The banana tree is often called paw-pear - a perennial fruiting plant from the Annon family. The homeland of this exot is the territory of North America with a subtropical climate.. Several species are common in the southern states of the USA. Cultivate it in Spain, Italy, Greece, countries of Southeast Asia: Thailand, India and southern China. It grows well in the conditions of the Black Sea.
Botanical Description
Azimina is a genus of flowering dicotyledonous shrubs and low trees. In total, there are more than a dozen varieties of plants. The most common - azimine trilobate (lat.Asimina triloba) This is a straight-trunk tree, which in the wild reaches 10–12 m in height. Among the cultural forms, there are low and dwarf ones - 1.5–5 m. The banana tree is externally decorative. The trunks are covered with a bluish-green or brown smooth bark, the crowns are narrowly pyramidal. The leaves are large, leathery, hanging on short cuttings, elongated-oval in shape, with solid edges and pointed tips. The leafy plates are fleshy, juicy, 30 cm long and 12-15 cm wide. Cirrus streaks are clearly visible on the bright green surface. In windy weather, fragile stems and leaves break easily.
Azimina flowers are monoecious, large - about 4-5 cm in diameter. Located singly. Red-violet, brown or dark pink buds have a regular bell-shaped shape. The middle is bright yellow, with several elongated stamens. The cup has three bent triangular, slightly wrinkled petals. Corolla - also with three, but wider petals. Despite the attractive appearance, the buds do not differ in a pleasant aroma.
The plant blooms in spring, even before the leaves appear. This period lasts 3-4 weeks. In nature, the banana tree is pollinated by large insects or hummingbirds.
Fruits ripen within 5-6 weeks. They are thickened, ovoid or oblong - up to 12 cm in length, fleshy, covered with a light green thin skin. Outwardly resemble papaya. On the branches sit with tassels several pieces. Inside are filled with juicy, fragrant flesh of cream or light yellow color. It can be eaten. Seeds are large, with a dark brown dense shell, located in the pulp in two rows. One fruit contains 10-14 seeds.
Origin of name
A plant is called a banana tree for its resemblance to a real banana palm. The fruits of pawpaw, although larger, resemble fruits known throughout the world. The flesh of the North American tree is juicier, has a delicate strawberry aroma, a rich taste similar to mango and papaya, contains more vitamins and other beneficial substances.
The official name of the culture is Native American. American natives called the tree assimin. Another plant name is American papaya - papaw.
Varieties of wood
Several dozen varieties of fruit pawpaw are cultivated. Most of them were bred in the USA and Canada. Several varieties are the result of the development of Russian breeders.
Common varieties:
- Davis: a tree 3-5 m high with a wide green crown and numerous large oval fruits, the flesh has excellent taste;
- Martin: the variety is cold-resistant, medium-tall trunks, elongated, juicy fruits, 8-10 cm in size;
- Dessert: large-fruited tall tree, the pulp of fruits is very sweet, fragrant, bright yellow;
- Sochinskaya 11: early ripe tall variety with large fruits, whose weight reaches 300 g.
Despite the exotic species that is more characteristic of the tropics, many varieties of banana trees can be grown in temperate climates - mainly where the frost-free period is at least six months. These plants are little afraid of even severe frosts, in winter they are able to withstand cold to –30 ° C, provided they are short, and in spring the buds calmly tolerate return frosts.
Application
Beautiful decorative trees are a real find for garden landscapes. Large leaves of pawpaw and branches with unusual fruits create a bright exotic landscape.
At home, a banana tree is often grown not only as a garden, but also as an indoor or greenhouse culture.
Of greatest value are the fruits for which plants are cultivated. Their flesh contains amino acids, fructose and other sugars, soluble fiber, ascorbic and folic acids, carotene, iron, potassium salts, magnesium, phosphorus. These fruits are a source of a rare natural substance - acetogenin. It has a pronounced anti-cancer property, binds salts of heavy metals, neutralizes toxins.
Fresh fruit juice and pulp is used in folk medicine as a remedy for severe poisoning, gastric and intestinal disorders, inflammatory and infectious diseases, headaches, and breakdown. Azimine extract has a sedative, immunostimulating, anti-aging effect, regulates blood cholesterol.
Ripe fruits are eaten raw or used as raw materials for the preparation of confectionery, jams, marmalade, sweet drinks. Leaf juice and crushed banana tree seeds are widely used in folk medicine: as antimicrobial and anthelmintic drugs.
Landing and care
Azimina well takes root in the Caucasus, in the Krasnodar Territory, regions of the lower and middle Volga. It is better to choose cold-resistant varieties for the garden. If you intend to plant a banana tree in the room, you need to consider that even its dwarf varieties grow at least 1.5 m tall.
Soil preparation
For planting, choose well-lit, sheltered from the wind places. The soil needs light, sandy, or loamy, moderately fertile, with a pH of 5–7. Alkaline or heavy clay soils are not suitable for azimina. It is good if the site is slightly elevated so that spring water and excess rainfall flow freely from it. Highly lying soil sources are undesirable.
