pulp of the fruit is whitish-yellow, the consistency resembles butter. With proper agricultural technology, the yield of this crop is high.

The fruits are covered with a thin green skin, which later becomes yellowish. Inside the fruit is a sweet light pulp, which has a peculiar strawberry-pineapple aroma. The taste is reminiscent of both banana and mango. The fruits of the plant are collected in seedlings, in each of which there can be up to 9 of them at the same time.

Pay attention to the photo - the fruits of pawpaw in shape have some similarities with bananas:

Similarities can also be found in the composition of these plants, the main riches of which are pectin, ascorbic acid and trace elements such as potassium, calcium, magnesium and iron. Each fruit is high in nutrients. The fruits are used freshly picked, they are also used to make jam, jam, marmalade.

In mid-autumn, the leaves turn yellow and fall off, and new leaves grow in late spring, after flowering. Single flowers appear in the leaf axils of previous years, in March-May. Each flower contains several pistils, which explains the ability of one flower to form about 9 fruits. The flowers are bisexual, but not self-pollinating, so for fruiting it is necessary to carry out cross-pollination (for this you need to have two trees). Pollination is done when its pollen is brownish and friable, and the tips of its pistils are glossy green and sticky. The fruits ripen within 4 weeks - they contain 10-14 large brown-black seeds arranged in two rows.

Fruits are the most valuable food product. In addition to their nutritional and medicinal properties fruits contribute to the production of endorphin - the "hormone of joy."

Different parts of the plant have specific medicinal properties. The seeds contain the azyminine alkaloid, which is used in case of poisoning as an effective emetic that helps to remove toxins from the body. A decoction of young leaves is a good substitute for diuretics, and freshly squeezed juice has a noticeable anthelmintic effect. Fruit extract strengthens the immune system.

Thanks to the beautiful large leaves and flowers, the plant is very decorative. Grows well below its natural height in a container.

The scientific name of the genus comes from "assimin" - the Native American name for this plant. Also, according to the description, pawpaw fruits are similar to papaya, which is why it is often called "American" papaw ".

Introduced into the culture a little over 100 years ago, and therefore there are few varieties of it. In total, about 60 of them are known, the fruits of which differ in ripening time, fruit size, and seed size. Selection is carried out not only in her homeland in the United States, but also in our country. At home, banana trees are grown only in dwarf form.

Growing and caring for banana paws in the open field

Grafted plants come into fruiting much earlier than seedlings - in the second or third year. Grafting is practically the only way to propagate varietal plants.

When growing paws in open ground, do not forget that this plant is photophilous, but in the first two years of life it requires light shading from direct sun. Mature plants prefer full sunlight.

It develops slowly, but with an increase in daylight hours (up to 16 hours), the growth rate increases: in three months a young tree can grow up to 1.5 meters in height.

You need to water regularly from spring to autumn, constantly keeping the soil moist; however, stagnant water should be avoided.

The plant has fleshy, brittle roots, so it is not transplanted, but transshipped. Do this in the spring, when the plant starts to grow. For good growth a deep pot is needed, as the tree develops a large root system.

The soil should be light, fertile and slightly acidic (pH 5-7).

During active growth, when caring for a banana tree, plants are fed according to the following scheme (for example, let's take June, but this must be done every month): June 1 and 15 - manure; June 8 - water-soluble fertilizer "Kemira-Lux"; June 20 - ash from straw or potato tops (scatter 1 tsp of ash over the surface of the soil and pour over); June 25 - pond silt (150-200 g per liter of water).

In winter, the plant enters a period of deep dormancy, during which it requires at least two weeks of cold and 160 days of cool maintenance.

Flowers and fruits are formed on last year's shoots, so adult plants are pruned annually for replacement. Also, before the start of growth, sanitary pruning of the tree is carried out.

Absolutely resistant to a variety of damage by diseases or pests. It is useful to water the plant with a weak solution of potassium permanganate 2-3 times per season as a preventive measure.

Growing a banana paw tree from seeds

Propagated by seeds and grafting. Seeds for good germination must undergo stratification at a temperature of 0 ° -4 ° C for 90-120 days. Seeds germinate within 7 weeks; when planted in late autumn in the ground, shoots can be expected in July next year. Young sprouts have a sensitive root system, so they are not recommended to be transplanted.

When growing paws from seeds, plants usually begin to bloom and bear fruit after 4-8 years, which depends on the quality of the seeds, variety and conditions of detention. A grafted tree can start flowering in 2-3 years. Easily grafted by any means, like other deciduous shrubs and trees.

Since the plant is tropical, it is better to stratify the seeds at a temperature range of +5 to +7 degrees. Stratification is the process of keeping the seeds of a particular plant at a certain temperature in order for them to germinate faster, in addition, such manipulation allows you to increase germination.

Before planting, the seeds should be soaked in water for five days. At the same time, the water is changed daily. After a five-day period, the seeds are planted in the ground to a depth of about three centimeters. The first shoots should appear a month after planting. Seedlings grown in this way should not be disturbed and replanted, since the plant has a very delicate root system that is easy to injure. Thus, it is better for a tropical tree to immediately determine the "permanent residence" on the site.

Care is not difficult. The main thing is sufficient watering, since the plant is moisture-loving. As for top dressing, then in the first year of life it is not needed at all. Then nitrogen-phosphorus fertilizers should be applied to the soil. In addition, you need to loosen the root zone, but in no case dig it up, so as not to damage the root system.

Varieties of pawberry banana tree: three-lobed, triloba and others

There are about six dozen varieties of paws today. Almost all of them were bred in countries such as Canada and the United States, which, however, is not at all surprising, because it is North America is the historical homeland of this exotic plant for us. Almost all varieties that are this moment grown in Russia, are of North American origin.

Davis- the fruits of this variety are of rather high quality; they have a pleasant yellow flesh and a sweet taste.

Martin – distinguishing feature of this variety lies in its high cold resistance.

Azimina three-bladed- deciduous tree. This is the most winter-hardy species from the Annonaceae family. The three-lobed pawberry banana tree is the only fruit plant in the temperate zone, distributed to the Great Lakes, and therefore is of the greatest interest for cultivation in our country.

overlease– this variety has characteristics similar to the Davis variety.

Azimina dessert- the plant is medium-sized, its fruits are mid-ripening, in weight they reach up to 270 grams. The yellow pulp of the fruit occupies up to 95% - it has a very pleasant mild taste.

domestic variety "Sochi 11"- the plant is vigorous, the fruits are early ripe. The fruits of this variety are large in size, in weight they can reach 350 grams. The flesh of the fruit is colored yellow-orange. Her taste is extremely pleasant.

Azimina triloba from the anon family rare plant. The pawpaw three-lobed banana tree is native to the southern and eastern coasts of the United States. This is a deciduous tree with an unusually beautiful bark and a pyramidal, rather wide crown, with large, up to 30 cm long leaves, able to withstand severe frosts of 30 degrees. Flower buds are covered with a thin protective shell that protects them from the damaging effects of spring frosts. The tree blooms with large, hanging bells, up to 3–4 cm in diameter. The flowers are painted reddish or purple. Flowering begins even before the leaves bloom and lasts about three weeks.

The tree should be planted in a place protected from strong winds. The trunk circle is sown with lawn grass. In the spring months, fertilize with a handful of urea. In summer, do not forget to apply any combined fertilizer several times. Winding the trunk with a bag of sugar, a piece of polypropylene will help to avoid warming up the root neck in the spring. For the winter, the tree is covered with spunbond, agrofibre.

How to grow a banana tree at home: caring for a dwarf pawberry at home

dwarf pawpaw- very short, 20-30 cm. Distributed from central Florida to southeast Georgia. It blooms from April to June with burgundy flowers 2 cm in diameter and fruits 3-4 cm long.

