Plum "Volga beauty": a description of the variety, photo, reviews

Plum is very popular in our country. From delicious, fragrant and useful fruits you can prepare juices, jams, compotes, not to mention how good it is fresh. Today, many varieties have been developed, which are distinguished by increased winter hardiness, yield, excellent taste qualities.

Often choosing a variety of plums for planting on their site, gardeners are considering the latest developments of breeders, forgetting about those that were withdrawn decades ago. But they are well proven and time-tested. Today we would like to remind you of the magnificent domestic variety of plum "Volga beauty". It has been for almost eighty years that the gardeners are pleased with the large and stable yields of delicious fruits. What is so good a plum "Volga beauty"? Description, photos and reviews of gardeners, we will introduce you in this article.

History of the variety

In Russia, plum began to grow during the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich. It was by his decree that the first seedlings were brought into the country. Thanks to painstaking work of breeders, a lot of very interesting varieties of plums appeared, many of which became popular favorites.

Plum "Volga beauty" was withdrawn almost eighty years ago (1939). The author of the variety became famous Russian scientist-breeder E. P. Finayev. At an experimental garden station in Samara, he conducted an experiment to cross popular at that time varieties "early ripening early" and "renklove bove." The results of this experiment surpassed the expectations of the scientist - the new plum absorbed the best qualities of the parent plants: early maturity, yield, high frost resistance and excellent taste qualities of fruits.

In 1955, the plum "Volga beauty" was tested. In 1965, it was included in the state variety register.

Plum "Volga beauty": a description of the variety, photo

The description of this variety is now included in all editions on gardening and textbooks for beginner agronomists. This is an early fruit variety (which does not require the planting of other pollinating varieties in the neighborhood), which yields a large yield of fruits belonging to the dessert group. All the details about him, as well as photos - later in the review.

Tree

These are fairly large plants, about seven meters high. For this reason, the "Volga beauty" plum (photo you can see below) needs an annual pruning trim, without which the care for the tree will be too complicated. Form the crown on a low-tier or decapital-free system. Pruning not only facilitates harvesting, but also has a positive effect on fruit quality and yield.

Plum "Volga beauty" grows quite quickly, forming a spherical lush crown of medium density. Branches and shoots are covered with bark of a gray-brown color.

Leaves

Large and fairly wide, ovoid in shape, painted in a light green color. On the outside, the edge of the sheet is framed with notches. The leaf blade is matte and slightly wrinkled, flat, with a sharply outlined transition into the spout. Petioles of medium length, pigmented, thick. Stipules with a weak dissection, medium size. Inflorescences are three-flowered. Flowers large, painted in white or pinkish color.

Fruit

The fruits of the plum "Volga beauty" (reviews of gardeners confirm this) are large: from 34 to 50 grams. They have an oval-rounded shape, slightly narrowed to the base. The top is slightly depressed, rounded. The base has a small depression. Fruits are distinguished by a continuous, blurred, red-violet paint. The skin is smooth, medium in thickness. Plum "Volga beauty" has a small number of subcutaneous points, which are painted white and well visible on the surface. The ventral suture is clearly defined, of medium depth.

Pedicels are thick, well separated from branches. The bones are medium in size, have an oval shape, the base and apex are pointed, the flesh separates easily. The flesh is colored yellow-orange, has a fibrous consistency, juicy, very delicate. The taste of fruits is dessert, sweet and sour. Fruits contain:

• 22% of solids;
• 10.35% of sugars;
• 11.78 mg per 100 g of ascorbic acid;
• 1.95% other acids.

The fruit ripens from the tenth to the twenty-fifth of August. In the fruiting trees enter the fourth year, so the plum "Volga beauty" refers to the fast-growing varieties. The yields are high and stable: an eight-year tree yields up to ten kilograms of fruit, a twelve-year tree yields up to 25 kg of yield.

Frost resistance

"Volga beauty" - the plum, the description of which we presented above, quite well tolerates both frosts and summer droughts. Based on the experience of growing this variety in various regions, it can be argued that only in the period of very severe frost the fruit buds may partly freeze out, while the tree suffers minimal. During a prolonged drought, the plant survives without additional watering.

Features of landing

The yield of plum "Volga beauty" depends largely on the choice of seedlings and proper planting, so the grower needs to know the requirements of the variety to the composition of the soil and location. According to the breeders' description, the "Volga beauty" prefers loamy light soils. It is desirable to avoid shaded areas - the plant needs a lot of sun, so the ideal place for this grade will be a small hill.

Planting a few seedlings, observe the distance between the trees, given the rather impressive size of an adult tree. As this is a fairly large sink, the pits should be placed at a distance of at least four meters. When spring planting the pit is excavated 2 weeks before planting. Its size depends on the fertility of the soil - the more lean the soil, the larger the pit should be.

On loam is enough 70-80 cm in diameter and 50 cm in depth. For backfilling, a mixture of the following composition is prepared:

• 2 buckets of garden soil;
• A bucket of compost;
• A bucket of river sand (coarse);
• 100 g of ash wood.

For depleted soils, mineral fertilizers (100 g) and potassium salt (50 g) should be added to this mixture. All the ingredients are well mixed and covered in a pit.