Work carried out in late April. With insufficient natural drainage, it is provided with a thick layer of small stones, broken brick, pouring them into the planting pits. On top add river sand. The soil taken out of the holes is enriched with deciduous humus, compost, wood ash.
Landing
The root system of seedlings is placed in the ground to a depth of 10-12 cm. Then abundantly watered with room water. You cannot ram the ground with your hands or feet when planting. When the soil settles a little and compacts naturally, more soil is added. From above, you can pour a mulching layer of sawdust or peat.
When landing, you need to carefully handle the roots. In pawpaw they break easily.
You can try to sprout a banana tree from the seeds. To increase their germination capacity, they must first be stratified: put in sand and put into storage in a cool place for 3-4 months. You can simply put the bag of seeds in the refrigerator, ensuring a temperature of + 5–7 ° C.
The finished material is soaked for a day in hot water or a weak solution of potassium permanganate and buried in soil in small pots to a depth of 3-4 cm. The surface is tightened with a film. The soil is moistened daily. Shoots appear in a month.
Care
In the first year after planting, the plant is fairly timely moistened, loosened and kept the soil in a clean state. Azimina is unpretentious and does not cause problems in care.
Water the trees twice a week with soft, settled water, using about 5 liters per plant. In hot weather, this is done only in the evening. The banana tree is afraid of stagnation of moisture, therefore, in the rainy period, watering is reduced.
From the second year you can start feeding. In mid-April, the soil around the roots should be poured with a solution of manure, after 2 weeks - a complex nitrogen-phosphorus fertilizer should be applied. Organics and mineral compounds should be alternated. Frequency of top dressing: 10-15 days. With growth retardation or sparse soil, you can fertilize more often - every week. From October, stop making meals.
The garden azimine rises rather slowly: in a year its growth adds no more than 25-30 cm. It is undesirable to transplant from one place to another. The powerful roots of the tree are very fragile; when digging them up, it is easy to damage them.
Indoor instances grow faster. Every year it needs to be transplanted into a more spacious pot. Clay or wooden “breathing” containers are preferred, in which mold is less likely to start. The bottom should contain several drainage holes. The transfer is carried out carefully: the plant is transferred to a new pot with a lump of earth, being careful not to damage the brittle roots.
Ambient temperature required for home pawpaw - 20–25 ° C. Plants do not like an excessively dry or dusty atmosphere. The premises should be regularly ventilated, and in spring and summer - more often take out pots on the balcony.
Flowering and fruiting
The first buds appear on a banana tree in the 5-6 year of life. To obtain fruits, it is necessary to pollinate them manually, transferring pollen from stamens to pistils with a cotton bud, from one flower to another. The faint characteristic smell of the refined meat that the buds publish does not attract bees much. Only flies can curl around them. In addition, the azimine is protogenic - the pistils on the same tree ripen before the stamens. Planting near at least two different varieties helps to increase the likelihood of fruits.
Home plants bloom earlier - as soon as they have 7-8 pairs of adult leaves. Dwarf varieties of pawpaw, which are grown in rooms, rarely bear fruit.
The ovaries gain mass and grow during the summer, and ripen by September. Their skin gradually brightens and acquires an almost white or yellowish tint instead of green. Ripe fruits easily come off the branches, and falling to the ground, quickly crumple and rot. Collect them directly from the tree. They are not subject to long storage. It is better to immediately consume the fruits or process them for the future: make jam, jam or compote.
Breeding
In addition to the seed propagation method, cuttings are used, rooting in the soil mixture pieces of annual shoots. In adult plants, you can often find the subordinate root growth.
Experienced gardeners often use vaccination to preserve varietal qualities and renew culture.. Do it in the middle of spring - before the start of active vegetation. Not having time to completely numb the cuttings are sharpened from the lower edge. The stock is split, the edge of the cuttings is placed in the crevice, making sure that the combined layers of the plants are combined. The vaccination site is tightly wrapped with polymer tape. New buds appear near the tree in 15–20 days.
Diseases and Pests
Parasites practically do not infect an exotic plant. Perhaps the reason for this lies in the unpleasant odor that its flowers and fruit ovary emit.
Inadequate watering or excess moisture can lead to leaf withering or root rot. Timely weed removal, compliance with the moistening regime and proper loosening of the soil help to avoid diseases - to a depth of 2-3 cm.
Wintering
For winter, it is advisable to cover the crowns with a canvas, and protect the soil above the roots from the cold with spruce branches. This can be done not for the entire period, but only before the onset of prolonged frosts. For a safe wintering, you can rake snow to the plants, covering them with the lower parts of the trunks.
In spring, frozen shoots should be removed. Sanitary pruning is carried out annually in mid-March.
Winter is a dormant period for a banana tree. At this time, garden specimens do not moisturize or fertilize. Indoor can be put in a shady cool place, watered no more than twice a month. A rested tree in March will begin to gain new buds.