Dwarf varieties are designed for growing at home - they are less demanding on conditions and resistant to diseases. The homemade banana tree reaches a small height of up to 1.5 m.

For planting, choose small pots, with a diameter of about 10 cm. You can use long flower boxes for several seeds, keeping a distance of about 15 cm between them. Before growing a banana tree at home, prepare a mixture of river sand and peat 4: 1, no need to use any top dressing, make good drainage. Distribute the seeds on the surface of the moistened substrate and press them down a lot without falling asleep from above, leaving access for light.

Cover the seed pots with foil and place in a bright place, but without direct contact with sun rays. Air the pots every few days, spray the substrate with a spray bottle when dry. When caring for a banana tree at home, do not allow waterlogging and rotting of the soil. When mold appears, the affected area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe substrate must be removed, and the entire surface should be treated with a solution of potassium permanganate.

When grown at home, seedlings will appear in about 2-3 months. After the appearance of sprouts, the rapid growth of the plant will begin, after about a week, the seedlings must be transplanted into the ground.

AT comfortable conditions and with careful care grows quickly. With the formation of 15-18 leaves at home, it usually begins to bloom and bear fruit.

Azimina three-bladed- a relatively new fruit crop, however, many gardeners are trying to grow it, not only in the Kuban, in Rostov-on-Don, Volgograd, but also in more severe conditions, because pawpaw is able to withstand frosts beyond the ZOR. For example, our author E.A. Vasin grows pawpaw in Tulskaya. N.A. was engaged in the cultivation and selection of paws in Orenburg. Lyashenko.

At present, Felix Konstantinovich Ivanenko (Sochi) can be considered the main specialist in this crop, who has already bred several varieties with large and tasty fruits, high yields and continues to select paws. Him the word.

With the onset of autumn in the gardens of the Black Sea coast, nature and the caring hands of gardeners cover an amazing self-assembled tablecloth of subtropical fruits. Along with grapes late varieties apple and pear trees ripen the fruits of figs, unabi, pomegranate, feijoa, persimmon. Among the rich autumn fruit aalitra of the fertile southern region in the gardens, you can also find graceful small trees with thin branches drooping under the weight of unusual large fruits collected in clusters and resembling small bananas. This is a three-lobed pawpaw (Asimina triloba), which is often called a deciduous banana, and in its homeland, in North America, a Nebraska and American Paupau banana.

It is a tree up to 8-10 m high with a pyramidal crown. Densely arranged perennial branches - gray, smooth, thin, brittle, annual shoots - brown-brown, smooth. The leaves are large, 10-36 cm long, 4-16 cm wide. When rubbed, they emit a characteristic pungent odor.

FLOWERING pawpaws begins before bud break. Flowers are axillary, goblet-shaped. Corolla diameter 2-5 cm, petals 1.5-3 cm long, light burgundy at the beginning of flowering, becoming dark burgundy or almost black by the end of flowering.

At paws flowers protogyny is strongly pronounced (when the readiness of the female organs for pollination occurs earlier than the male ones, the opening of the anthers occurs after the end of the female phase), which largely excludes self-pollination. Pollination is mainly carried out by flies, as well as dead beetles. At the same time, self-pollination is sometimes possible in some forms with a partial overlap of the female and male phases of flowering.

FRUITS pawpaw are large multi-seeded berries 5-17 cm long (weighing from 25 g to 450-500 g), collected in bunches of 2-11 pcs. The peel of the fruit is smooth, thin, tender, covered with a wax coating. In immature paw fruit, the skin color is light green, the flesh is dense. As it matures, the color changes to yellowish green, turning bright yellow in some varieties. The pulp of ripe fruits is creamy, fragrant, with a fresh-sweet, sometimes slightly bitter taste. Its color can vary from almost white, which is usually characteristic of late-ripening varieties and hybrids, to bright yellow or orange, characteristic of most early-ripening varieties. As a rule, fruits of early ripening varieties and forms are the most aromatic, while late ripening ones have a less strong aroma.

In the CONDITIONS of SOCHI, pawpaw fruits usually ripen at the end of August and end in mid-October, which allows you to get a crop for almost 2 months. The period from the beginning of flowering to the beginning of ripening, depending on the variety or form and weather conditions, is 130-150 days. The sum of effective (above 10°) temperatures for this period is 2800-3200°.

VARIETIES OF AZIMINA

There are already quite a few varieties of paws in the world, mostly American selection.

In Russia, pawpaw has the status of a fruit crop, and 4 domestic varieties of pawpaw of the author’s selection are included in the Register of Breeding Achievements - Sochinskaya-11, Valentina (Sochinskaya-9), Autumn Surprise (Sochinskaya-15), Sochinskaya-12 (Dessertnaya). In 2004-2006 The author from the USA introduced a number of varieties and hybrids of pawpaw for further study in the conditions of the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus, including the varieties Sunflower, Davis, Overlees, Mango, Tay-two, Taylor, NC-1, Wilson, Mitchell, Sweet Alice, Pennslvania Golden , Rebecca Gold, as well as 4 promising hybrids. The most interesting varieties were Mango, Taytwo, NC-1, Pennslvania Golden.

Azimina is a fairly frost-resistant crop that can withstand temperatures down to minus 27-30 °. Quite successful pawpaw is grown in the North Caucasus, Kuban, in the Rostov region, although in southern regions during the summer period, plants may suffer from high temperature against the backdrop of low humidity.

In recent years, amateur gardeners have made efforts to grow paws in more northern regions - Voronezh, Tula, Moscow, Volgograd regions and even to the north. So far, we can say that north of the Rostov region in winter period periodic freezing of plants above the level of snow cover was noted. However, if desired, with the use of winter shelters in conditions of near-wall culture, the cultivation of paws in more northern regions may still become a reality.

Azimina three-bladed propagated by seed and vegetative methods. At seed propagation valuable economic traits of the mother plant are not preserved. In the offspring, splitting is observed in many ways.

You can widely use the seed method of reproduction to obtain rootstocks, in breeding and when introducing paws to other regions of the country, as well as in growing planting material going to landscaping.

The transfer of varietal characteristics is carried out only with vegetative propagation, which can be carried out using root shoots, grafting and budding on paw seedlings. However, the main method of vegetative propagation of pawpaw three-lobed, suitable for widespread use, is budding with an eye in the butt or copulation in various ways.

pawpaw seeds stored only in a wet state, the period of seed stratification is 90-120 days at a temperature of 5-7 °. Sowing is carried out both in protected and open ground at a temperature of 18-24 °.

Given that the presence of mycorrhiza is necessary for good root development, plants should be grown with a closed root system in containers with a volume of 2.5-3 liters. The substrate used for growing pawberry seedlings should have a relatively low pH of -5-5.6. Crops need obligatory shading, since seedlings after germination are especially sensitive to high level solar radiation in the first year of development.

Areas located on sloping slopes or in valleys, protected from strong winds, but with a good aeration regime, are best suited for pawpaw. The bulk of the roots are concentrated at a depth of 10-40 cm, but individual roots penetrate to a depth of 80-100 cm or more. The root system of paws does not develop well on heavy and poorly aerated soils. The pawpaw feels best on slightly acidic, relatively powerful and organic-rich alluvial floodplain soils with a pH of 5.5-7. Areas with heavy loamy or clayey thin soils with insufficient drainage are not suitable at all.

AZIMINE'S LANDING

WHEN PLANTING AZIMINA, it is important to consider the need to create conditions for cross-pollination. It is optimal to use 3-4 varieties, including varieties of both early and late deadlines maturation.

AZIMINA - CARE

Tree care consists in loosening tree trunks, making mineral and organic fertilizers in the spring (nitrophoska 16:16:16 - 0.3-0.5 kg / tree, manure - 10-20 kg / tree), and during the period of active growth and ovary formation, it is advisable to feed with a solution of urea or ammonium nitrate at the rate of 0 .1 -0.2 kg/tree, depending on its size. Amateur gardeners can also mulch trees with peat, sawdust, tree bark, tree leaves, etc.