Selection of seedlings

Based on the description of plum "Volga beauty" in different sources, you can recommend to gardeners to purchase planting material in local nurseries - this will save you from various misunderstandings with the variety, and the plants purchased in your region have already been adapted to the local climate.

For planting choose two-year seedlings. Their roots should not be shorter than 10 cm, and they should be healthy, without damage. Pay attention to the trunk: in a healthy tree it is even, covered with a smooth bark. If the seedling is in the nursery to excavate at you, wrap the roots immediately with a damp napkin and cover with a plastic bag on top to avoid excessive drying.

If you bought a seedling in the fall, and are going to plant it in the spring - it is necessary to dig it. In a place protected from drafts and wind, excavate a small trench in such a way that it passes from west to east, and incline the seedling obliquely. The depth of the trench is about half a meter.

Planting a seedling

In the center of the prepared pit, insert a peg to tie a tree. Around it, form a small mound of nutrient soil, which you also prepared in advance. Install the seedling in the pit so that the peg is on the south side and spread the roots well. It is necessary to determine the depth correctly, so that after planting and subsequent watering, the root neck was raised five centimeters above the soil surface.

Around the young tree form an earthen roller with a radius of no more than half a meter. Plentifully pour the plant (at least three buckets of water). Refrain the trunks using recycled sawdust, mown grass, peat.

Care of the plum

In many regions and today the plum "Volga beauty" is very popular. The description, the photos, placed in different editions, allow to say that this is a rather powerful, abundant fruit bearing plant. However, some gardeners complain that not every year their tree pleases with a large crop. Why is this happening? Most likely, due to non-compliance with the rules of agricultural technology, which in reality are simple. We will tell about them so that you can grow a powerful, healthy tree from the seedlings and yearly ones would be able to get stable harvests.

The basic requirements for the care of the plum are quite traditional - fertilization, watering, shelter for the winter, pruning, pest and disease control.

Trimming

The formation of the crown should be started as early as the second year. As a rule, pruning is carried out in the spring. In the second year, it is necessary to shorten the height to about a meter of the main trunk. Then the crown is formed in a tiered manner. The lower or the first tier consists of three branches. It is located at a height of sixty centimeters from the surface of the soil. For the second tier, two branches are needed - above the lower ones by fifty centimeters. The third tier is located fifty centimeters above the previous one and it consists of only one twig.

Escape, located above it, cut off next spring. The subsequent formation is aimed at shortening overgrown shoots and removing too dense branches. In addition to the forming, the tree requires sanitary pruning. It is held in autumn. At this time, remove any damaged or disease-bearing shoots.

Do you need pruning for an adult plum "Volga beauty"? The testimonies of experienced gardeners indicate that in this case such a procedure has a powerful rejuvenating effect. It is carried out in the spring, removing all the branches that grow inside the crown, intersect or thicken it.

There is another original way of shaping the crown of the plum "Volga beauty". In the description of the variety in many publications, it is rarely mentioned, although it deserves attention. We are talking about the formation of plum bush. Sometimes the tree independently chooses such a shape - more often it happens after the main shoot broke off or died out in the winter. With complete absence or significant shortening of the conductor, many branches appear at the bottom, which form a bush.

This form of the plant is attractive for a number of reasons - it tolerates winter better, is not so exposed to sunburn, it is much easier to care for it, and the yield does not decrease.

Watering

Plum likes moisture, so in order to get a good harvest you need to water it regularly. But in everything there should be a measure: excess can provoke cracking of fruits. In a dry summer, the plum should be watered once a week along the whole perimeter of the crown. One adult tree needs up to seven buckets of water.

It is important to ensure that the soil does not dry out during flowering, tying and ripening of fruits. Reducing irrigation will help mulching, while not only the moisture, but also improve the structure of the soil.

Feeding

If, by planting the "Volga beauty", you added mineral and organic fertilizers, then do not feed the tree in the first two years. Then the seedlings are fertilized three times per season - in early May, dilute two tablespoons of urea in ten liters of water. In the first days of June - use nitrophosphate at the rate of two spoons (table) per ten liters of water. The third feeding is carried out in the middle of August. In this period, superphosphate is used: two spoons (table) on a bucket of water. To a young tree of such quantity of the dissolved fertilizer it is enough, in process of growth it increases up to three buckets.

Mineral fertilizers should be applied under the sink after the main watering to protect the roots from burns. In addition to mineral fertilizing, every year it is advisable to bring over the drained manure or compost (2-3 buckets). It will significantly increase the yield and quality of the fruit lime lint or chalk lime (one or two cups). However, such a procedure is permissible not more than once every three years,

Before applying organic fertilizers, it is necessary to clean the soil in the trunk circle from the weeds. Grass after weeding can not be removed - it will become mulch and protect the soil from drying out.

Variety of plums "Volga beauty": reviews of gardeners

Anyone who grows a plum of this variety on their site is satisfied with the large yields of large beautiful fruits with a magnificent dessert taste. The inhabitants of the northern regions note its high winter hardiness and rapidity. Another indisputable advantage of this variety can be called high resistance to diseases and pests. This variety is practically not prone to gray rot and gum. The drawbacks include: the height of trees - harvesting is inconvenient. In addition, it is noted that in very wet years, the fruits crack.