Chinese date: growing and reproduction. Chinese date (unabi): seedlings

Unabi (zizifus, Chinese date) is one of the best medicinal plants, since it has a huge amount of useful substances.

It is also called in the people deciduous prickly bush, chest berry of the French, yujube. There are about 400 species of these plants that are cultivated in the South of Asia, in Central Asia, China, the Caucasus, the Mediterranean. Unabi has been using medicine for a long time, using almost all of its parts - leaves, fruits and roots. But mainly for the treatment of the fruits of the Chinese date, which can be consumed fresh or dry. Dried unabi outwardly resembles a customary date to us.

Description

Zizifus is a prickly deciduous spreading bush or a small tree. It has a pyramidal or spreading crown. It is distinguished by sufficiently powerful roots, which can penetrate to a depth of up to three meters.

The bark of the main trunks of the Chinese date is dark gray, very thick. Branches are distinguished by red-brown bark and spines. Leaves are alternate, located on small petioles, are elongate-ovate, leathery, entire, tapered.

Flowers in the plant are bisexual, small, five-membered, axillary, can be assembled into small bundles - up to 5 pieces. In this case, the flower lives only about a day.

In the ziphifus the fruits ripen at different times, are rounded, oblong, egg-shaped drupes with sweet flesh. They reach a length of 6 cm with a mass of about 20 g.

The plant first appeared in China, today it is cultivated in Central Asia, the Transcaucasus. It grows in a temperate climate. In order for the harvest to succeed, it is necessary to plant a variety adapted to a specific climate.

Chinese dates like heat very much, therefore, they are not afraid of drought. In addition, unabi is a frost-resistant plant. Regardless of the fact that it perfectly tolerates the heat, it still must be watered constantly - in this case it will bear much better.

Chinese date: growing and breeding

Unabi can grow on almost any soil, in addition to waterlogged and saline, although it yields a small crop for the poor. It is inadmissible to have a close groundwater table. The ideal location for a ziphifus is the southern slopes.

The plant can be propagated by root shoots, seeds, grafting and cuttings.

Of the seeds of Chinese dates, the stock is mainly grown, as the seedlings start to bear fruit later and varietal traits are not always preserved. Bones should be harvested from quality fresh fruits, which must be immediately cleaned of the existing pulp. Raw materials stratify a couple of months before sowing. It is sown in the spring, after the earth warms up well. Between the rows the distance should be about 80 cm, in the row between the seeds - about 5 cm. It is desirable to cover the sowing with a film, thus creating a tunnel. Seedlings in 20 days dive or thin out in such a way that between them remains in a row of 25 cm. In the spring they are watered only once, twice a month - in the summer.

In general, large-bodied varieties are cultivated in small-fodder. In the summer they vaccinate themselves with a "little eye", in the bark with a handle in September or May.

Reproduction by the roots makes it possible to obtain a crop in the second year after planting. Plants can be separated when the Chinese date (unabi) reaches the age of 2 years.

Saplings during propagation cuttings root in greenhouses in conditions of intermittent artificial fog. On a permanent place they are planted in mid-March in the south, at the end of March - in the northern regions.

Crown formation

It is mainly formed for a couple of years in the form of a vase or bowl of 4 skeletal branches that are placed around the trunk. At the same time, the central conductor is cut off, and excess branches are removed to the "ring". The top branch is cut in such a way that there are 20 cm left, all others - that their tops with it are on a general level.

Further, periodic sanitary pruning is carried out, in addition, the branches that thicken the crown are removed.

Watering

Chinese dates in the first year should be watered as often as possible for their best engraftment (up to 7 times per season).

Do this in the very first months of flowering is not necessary - the fruits are tied in time in dry weather, but if the moisture is not enough during the summer, then the harvest will be meager. Therefore, the plant should be watered from the middle of June (only not often, but only with a long absence of rain).

Feeding

Every year (starting with the fourth after disembarkation) in spring unabi (Chinese date), it is necessary to feed a mixture of various mineral fertilizers, as well as manure.

Collection and harvesting of fruits

For medicinal purposes fruits, leaves, very rarely the bark and root of the plant are used. Fruits must be harvested after their full ripening, leaves at the same time. Dry them in the shade, preferably in the air under a canopy, but you can and in a ventilated room, and they need to be laid out in 1 layer. You can store up to a year.

The root must be harvested in November, the bark in early spring. It is desirable to use it from three-year branches. Can store up to 2 years.

The fruits of unabi can be consumed fresh, dried and dried. Also from them it is good to prepare marinade, jam, juice, compote. Keep it fresh for up to five days.

Dry the Chinese date, or rather its fruits, it is better in the dryer. Keep in this form can be up to two years.

Beneficial features

Fruits contain organic acids, sugar, proteins, fatty oil, catechin, tannin, nicotinic and folic acids, pectin, tocopherol. Using them, you can remove from the body copper, lead, toxins, mercury. Iron, potassium, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, vitamins C, P are also contained in unabi.

The Chinese date makes it possible to recover much faster after the disease, in addition, it is often prescribed for kidney, urinary system, stomach, stomatitis accompanied by the appearance of ulcers.

Also, unabi should be taken during pregnancy, which will help cope with toxemia. Young Chinese lactating mothers should also be included in the diet, as it significantly increases lactation.

With the help of the fruits of the plant, you can normalize blood pressure, cope with headaches and heart pain.

Chinese date (zizifus): application

Decoction based on the branches, leaves and bark of the plant is an excellent antibacterial and bacteriostatic agent. Therefore, with the help you can cure purulent wounds, abscesses, tuberculous lymphadenitis, gastritis, ocular or cutaneous tuberculosis, in addition, it is an excellent diuretic.

Decoction from the roots of the plant enhances the growth of hair in children, adults are recommended to use it for baldness.

Of the dried fruits, a decoction is prepared that will help to relieve bronchial inflammation, it is often used for shortness of breath, severe dizziness, whooping cough and bronchitis.

Fruits are rich in vitamins C and P, therefore, they positively affect the walls of the vessels, giving them elasticity and strength. This remedy is also effective in hypertensive crisis, it allows you to lower blood pressure, increase efficiency, improve sleep, cheer up, normalize your heartbeat.

Traditional medicine decoction from the fruits of the plant appreciates for its anti-inflammatory and emollient properties, in addition, it can be used in ulcers, infections in the intestines, anemia, inflammation in the upper respiratory tract.

Chinese date in its fresh form is especially useful for eating with dysentery, constipation, diarrhea. Infusion is recommended to drink with suppurating wounds, gastritis, abscesses. External it is used to rinse the mouth, and also do rinsing, lotions to cure ulcers and wounds that slowly heal.

To prepare ointments, fresh leaves are suitable.

Zizifus in Cooking

The berries of the plant can be consumed fresh. Also, the Chinese date can be dried, canned and dried. Delicious berries are included in recipes of various dishes.

Contraindications

The Chinese date (zizifus) contains a substance that has the effect of anesthesia. A person, starting to chew, for a time ceases to feel a bitter and sweet taste. It is not necessary to eat a lot of fruits to people who suffer from low blood pressure, as well as during pregnancy. It is worth remembering that unabi is digested for a very long time, it is best consumed without skin, and in large quantities it can provoke inflammation in the intestine, stomach. In addition, zizifus increases the amount of sugar in the blood. If the dosage is not followed, a severe headache may appear.