Azimina begins to bear fruit in the 4-5th year after planting, entering the time of mass fruiting in the 9-10th year. By this time, the crowns are closing. The formation of trees begins on the 3-4th year after planting.

The lower branches are removed, forming a trunk 80-90 cm high, and part of the first-order shoots is also removed in order to form a sparse crown. The most acceptable for paws is a sparse-tiered crown formation system with 6-7 first-order branches left.

The pawpaw fruits, arriving for no more than 1.5 months a year, are stored for a short time. For canning, homogenized fruit pulp is usually used, separated from the skin and seeds.

The pulp of pawpaw fruits, which has a strong aroma, can be used not only as an independent product, but also as a flavoring agent for many products, including juices, ice cream, as a filling for pies, cakes, cocktails, etc. However, it does not tolerate heat well, which excludes the possibility of preparing many common canned foods, including jam, jam, compote.

Azimina three-bladed

Lyashenko Nikolai Alexandrovich , breeder (1956-2012)

Among the huge variety of tropical flora, the Annonaceae family stands out. Annonovye - the largest family in the order of Magnoliaceae (Magnoliales) includes 120-130 genera and more than 2100 species, distributed in all tropical and partly subtropical countries of both hemispheres. In this family there are plants that give fruits of high quality: Rollinia muscosa - Rollinia slime - whose fruits are considered one of the most delicious among all Annona (Bernd Nowak, Bettina Schulz, 2002); Stelechocarpus burahol Hook s Tomson - Kepel - whose fruits are so fragrant that the sweat of the person who tastes them takes on the smell of violets.

In the genus Annona itself, there are about 150 species, of which about 20 produce edible fruits. Among the latter, the most good qualities different A. cherimola Mill. - Annona cherimola, recognized by many connoisseurs as almost the best fruit in the world. The taste is reminiscent of a mixture of strawberry, pineapple and banana. It grows in the Andes at an altitude of 1400-2000 (2800) m above sea level in the border area between Peru and Ecuador. A subtropical plant, the hardiest of all cultivated annonas. Representatives of A. muricata L - A. prickly, A. purpurea Sesse s Mocino - A. purple, A. reticulata L. - A. reticulated, A. sguamosa L.- A. scaly and other species. All of them, according to Bowden (1948), have 2n=16. Unfortunately, these species do not tolerate frost and therefore cannot be grown in our country in open ground.

The subfamily Annonovye (Annonoideae) includes three tribes. Tribe Uvarievyh (Uvarieae) unites 40 genera. To this tribe belongs the only extratropical genus of the Annonovs - Azimina, Asimina (Asimina) 2n=18. The scientific name of the genus comes from "assimin", the Native American name for this plant. This genus includes 8 species, the fruits of which are edible and taste like sweet avocados, common in the 25 states of the United States and southern Ontario Canada. These are shrubs, less often trees 1-12 m high, and those growing in the north have falling leaves, while those growing in more southern latitudes have evergreen leaves (Kral R., 1960; Callaway, 1992).

1. Asimina incarna Bartr. (or A. speciosa Nash.) is low bush up to 1.5 m high, growing in southeast Georgia and northeast Florida. It blooms from March to May with large 4 cm in diameter, white fragrant flowers. The fruits are small and tasty.

2. A. longifolia Kral shrub 1-1.5 m high is found in northeast Florida and southeast Georgia, blooms from April to July with white fragrant flowers up to 6 cm in diameter, fruits 4-10 cm long.

3. A. obovata Nash. (A. obovate) tall shrub 2.5 m tall growing in southeast, northeast and north-central Florida, blooms from March to June with large (6-10 cm in diameter) white fragrant flowers, the most beautiful of all genus, with small fruits (5-9 cm).

4. A. parviflora (Michx.) Dun. (A. small-flowered) - height up to 2 m grows only in the south (from Florida to Texas, in southeast Virginia and Tennessee). It blooms from April to May with small 1.5 cm in diameter dark burgundy flowers. The length of its fruits is only 3 to 6 cm.

5. A. pygmaea Bartr. (A. dwarf)- very short, 20-30 cm. Distributed from central Florida to southeastern Georgia. It blooms from April to June with burgundy flowers 2 cm in diameter and fruits 3-4 cm long.

6. A. reticulata 1.5 m high grows on poorly drained Florida sands, blooms from April to June with white flowers 5 cm in diameter, produces fruits 4-7 cm long.

7. A. tetramera Small. is a shrub 1-3 m high, growing on the coastal dunes of eastern Florida and blooming from May to August with dark maroon flowers 3 cm in diameter.

8. A. triloba Dun (A. three-lobed)- deciduous tree. This is the most winter-hardy species. From the Annonov family, the only fruit plant in the temperate zone is distributed to the Great Lakes (430 north latitude) and therefore is of the greatest interest for cultivation in our country.

Azimina can be grown from 5 to 8 climatic zones. In winter, the pawpaw enters a period of deep dormancy. Trees belonging to the northern forms need exposure to low temperatures, no less long than the apple tree of the Northern Scout variety and the peach of the May flower variety. Forms of pawpaw growing in the north of the range: in the south of Ontario Canada, west of the state of New York to Wisconsin and Michigan, as well as in the south of Iowa and east of Nebraska, USA, can withstand frost of -30-35 ° C (see Fig. .1-3). In Rostov-on-Don in the winter of 2005-2006. pawpaw withstood frost of -32°C (Maltseva A.N. 2006).

One of the reactions to harsh environmental conditions is the formation of polypolyids. It was migration to areas with low air and soil temperatures that caused the formation of polypoloids in the northern parts of the ranges of many species. Polypoloidity undoubtedly contributes to an increase in the period of winter dormancy (G. V. Eremin, 1977).

Frost hardiness zones on a map of North America. The map is divided into 3 zones. The average annual minimum temperature in zone A is below -40°C, and the extreme- much lower. In zone B, the probability of a minimum temperature of -40°C is limited. -40°C is unlikely in zone B. Trees capable of deep hypothermia are found only in the southern part of zone A. However, they predominate in the forests of zones B and C.

Fig 1

Plants that endure negative temperatures achieve this in various ways. One of the most important is the prevention of freezing in certain vital plant tissues. Freezing prevention is achieved by deep supercooling, which increases stability only up to a certain limit, but it is never below the homogeneous nucleation temperature of the cell sap (about -40°C).

The range of the genus Azimina

Fig 2

Approximate boundaries of zones with an average minimum temperature (0°C) 1 - below -45, 60°C; 2- -45.6…-40°C ; 3- -40…-34, 40°C ; four- -34.4 …-28.9°C ; 5- -28.9…-23.3°C ; 6- -23.3…17.9°C ; 7- -17.9…-12.2°C ; eight- -12.2…-6.7°C ; 9- -6.7…-1.1°C ; ten- -1.1…1.1°C . (According to the map of plant frost resistance zones, the Ministry Agriculture USA, Publication 814, 1960).

Fig 3

The beginning of pawpaw vegetation occurs at a steady transition of average daily temperatures through 10°C. The sum of effective temperatures (above 10°C) required for the ripening of fruits of early forms is 2600°C (FK Ivanenko, 2008). These forms can be grown in areas where peach and mid-ripening grapes are grown. Mass flowering of paws occurs at an average daily temperature of 12-14 ° C. Shoot growth begins shortly after flowering begins. The growth of shoots occurs mainly in May-August (Maltseva A.N., 2001). In pawpaw, one wave of shoot growth is observed, during which generative buds of the next year are laid on the growing shoots. The laying of generative buds occurs on the growth of the current year, and their formation is completed by the end of growth. The duration of the shoot growth period depends on the onset of hot and dry weather. The duration of the growing season (beginning - mass budding, ending - completion of leaf fall) for the early forms of pawpaw fluctuated within 150 ± 8-15 days.

