Description and characteristics of plum variety Alyonushka, cultivation and care, pollinators

The Alyonushka plum variety is a real find for breeders. It occupies more and more space in garden plots, as it combines stable annual yields, excellent taste and ease of care. Most gardeners choose Alenka, considering it a promising variety.

Description of the variety

The Alyonushka plum tree is of medium height, 2.5 m high, and forms a pyramidal, moderately dense crown.Powerful shoots of a red hue. The plant is decorated with sharp long foliage with a light green color. The leaf blade has a pointed tip, with small teeth visible along its edge. Lush, large flowers, collected in inflorescences of 3 pieces, attract attention. At the time of flowering, the shoots are covered with white flowers.

The Alyonushka plum variety is prized for its beautiful round-shaped fruits. The weight of one fruit is 30-35 g. They have a red color characteristic of this variety with a noticeable waxy coating. The skin is very durable, although thin. The pulp is characterized by density, juiciness, and a bright orange tone. Pleases with a pleasant aroma and sweet and sour taste.

The oval-shaped stone is difficult to move away from the pulp. The fruits hold well on thick short stalks and do not crack when overripe.

Characteristics of plum Alyonushka

An early-ripening variety for table use, the Alyonushka plum, was obtained by crossing such varieties of the crop as Chinese and Red Ball. Fruits in the 3rd year after planting. The abundant flowering that occurs in May, even before the formation of the first leaves, delights. Harvesting can be done as early as early August.

The Alyonushka plum is self-sterile, so if there are no suitable pollinators nearby, there will be few fruits. The best pollinators: Skoroplodnaya variety, cherry plum, Chinese plum.

Advantages and disadvantages

For a more detailed description of the Alyonushka plum variety, it is important to outline its advantages and disadvantages. The benefits include:

• productivity, the average is 88.6 c/ha;
• taste characteristics of fruits, tasting score - 4.8 points;
• frost resistance, the ability to withstand temperature drops down to -40 degrees;
• resistance to crop diseases such as clasterosporiasis and moniliosis;
• fruit marketability;
• compact size and decorativeness of the tree.

Disadvantages of the Alyonushka plum variety:

• self-sterility;
• supporting the bark at the base of the trunk in rainy weather in autumn, as well as when it is warm and snowy in winter;
• severe damage to foliage and young shoots by aphids.

How to grow crops correctly

Growing plums is a rather labor-intensive process, but if you put in some effort and adhere to all general planting standards, you can get a rich harvest of your favorite fruit. This requires not only determining the time of planting the tree, but also choosing the right location, preparing planting material and planting.

Time and place for landing

The optimal period for planting Alyonushka plum is considered to be early spring before the buds open. You can plant it in the fall, but do it a month and a half before frost, then the seedlings will have time to take root and begin to grow intensively in the spring.

Plum Alyonushka will feel good in sunny, open areas. The main requirement when choosing a place for this variety is the absence of lowlands where moisture is concentrated. Therefore, the fruit tree must be placed on a hill to avoid rotting and rotting of the root collar of the seedling in rainy weather and when the snow melts. Good productivity is observed when cultivating seedlings of this variety on neutral fertile soils, characterized by looseness and lightness.

Preparation of planting material

High-quality material for planting is a one-year or two-year-old seedling that has a strong, healthy root and a fresh appearance without wilting or obvious damage by diseases or insects. Preparing plum seedlings of the Alyonushka variety involves pruning damaged and long roots.

Planting process

Planting plum seedlings of the Alyonushka variety includes the following procedure:

1. Make a planting hole measuring 50 x 50 x 60 cm.
2. Add a soil mixture consisting of fertile soil, rotted manure, dolomite flour, ash and minerals. Form a low mound.
3. Place the Alyonushka plum seedling on a hill, carefully distributing the roots, and sprinkle with soil substrate. In this case, the root collar should be buried 2-3 cm.
4. Water, then compact and mulch with a layer of up to 10 cm, using peat, humus or compost.

In order for the plant to take root better in the first month after planting, plum seedlings of the Alyonushka variety need to be watered more often, without allowing the soil to dry out.

How to care for a tree

To obtain a good harvest, the Alyonushka plum variety must be surrounded with care and attention, which consists of carrying out such important measures as compliance with soil moisture conditions, timely application of nutrients, proper pruning and careful preparation for winter.

Watering and fertilizing

Water the plant based on weather factors, soil type and plant age. The Alyonushka plum variety needs moisture during the period of ovary growth and during the dry season. In October, carry out moisture-recharging irrigation. After completing the next irrigation, the soil around the tree should be loosened to prevent crust formation.

It is also necessary to provide the plum variety Alyonushka with nutrients from the moment it begins to bear fruit through foliar and root fertilizing:

1. In the spring, before budding begins, apply nitrogen fertilizers. Scatter 1 tbsp of urea over the melting snow. l. at 1 m² trunk circle.After the ground thaws, pour in mullein infusion.
2. At the budding stage and before flowering, a complex fertilizer containing potassium and phosphorus is required. You can use wood ash.
3. During the flowering period of the Alyonushka plum, it is necessary to carry out foliar feeding using a solution of boric acid, which will stimulate fruit set.
4. After fruiting, in order to improve growth and strengthen the roots, ripening of wood and buds, apply mineral fertilizers, which will be superphosphate and any potassium salt that does not contain chlorine.

It is important to remember that proper watering and fertilizing have three main conditions: regularity, timeliness, norm.

Trimming

Growing Alyonushka plum involves carrying out such agrotechnical activities as pruning, the purpose of which is to ensure the annual formation of new, strong shoots. Pruning consists of removing dry branches that cross and interfere with one another, growing towards the trunk or shoots down to the ground. Also cut off the tops - fattening shoots that grow vertically upward. The procedures should be carried out in the spring before the buds open and in the fall, when the leaves fall.

Preparing for winter

To reduce the risk of the bark becoming warm, tie the trunks of Alyonushka plum seedlings with spruce branches for the winter. Also, in cold weather, the bark of young seedlings is a real treat for rodents. You can protect plum trunks and shoots from animals by covering them with burlap, roofing felt or metal mesh.

Diseases and pests

The plum variety Alyonushka demonstrates immunity to disease, but this sign does not exclude the possibility of infection.

In the fight against diseases and pests, use both chemical and biological measures and well-organized care.

Collection and storage

In the first ten days of August, you can harvest plums of the Alyonushka variety. It is not recommended to remove fruits after rain, watering, or early in the morning when there is dew on the plums, but only under dry weather conditions.

The harvested crop cannot be preserved for a long time. Alenka plum is a table variety; it is best to eat it fresh immediately after harvest, and process part of the harvest into homemade preparations for the winter. Since the fruits are suitable for jams and compotes.

Plum Alyonushka embodies the best qualities of famous varieties. Its taste qualities, characterized by a balance of sugar content and acidity, are considered significant, which is why it is in special demand and extremely popular.