Photo 1 and 2

Three-lobed pawpaw trees with a wide-pyramidal evenly leafy crown (see photo 1.2) reach a height of 4-7 (at home about 12) meters, a width of 4 m. They grow slowly and begin to bear fruit for 4-8 years. Trees are durable- You can find specimens over 100 years old. In Odessa, since 1948, the oldest pawpaw tree in Ukraine has been growing and bearing fruit. In photo 3, Konstantin Zawisha is holding onto it with his left hand.

Photo 3

The gray bark of the trunk and branches of pawpaw is smooth (see photos 4 and 5).

Photo 4 and 5

annual shoots- brown-brown, smooth. In this plant, the buds are divided into vegetative and generative, mixed buds are absent. In the terminal part of the shoots, the buds are only vegetative. Lateral buds can be generative and vegetative. Vegetative buds on them are solitary, small, pointed, 2-4 mm long, generative buds are round, 3-4 mm in diameter, pubescent (photo 6, 7, 8)

Photo 6 and 7

Photo 8

The skeletal branches of paws are formed strictly in one plane, that is, a classic palmette is obtained. Since the branches are thin, and some seedlings reach a significant weight, it is necessary to put props under them.

The leaves are leathery, whole and entire, dark green, oval-oblong, pointed at the apex and tapering to a short thick petiole, 20-30 cm long and 10-15 cm wide (see photo 9) arranged in two rows on short stipules without stipules, hanging down, give tropical plant. Thanks to the beautiful large leaves of pawpaw, it is very decorative. Large drooping paws leaves are damaged by strong winds, which must be taken into account when planting. At the end of the growing season, the color of the leaves changes, which acquire a bright golden hue. The pawpaw trees in their autumn attire of large bright leaves are very decorative. In mid-autumn, the leaves turn yellow (see photo 2, 10) and fall off, and new leaves grow in late spring after flowering.

Photo 9 and 10

Pawberry flower buds, thanks to a thin insulating sheath, tolerate spring frosts quite freely (see photo 11).

Photo 11

The flowering of paws occurs in the spring before leaf buds bloom, in paws of northern origin with leaves blooming at about the same time as the apple tree and lasts 2-3 weeks. In Orenburg, flowering begins in mid-May and ends in the first decade of June. Solitary or in sympodial inflorescences hanging bell-shaped flowers at first green, then copper-red or dark chestnut, which become almost black by the end of flowering (see photos 12-17).

Photos 12 and 13

Photos 14 and 15

Flowers appear in the axils of the leaves on the growth of the previous year, so mature trees are pruned annually for replacement. Pruning for replacement consists in the fact that part of the shoots with flower buds are cut through one by ¼ of their length, and part of the shoots, especially growth ones that do not have flower buds, are cut short, by 2-3 buds (Shaitan I.M., Chuprina L. M., 1989). Also, before the start of growth, sanitary pruning is carried out, broken, dry, as well as branches growing inside the crown are removed (see Fig. 4 and photo 58).

Rice. four

The pawpaw flowers are monoecious, have an original appearance, the calyx consists of three sepals of a light green color, the corolla up to 5 cm in diameter is composed of six triangular petals arranged in two circles, the outer petals are larger than the inner ones. Each flower contains 30 bright yellow stamens, arranged in a spiral, on short filaments with elongated anthers, several pistils rise above them, which explains the ability of one flower to form up to 9 fruits (see photo 18). Pedicel and calyx covered with soft brown hairs.

Photo 18

This species is characterized by a significant degree of sterility when self-pollinated, since isolated trees do not bear fruit. The flowers are bisexual, but not self-pollinating.

Azimina can be pollinated by its own pollen, but pollination within the same flower is excluded. The flowers are protogenic, i.e. first, the stigma of the pistil ripens, becoming glossy green and sticky, and when brown pollen from the anthers of the stamens begins to spill out after 2-3 days, the pistil has already withered. Therefore, the first flowers do not give ovaries. In some flowers, these phases overlap, which allows them to self-pollinate and allow more ovaries to form. Even with artificial pollination, the ovaries give about 60% of pollinated flowers, and about 80% of the formed ovaries fall off. The pawpaw flowers have a weak, but very bad smell, the smell of rotting meat that attracts flies, the main pollinators in our area. In order to increase the number of ovaries formed, to attract flies, under the trees paws are laid out on a plastic film, the insides remaining after cutting fish, poultry, etc. For best pollination, it is recommended to plant at least two trees.

The resulting ovaries do not develop for 2-3 weeks, while most of them fall off, and the rest begin to grow from the second half of July (see photos 19-22).

Photo 19 and 20

Photo 21

Photo 22

In late August - early September, they stop increasing in size and ripen (see photos 24-30). A sign of fruit ripening is a change in color from light green to yellowish green or yellow, their softening and the appearance of a strong aroma. They ripen within 4 weeks, when ripe they crumble. The fruits in the seedlings do not ripen at the same time, but the seedlings fall off only after the last fruit has ripened in it, which is why the first ripened fruits overripe on the tree. In order to prevent this, it is necessary to check the maturity of the fruits in the infructescences after the beginning of their color change. Ripened fruits fall off when lightly touched, while unripe ones hold firmly. Fruits are harvested as they ripen and fall from the tree. The yield of pawpaw, in comparison with many other fruit trees, is very low. At the age of 20-25 years, it is from 20 to 40 kg of fruits from a tree, but this disadvantage is compensated by their excellent taste and absolute resistance of plants to diseases and pests. Yields of up to 48 kg of fruit per tree have been reported; nice trees should give 50-100 fruits.

Photo 23

Photo 25 and 26

Photo 27

Photo 28

Ripe fruits are stored in fresh at room temperature 2-3 days, 3 weeks in the refrigerator. They must be used immediately after maturation. In order for the fruits to be stored for some time after harvest and they could be transported normally, they must be removed from the tree 5-7 days before full ripening, at the beginning of their softening. Azimina fruits are not very transportable and require careful handling during collection and transportation. They can be plucked from the tree while still firm and stored in the cold for up to 6 months. If the fruits plucked from the tree are placed in a place lit by the sun for several hours, then they do not grow moldy and ripen in room conditions within 10-12 days. Colds even above 0 degrees cause blackening of the fruits remaining on the tree and a deterioration in taste.

The pawberry fruit is a juicy multi-seeded berry, reminiscent of the shape and appearance small size banana, which is why the plant got its unofficial name banana of Nebraska or Indiana, northern banana. It is the largest wild fruit in the United States. The fruits are usually oblong-cylindrical 3x10 or 3x15 cm, weighing from 67 to 200 g, single or in groups of 2 to 9 fruits, usually there are 2-3-5, the seedlings resemble a hand (see photo 34), for which they received English language the name PAW PAW, which means PAWS PAWS.

Cultural forms and varieties have dimensions of 5 x 16 or 7 x 16 cm, weighing 500-800 g (photo 31-33).

Photo 31

Photo 32 and 33

Photo 34

As it matures, the color of the fruit constantly changes: at first light green, then lemon yellow, and finally dark brown. Under the thin translucent, easily peeling skin of the fruit, covered with a thin prune coating, there is a yellow or orange pulp rich in fructose and sucrose, resembling butter in texture, with a very sweet taste and a delicate pineapple-strawberry aroma. The taste of this very fragrant fruit is hard to describe, something like a creamy mixture of banana, mango and pineapple. Americans call it custard flavor.

By chemical composition pawpaw fruits are close to banana. The sugar content is up to 25% (which is 2 times more than in peaches and pears), vitamin C up to 62 mg /%, proteins up to 1%. It also contains vitamin A, fats, trace elements (potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron). contains more protein than bananas. The calorie content of the fruit pulp is 359 cal/kg, which gives it a high nutritional value. The pawberry fruits contain more vitamins, minerals and amino acids than apples, peaches and grapes. Delicate creamy pulp and original aroma make it an excellent dessert, the fruits are suitable for making raw jams, marmalade, preserves, ice cream, and can also serve as a filling for cakes and pies. Azimina can be preserved with sugar. To do this, cut the fruits along (see photo 35) and remove the seeds from them. AT glass jar, on the bottom of which granulated sugar is previously poured, the cut fruits are laid in layers, alternating them with layers of sand. Sugar will need as much as the pulp of the fruit. The jar is hermetically sealed. In this state, pawpaw is stored. Even at room temperature, it does not lose any palatability, no flavor (L. Gogolashvilli, Sukhumi). According to travelers, when eating pawpaw fruits, the local population was saved from poisoning, and with prolonged use - human body literally rejuvenated, getting rid of accumulated harmful toxins. Local residents said that a month after drinking pawpaw, the intestines become like those of a baby. From the pulp of pawpaws make face masks.

The pulp of the fruit contains 10-14 brown-black large seeds arranged in two rows (see photos 35 and 35-1).

Photos 35 and 35-1

Seeds should not be chewed (they have an emetic effect), but accidentally swallowed will not bring harm.

Photo 36

The best forms of pawpaw contain no more than 5-6 seeds and up to 92% pulp in fruits. The pawpaw seeds are large, like persimmons (see photo 36), are equipped with a layer of air-bearing spongy tissue under a hard peel and once in a river or lake, they can swim for weeks and even months until they rot or, having washed ashore, when favorable conditions, will germinate (see photo 37). The wild-growing pawpaw three-lobed grows in the woodlands of the eastern United States with a humid continental climate, on loose soils in floodplains, often forming dense thickets (see Photos 37-39).

Photo 37

Photo 38

Photo 39

Thickets in this place could have been formed from the fact that several seeds were nailed with water during the flood of the river, from root offspring or pellets of animals eating pawpaw. In nature, the fruits are eaten by squirrels, raccoons, foxes, deer, opossums and many birds (Photo 40).

Photo 40

Seeds that are not damaged in the stomach are carried over long distances. The fact is that from seeds that have passed through the digestive tract of animals, plants grow especially viable, which means that they are more likely to survive than plants from ordinary seeds (I. S. Isaeva, 2005)

Azimina is propagated by root offspring, layering, seeds, and grafting.

A little root growth grows from the rhizomes, but it slowly forms its root system and does not tolerate transplanting well. Separating the root shoots by cutting the rhizomes a year before transplanting can enhance the development of the root system.

With seed reproduction, splitting is observed in the offspring in many ways, which is widely used in breeding and when introducing pawpaws to the more northern and eastern regions of the country. Azimina seeds have high germination, but they germinate slowly, unevenly, seedlings develop poorly in the first year. Harvesting of fruits for harvesting seeds is carried out when they are fully ripe. Drying seeds taken out of the fruit reduces their germination from 90 to 15-20%. For good germination, the seeds must be stratified at a temperature of 0-4° Cwithin 90-120 days. After separation from the pulp, the seeds are either sown in the ground or stored in wet moss, sawdust, sand, etc. in the bottom of the refrigerator for 3-4 months. Stratified seeds are planted in containers 20-25 cm high to a depth of 3 cm in moist soil. Germination takes place at a temperature of 24-29° Cwithin 9 weeks, and at a temperature of 29-32° C10 days earlier. Seeds planted in late autumn germinate in July of the following year.

Seedling, from seeds planted in open ground On October 30, 2007, ascended on July 3, 2008 (see photo 41.) Helping to get rid of the seed coat, growth shoots were damaged in two pawberry seedlings. The first one (it was pulled out of the flowerpot) had a root of 18 cm. The second one was left in place (in photo 43 - stumps in the background) formed many green buds with constant watering. One of them sprouted and by the end of August a shoot with three true leaves had formed (Photo 44).

Photo 41 and 42

Photo 43 and 44

Photo 45 and 46

Photo 47 (nursery)

K. Zawisha was asked what needs to be done so that the leaves on the seedlings growing in a room in Novosibirsk fly around. K. Zawisha recommended drying the plants. Our seedlings sprouted in July, and in September we have frosts, and in order to somehow prepare the plant, we stopped watering from the first of August, but not quite.

During the day, the air temperature was 28 ° C, broken branches from maple, with which we shaded paw seedlings, burned out on the second day (photo 45) and were replaced by new ones. In mature plants, the leaves hang down (Photo 9-10), in seedlings they are in a horizontal position (Photo 42, 46), even when the ground is cracked from the heat (Photo 46). Watering of the seedlings was carried out when, during the morning examination from 6 to 8 o'clock, the turgor was not restored, i.e. the leaves remained drooping. By the end of August Bottom part seedlings began to lignify (photo 44 - on the left under the finger).

Young seedlings are sensitive to light and dry air. On the open space young leaves get sunburned (photo 49).

Photo 49

Usually, until they have 12 leaves and they are 15-30 cm tall, they are left in partial shade, similar to that which trees growing in the depths of the forest receive. To shade the seedlings from direct sunlight and protect them from frost, supports are installed near the seedlings, on which gauze is put on in summer, and insulating material in winter (see photo 53). Young plants for the first 3-4 years must be covered from the cold. The pawpaw has fleshy brittle roots - transplantation contributes to the death of young trees to a greater extent than in the case of other types of fruit crops. Young sprouts have a sensitive root system, so they are not transplanted, but transshipped, grown in containers (see photos 42-45, 50), flowerpots, etc.

Photo 50

To sow seeds before winter, do the following:

A) choose a place on a hill between the trees (stagnation of water from melt water is excluded and shading is provided for future seedlings)

B) dig a hole 30-35 cm deep, pour drainage (expanded clay, broken red brick, crushed stone, etc.) at the bottom of the hole with a layer of 5-10 cm

C) preparation of the "container" plastic bottles with a volume of 1.5 liters, cut off the upper part (leaving at least 25 cm), make holes in the bottom and sides with a hot metal rod (to drain excess water), fill the containers by 1/3 (expanded clay, broken red brick, crushed stone, etc. .), 2/3 fill with soil mixture: 1 part humus, 1 part peat, 1.5 parts wood dust, 0.5 parts sand

D) "containers" are installed in a pit so that the upper part is at the level of the soil, the empty space between them is filled with wood dust, peat or humus

E) seeds isolated from pawpaw fruits or stored wet in refrigerators until planting are sown in "containers" to a depth of 3 cm. The sown seeds are watered, the last watering is carried out before shelter. With the onset of cold weather (below 100C), the "containers" are covered with fallen leaves 25-30 cm thick. In this place, pawberry seedlings grow for 2 years. Normal care - watering, weeding. In the autumn of the first and second years, pawberry seedlings are protected for the winter in the following way: two slits are made in the upper part of the container from top to bottom 3-4 cm long, the slits are one on top of the other. When the upper part of the “container” is compressed, the cut edges crawl over each other, thereby reducing the diameter of the “container” on which one and a half liter bottle without bottom. The height of the bottle depends on the height of the seedling. A box is made around the bottles (from boards, cardboard, slate, etc.), which are filled up for the winter (fallen leaves, plant debris, peat, etc.). In the spring, the shelter is removed. In the autumn of the second year, seedlings that have grown to 30 cm and above are ready for transshipment.

Do this in the spring, when the plant starts to grow. When choosing a landing site in areas exposed to strong winds, one should take into account the possibility of wind protection, using the features of the relief, the presence of buildings, trees in the most wind-prone directions. In a hole prepared in advance for planting a plant (see below), a hole is drilled slightly larger than the diameter of the flowerpot, container, etc. and seedling paws with a clod of earth are placed in a hole, the soil is compacted and watering is carried out.

Pits measuring 80x80x80 cm are dug in autumn at a distance of 4 m in a row and 7 m between rows. If the soil is heavy clay, drainage is done in the planting pits, filling them 1/3 with crushed stone, or broken red brick, or pebbles, or expanded clay, or ASG, etc. The soil should be light, loose, moist, fertile and slightly acidic (pH 5-7). To do this, the landing pits are filled with the following mixture: 3 parts of humus (rotted manure), 1 part - coniferous litter, 1 part - sod land, 1 part sand. Plants grown from seeds usually begin to bloom and bear fruit after 5-8 years, which depends on the quality of the seeds, variety and conditions of detention. Vaccinations are done at the end of April, beginning of May, with a cutting in a split, or at the end of July, beginning of August, by occlusion in the butt. A grafted tree may start flowering in 2-3 years (see photos 51-54). The plant is photophilous, however, in the first two years of life, shading is required from the direct sun.

Photos 51 and 52

Photos 53 and 54

A slight shading from neighboring trees will not inhibit pawpaw and at the first stage will create favorable conditions for the plant, but the trees left in the shade develop worse than in the sun and react painfully during transplantation - growth stops for 1-2 years. Mature plants prefer full sunlight. Azimina develops slowly, however, with an increase in daylight hours to 16 hours, the growth rate increases: in three months a young tree can grow up to 1.5 m in height.

The plant needs approximately 800 mm of precipitation per year. You need to water regularly from spring to autumn, constantly keeping the soil moist, but stagnant water should be avoided. To preserve moisture, mulching between rows and tree trunks is mandatory (see photo 55). In the future, it is advisable to switch to a system of artificial sodding of the soil with perennial grasses, with their periodic mowing and use as mulch in the tree trunks. Mulching near-trunk strips is necessary element agricultural techniques, allowing to reduce the temperature of the soil surface in summer and contributing to the conservation of moisture in the soil (F.K. Ivanenko, 2008) (see photos 56-57). This creates a more favorable temperature and air conditions. During growth, once every two weeks, the plant is fed with a solution of complete mineral fertilizer. It turned out that pawpaw responds well to organic and nitrogen-phosphorus supplements.

Photo 55-1

Photos 56 and 57

Photo 58

Azimina was introduced into the culture a little over 100 years ago, and therefore there are few varieties of it. In culture, varieties bred in the USA and Canada are grown. In total, about 60 of them are known (see Appendix No. 1), the fruits of which differ in ripening time, fruit size, and seed size. Selection of pawpaws is carried out primarily in its homeland in the USA and Canada. At the beginning of the 20th century, it attracted public interest in the United States, where work began on its widespread introduction into culture. To stimulate the search for a good pawpaw, in July 1916 the Journal of Heredity offered a $50 prize for photographs of the largest trees and specimens. the best fruits. The largest tree photographed in Indiana was 1.5 m in diameter at a height of 1 m and 8 m high. From August 16 to October 28, 75 fruit samples were taken. Mrs. Ketter's from southern Ohio was the best example, called "Ketter," but good fruit also came from Kansas, Maryland, Indiana, and Missouri. Nine cultivars were sent from Illinois, but they were bred in Arkansas, Virginia, Ohio, and Illinois. The flesh of the best of these was light to bright yellow, but there was great variation in fruit size and some variation in seed size.

Zimmerman of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania collected and grew every variety available. He also raised seedlings the best varieties and other species from Florida and Georgia and considered the best early seedling from "Ketter" named "Fairchild". Currently, two varieties "Davis" and "Overlease" stand out. Both are yellow meat and are considered to be of excellent quality. Variety "Martin" - is considered quite cold-resistant. Zimmerman crossed A. triloba with A. longifolia and A. obovata. Seedling fruits of the best selected forms had too little to too much flavor.

Kral R. noted putative hybrids of A. triloba x parviflora, discovered natural hybrids of longifolia x pygmaea, pygmaea x reticulata, reticulate x obovata, pygmaea x obovata, speciosa x longifolia, and described other putative hybrids. He notes that hybrids also bear fruit and produce seeds abundantly, like parental species. Hybrids between species of Azimina are common, either as intermediate forms, or as a form of backcrossing. There is currently a real horticultural boom in the United States, reminiscent of what happened once with kiwi and mango. Our compatriots who have visited the USA also speak enthusiastically about the new fruit. Azimina has huge potential. In addition to nutritional value, pawpaw is used in the development of anti-cancer drugs. A huge number of seedlings have been produced in more than 40 nurseries in the United States. Great demand for pawpaw seedlings and seedlings determined the price of one-year-olds at $18 and $27, respectively.

The center of commercial cultivation of pawpaw is southeastern Ohio, where the Pawpaw Festival is held annually near the city of Albany.

In Russia, pawpaw appeared in the middle of the 19th century, however, until the beginning of the 20th century, it grew, mainly in botanical gardens. Since the beginning of the 20th century, it begins to appear among amateurs on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus, where it finds some distribution.

Azimina three-bladed is relatively new fruit crop but has become more and more popular in recent years.

In our country, pawpaw breeding has recently begun, but several varieties of Ivanenko F.K. have already been obtained in Sochi, they differ from the total mass of seedlings in larger and more tasty fruits, and increased productivity.

Photo 59 Photo 60

1. Sochi-11 (photo 59)- vigorous variety of early ripening (from the 3rd decade of August to mid-September). The trees have a broad pyramidal habit of the crown, the leaves are large, up to 36 cm long. Fruits of average weight are 120-130 g, the maximum weight of fruits is up to 350 g, the yield of a 9-10 year old tree, subject to the necessary agricultural practices, is up to 10 kg. Trees at this age have a crown diameter of up to 3 m with a tree height of 3-4 m. The color of the skin of the fruit is light yellowish-green, sometimes almost yellow when fully ripe, the flesh is yellowish-orange, good taste, the seeds are large, relatively few.

2. Dessert (photo 60) - a variety of medium vigor and medium ripening. Trees have a pyramidal crown habit, leaves middle length, fruits with an average weight of 110-130 g, a maximum weight of up to 250-270 g. The color of the skin is light green, the fruits are oval or rounded, the seeds are medium in size, the pulp content in the fruits in relation to the weight of the seeds is up to 93-95%. The pulp is yellow, good taste, tender, melting.

Amateur gardeners grow pawpaw in the Kuban, Rostov-on-Don, Volgograd and other cities in southern Russia. There are even amateurs who are trying to grow paws indoors in Ufa and Novosibirsk (see photo 61).

Photo 61

Tasks for the selection of pawpaws in Orenburg:

1. Collect forms of the most northern origin

2. Test them in the form of: stlanets with shelter, stlanets without shelter, in the form of a bush, "C grade", a tree with a low stem, a free-growing tree.

3. Select the most winter-hardy large-fruited crops with high palatability.

4. Make pairs for hybridization among winter-hardy:

A) early-ripening form x early-ripening form (green or white-fleshed late-ripening fruits have a repulsive odor)

B) large-fruited x large-fruited (with an equal weight of the fetus, give preference to those that have fewer seeds as by weight, by size, by quantity).

At the first stage, plants were noted that froze less in winter, as well as plants that recovered faster. Received hybrid seedlings between the most winter-hardy and the fastest growing plants that restore the crown. Among the least freezing were pairs for crossing and pairs between quickly recovering. We wanted to consolidate these qualities in the offspring.

There is information about attempts to grow paws in Belarus. In Ukraine, pawpaw grows in the Nikitsky Botanical Garden, in Odessa, Nikolaev, Kherson regions, etc. In the Ivano-Frankivsk region, an amateur gardener who has grown pawpaw from seeds obtained from Tashkent, Sochi, Yalta and other cities is trying to get distant hybrids between pawpaw and Annona Cherimola.

It remains only to wish success in the introduction, selection of this wonderful culture and obtaining high yields excellent fruits.

The material was provided by Khusnutdinov Radik Mukhametnagimovich with an addition:

Lyashenko Nikolai Alexandrovich Dedicated to his blessed memory.

The material has not been previously published. Part of the photo material is taken from the Internet.

***

The three-lobed pawpaw in the United States is called “pow-pow”, “Nebraska banana”, “banana tree”. These popular names of the plant are associated with the shape of pawpaw fruits - they are elongated, like at, but much smaller in size.
The main advantage of pawpaw three-bladed is the wonderful fruits for which it is grown. The taste of its fruits is extraordinary - it really resembles bananas, but more tender, and the pulp of the pawberry fruit has a strong and very pleasant aroma.

I must say that the pawpaw fruits seemed to me the most delicious of all that I have ever tasted. And so one day, when a friend treated me to them, I really wanted to have such a culture in my area.

Having accumulated many years of experience in propagating and growing this plant, I want to supplement the site posted on the site.

Azimina in nature and in the garden

The pawpaw genus includes 8 species distributed throughout the United States. Of these, six species grow in Florida, one is found in Texas. And one of the most common types of pawpaw grows almost throughout the country up to the Canadian border - it is he who is of the greatest interest for cultivation in our country. The botanical name for this common species is pawpaw three-lobed(Asimina triloba).

Pawpaw three-lobed (hereinafter - pawpaw) is a small deciduous slow-growing tree that lives on loose soils in floodplains. According to literature data, this plant tolerates frosts down to -25 C.
In the region where my garden is located (Tuapse), there are no such severe frosts. But my friend, who lives near Krasnodar, in the harsh winter of 2005/2006, when the temperature dropped to -28 C, had flower buds frozen out on pawberry trees (although the wood and growth buds were not affected).

Propagation of paws by seeds

In pawpaw, the seeds are very large, like in.
I decided that pawpaw seeds are needed, since this plant comes from the subtropical and temperate zones.

Immediately after extracting from the fruit, I placed the pawpaw seeds in loose, fertile soil, planting them in separate seedlings. Then I dug cups with seeds in elevated areas of the garden, to a shallow depth.
During the winter, he made sure that water did not stagnate in cups with semans.

In April, some pawpaw seeds began to germinate, and I began to plant the seedlings in a permanent place.
During the spring, he carefully monitored the soil moisture, preventing it from drying out.

Since the soil in my area is heavy, clayey, before planting the seeds, I completely replaced it with wood humus (I took it from rotted edible chestnut trunks, which we have a lot in the forest).
Landing pits for pawpaws did different sizes, placing them both in partial shade and in sunny areas. I made the largest hole about 1 meter deep and about half a meter in diameter - about 20 buckets of humus went into it.

Development of pawberry seedlings and care for them

Azimina shoots appeared from May to August, and out of the 14 seeds planted, 11 sprouted. In the first year, I did not feed the plants, I only watered the seedlings as needed. The growth of pawpaw seedlings for the first season ranged from 10 to 30 cm. In October, their leaves turned yellow and crumbled; young trees have gone dormant.

The next spring, in April, sap flow began at the pawberry seedlings, buds began to bloom on their tops. At this time, I fertilized young plants with nitrodiammophos (about 20 g per bucket of water), but I did not find a particular reaction to fertilizer in plants.
At the end of the summer, he fed young pawpaw trees, and did not fertilize them with anything else that season.

Simultaneously with bud break, 2 more seeds of pawpaw sprouted on overwintered plants, which did not sprout last year.
In the second year, the growth of pawberry seedlings also ranged from 10 to 30 cm.

In the third year, the last seed of pawpaw sprouted, and in plants that sprouted in the first year, the growth was from 20 to 40 cm.

It became obvious that young pawpaw trees growing in the shade developed worse than in the sun. Therefore, they had to be transplanted, to which they reacted very painfully - growth stopped for 1-2 years.

In the fourth year, seedlings of pawpaw began to form lateral branches.

Interesting feature pawpaw trees in that its skeletal branches are formed strictly in one plane, i.e. are a classic palmette.

In the photo: a small pawberry tree in summer; pawpaw in autumn.

Due to lack free space in the garden, I kept only three pawpaw trees for myself, and distributed the rest of the seedlings.
As pawpaw grew, over the years I began to increase the amount of dressing and fertilizer doses, and I used only.
It turned out that pawpaw is responsive to top dressing, especially to nitrogen-phosphorus fertilizers.

Flowering and fruiting pawpaws

In the sixth year of cultivation, fruit buds began to form on one pawberry tree. They were the size of a match head, and became clearly visible after leaf fall.

The next spring, pawpaw's fruit buds began to open in March, long before the leaf buds.
Flowers bloomed in April unusual shape and coloring - light brown, with 6 petals and a large number of stamens. The pawpaw flowers have a weak and very bad smell reminiscent of the smell of rotten meat. This smell attracts carrion flies, which in our conditions are the main pollinators of azimine flowers. And the bees are not at all interested in pawpaw flowers.

Azimina can be pollinated by its own pollen, but pollination within the same flower is excluded. The fact is that in the pawpaw flower, the stigma of the pistil first ripens. After 1-2 days, pollen from the anthers of the stamens begins to spill out, and by this time the pistil fades. That is why the first pawpaw flowers do not give ovaries.

In the first year, only 3 flowers bloomed on one pawberry tree, and pollination did not take place.
The following year, there were about 100 flowers on one pawberry tree, and about 70 on the other. Moreover, their flowering continued for 3 weeks, which made it possible to carry out both cross-pollination and pollination of flowers with their own pollen.

The pawpaw flowers are drooping, they are easy to pollinate - just tie a stiff wire to a piece of cotton wool and transfer pollen from one flower to another.
Despite the pollination of paws flowers by carrion flies, artificial pollination increases the percentage of fruit set. Even with artificial pollination, the ovaries produce about 60 percent of pollinated flowers, and about 80 percent of the resulting ovaries fall off - this is normal.

Azimina flowers are often visited, but their participation in pollination is unlikely - these beetles are attracted only by the pollen of the plant, which they eat with pleasure along with the stamens, but do not touch the ovaries.

Immediately after pollination of the ovary flowers, paws began to grow very actively. Within a month and a half, the ovaries reached half their final size.
From 2 to 8 fruits (usually 2-3 fruits) were formed in pawpaw infructescences. There were also single fruits, but they were few.
Some seedlings of paws reached a significant weight, so it was necessary to bring props under the heavier branches.

In late August-early September, shortly before the pawpaw fruits ripen, they grew a little more and began to change color to lemon yellow.
When fully ripe, pawpaw fruits fell off. And if they were damaged when they fell, they deteriorated very quickly - after 3-4 hours at room temperature.
Intact ripe pawpaw fruits tasted best immediately after falling from the tree, and the next day they acquired the taste of burnt coffee ...
I tried to remove pawpaw fruits from a tree shortly before ripening. When they ripened in the mat, their juiciness was very low.

Interestingly, in the infructescence of paws, the fruits do not ripen at the same time. But the seedlings crumble only after the last fruit in it has ripened, which is why the first ripened fruits overripe on the tree. Therefore, it is necessary to regularly check the degree of maturation of each fruit in paw fruit seedlings after the beginning of the color change in the fruit.
Ripe fruits of pawpaw are easily torn off when touched, while unripe ones hold firmly.

In the photo: maturing fruit of pawpaw; harvested pawpaw fruit

It is necessary to use the pawpaw fruits immediately after they ripen. Their skin is very thin, translucent; it peels off easily, like a banana.
There is evidence in the literature that jams and compotes are made from pawberry fruits. But I only used them fresh because of the small harvests.

I must say that the yield of pawpaw in comparison with many other fruit trees is very low. Even in mature trees, the yield is from 25 to 40 kg of fruit per tree. But this disadvantage is compensated by the excellent taste of the fruit and the absolute resistance of this plant to.
In 26 years of growing pawpaw three-lobed, I have not noticed any damage to my plants. And from none of my acquaintances who grow pawpaw, I have not heard that it is damaged in any way.

Selection of pawpaws

Azimina was introduced into the culture a little over 100 years ago, and therefore there are few varieties of it.

In total, about 60 varieties of pawpaw three-lobed are known. At different varieties fruits differ in terms of ripening, size, size of seeds in fruits. Obviously, in the near future, breeders will eliminate such a disadvantage as the low yield of pawpaw.

Now I grow five varieties (more precisely, variety types) of paws in my garden. Of these, two varieties were obtained by me from the Institute of Mountain Horticulture in Sochi, where pawpaw is selected in Russia. One cultivar of pawpaw was bought on the market, and its origin could not be established. Another variety type of pawpaw was obtained from near Sukhumi, where pawpaw was selected during the Soviet era. And another one grew from my rootstock, which remained after the death of the grafting of the varietal pawpaw.

I must say that the taste of fruits in different varieties of paws is very different from each other. The sweetest were pawpaw fruits from my rootstock, the graft on which died. And the most unsweetened fruits are in Sochi varieties of pawpaws; but on the other hand, they ripen later than the others, which allows you to extend the period of consumption of fresh fruits.

At the end of August, the first fruits of pawpaw ripen - on the tree that I received from near Sukhumi. They are sweet, but dryish, and their weight rarely exceeds 100 g.
At the beginning of September, the fruits begin to ripen on the pawpaw tree, which I bought at the market, as well as on the tree grown from the rootstock. In these two larger-fruited varieties of paws, the fruit weight reaches 200 g.
And, finally, in October, the fruits ripen on the trees of the Sochi selection; their weight is also about 200 g. Below I will give the characteristics of these two varieties of paws.

Azimina three-blade "Sochi-17"- fruits up to 200 g, harmonious taste (but, in my opinion, they have little sweetness), average yield.

Azimina three-blade "Dessert"- the taste and size of the fruit practically does not differ from the previous variety. But it has very small seeds, which increases the volume of pulp in the fruit. The yield is average.

Inoculation pawpaw

I want to say a little about pawpaw vaccination. In one of the articles I read that it is difficult to plant paws - I cannot agree with this. From my own experience I can say that grafting pawpaw is no more difficult than or a pear.

I graft pawpaw at the beginning of sap flow (in March) with a lignified cutting split. I cut the stock and split it lengthwise by 1-1.5 cm, and I sharpen the scion in a wedge-shaped manner and insert it into the split of the stock. The cambial layers must coincide on at least one side.
I tightly wrap the graft with a polymer film, and cover it with a polymer cap on top to protect it from moisture.

The pawpaw vaccination usually takes root within 2 weeks, as can be judged by the time the buds awaken in the scion. After that, I remove the cap, but at first I do not completely open the place where the scion grows together with the stock (I just loosen the strapping). Only a month and a half later, when the vaccine takes root well, I completely remove the harness.
Of the six inoculations of pawpaw, five took root in me.

As a result of the vaccinations, now I have five varieties on three azimine trees: on one tree - three varieties, and on the remaining trees - one variety each.

Placement of paws trees in the garden

For better fruiting paws it is important to choose the most suitable place for planting a tree.
As for the optimal placement of paws in a garden plot: it seems to me that, at least in the southern regions, paws should be placed in partial shade.

In my garden, one pawberry tree grows near the forest on the border of the site, where the sun is about 4 hours a day.
Another pawpaw grows next to a tree that shade pawpaw in the morning.
The third pawpaw tree grows between trellises with lianas that protect it from the sun in the early morning and evening. As a result, this tree is in the sun for no more than 3 hours in the middle of the day, and it is on it that the best fruiting is observed.

AT garden season 2015, when September turned out to be dry and hot (daytime temperatures were not lower than +30 C), on the pawberry tree, which was in the sun for half a day, all the fruits from the sunny side were baked. And on the rest of the paw trees, the fruits were not affected.

So far, the yield of my pawpaw trees is low: it does not exceed 10 kg per tree. But I believe that over time my trees will be able to produce more.
I think that Azimina deserves widespread on the household plots- at least in the south of our country.

Vladimir Vasilyevich Chernyak (Tuapse, Russia)

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There is a wide variety in nature fruit plants. Some of them are well known all over the world. Others are not very popular, but this does not make their fruits less tasty and healthy. These plants include pawpaw three-bladed, which has truly unique properties. In her honor, a special fruit festival is even held in the US state of Ohio near the city of Albany. What is this culture?

Azimina three-bladed

The pawpaw three-bladed fruit crop is a deciduous moisture-loving plant, whose homeland is North America. In nature, it is found only in the United States, where it grows in the form of shrubs along river banks and in shady forests on fairly moist soil. Some cultural forms of paws have become widespread in other countries. Under favorable conditions, the plant often looks like a tree, which reaches a height of 12-15 m. Despite the fact that pawpaw is a subtropical plant, it has high frost resistance.

This fruit tree can serve as a wonderful garden decoration. The pyramidal crown of the plant looks very interesting. It is formed by large glossy leaves. ovoid up to 33 cm long and up to 12 cm wide, which appear after the flowers bloom. In this case, the lower surface of each leaf has a reddish-brown tint.

During flowering, pawpaw has a very decorative appearance due to large bright flowers of purple or red hues up to 6 cm in diameter. Each flower consists of only six large petals, which form peculiar lobes arranged in two rows, which made it possible to call pawpaw three-lobed. A feature of the plant is a slight, but unpleasant smell of stale meat, which disappears when the fruit appears.

paw fruit

Each flower of pawpaw three-lobed is able to set several fruits, since it has from 2 to 9 pistils. However, very early ripening the stigma of the pistil eliminates the possibility of self-pollination of the flower, so plants require cross-pollination. The fruits of pawpaw are berries of an irregular, oblong-curved shape. They ripen in late September - early October and, depending on the variety, have a mass of 60 g to 200 g.

The fruits are covered with a thin green skin, which later becomes yellowish. Inside the fruit is a sweet light pulp, which has a peculiar strawberry-pineapple aroma. The taste of pawpaw resembles both banana and mango at the same time. The fruits of the plant are collected in seedlings, in each of which there can be up to 9 of them at the same time.

In shape, the fruits have some similarities with bananas, which is why many people call paws a banana tree. Similarities can also be found in the composition of these plants, the main riches of which are pectin, ascorbic acid and trace elements such as potassium, calcium, magnesium and iron. Each of the fruits is high in nutrients. Azimina fruits, like other fruits, are used freshly picked, they are also used to make jam, jam, jam.

Different parts of the plant have specific medicinal properties. For example, azimine seeds contain the alkaloid aziminine, which is used in case of poisoning as an effective emetic that helps to remove toxins from the body. A decoction of young leaves is a good substitute for diuretics, and freshly squeezed juice has a noticeable anthelmintic effect. In addition, pawpaw three-lobed is capable of exerting a fairly strong antitumor effect. The extract from its fruits strengthens the immune system.

Azimina fruits are the most valuable food product. In addition to their nutritional and medicinal properties, they give a person a pleasant taste sensation, contributing to the production of endorphin - the “hormone of joy”. This allows us to see a banana tree in pawpaw, which is a kind of substitute for a creeper with well-known fruits.

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