Tladianta (red cucumbers): characteristics, description and reviews

Tladianta is a doubtful - this is a unique herbaceous plant with perennial creepers. For a long time it grew only in the southeast of Asia, where later it was brought to Europe. Today this culture is common in many countries of the world and became known as the "red cucumber". What is a tladiant, why has an unusual coloring, read in the article.

Description

Red cucumbers are representatives of the genus of pumpkin cultures. Since these are pollinated plants, in nature one can find hybrids - the result of crossing with a pumpkin, melon or a cucumber of another variety. Tladianta is considered an unpretentious plant. The main condition for growth is the presence of support. With a minimum of care costs, you can get a good harvest.

The plant grows up to five meters in height. On the hairy stalk there are numerous antennae, thanks to which this plant clings to any blade of grass, just to climb up. Why is it so important? Without support, the stems spread over the ground, as a result of which the bush is thickened by spy shoots, which will throw out more and more new antennae to search for a vertical support. The plant will not begin to blossom until it is found.

For residents of the middle band, the red cucumber is unusual for perception. A detailed description is evidence of that. The sparse, light green leaves are distinguished by a heart-shaped shape. Bright yellow flowers are very similar to tulips, and fruits - with the usual small cucumbers or red melons. On green vegetables clearly visible bright longitudinal strips. The combination of yellow flowers, red fruits and green leaves at the same time - a terrific sight! Soft and sweet taste of a mature cucumber. Why is it red? If you cut it, you can see a dark orange flesh. Hence the name.

Pollination

This culture is dioecious, has male and female plants. With intensive pollination, red cucumbers bear fruit abundantly. In Japan, for example, the pollen of the bee-symbiont carries over. Male flowers for the night are closed, and the insects in them are hidden. In the morning they fly to the female animals and feed on their nectar.

In Russia there is no such insect, and bees rarely participate in pollination. Therefore, this procedure is best done artificially, using a brush, or by applying different-sex flowers to each other. Tladianta is pollinated well by pollen of other plants: pumpkins, cucumbers of ordinary, squash. Blossom red cucumbers all summer, until the cold.

Reproduction

In autumn, the tops die, but the plant does not die. The fact is that at the ends of the shoots there are tubers that look like potatoes. Of them, in the spring of next year, plants will appear. You can leave the tubers in the ground for the winter. They perfectly tolerate frosts. Although they can be excavated and stored in a cool cellar, refrigerator or under the snow, pre-packed in film, and in early spring, in April, planted. To do this, use a single-row scheme with a distance between plantings of 60-70 centimeters. Shoots can be expected in May. They will quickly grow. If there is sunny weather, shoots grow 15 centimeters or more. Red cucumbers can not be transplanted to another place for several years if they are planted with tubers.

Propagates the Tladian and seeds, which are very small in size, black and round in shape. Planting material is necessarily subjected to stratification, for which the seeds are soaked for a day in cold water. At the end of the time, the liquid merges, and the swollen seeds are placed in a wet cloth, wrapped and left in a dark place until the appearance of sprouts. After germination, they are sown in a pot or immediately on a bed of several pieces, to then identify the female and male individuals.

The best time for sowing seeds is the beginning of March. Tladianta - a red cucumber - grows well in low light, so the seedlings do not need to be refreshed. They calmly develop under conditions of low temperature, but not less than zero degrees. Pots with seedlings can be carried to a warmed loggia. In the ground, seedlings are planted after spring frosts. If the seeds are planted on the bed in the winter, then in the spring you can get a lot of plants. However, there will not be any fruits in the first year, since all the forces are expended on the formation of numerous tubers.

Proper care

This culture does not tolerate heavy soils. The plant prefers a fertile, loose soil. When planted seedlings are planted in the ground, it should be fed with a complex mineral fertilizer or saltpetre. As soon as the first buds appear, a phosphorus fertilizer should be added to the soil. During fruiting, fertilizing is carried out only with organic fertilizers: mullein or bird droppings. After planting and in arid weather, the plant needs watering.

Tladianta takes up a little space and gets well at the fence, the walls of the house or the garage, which serve as a support. Some prefer to plant exotic cucumbers under the canopy of trees. This does not require additional hassle and does not harm plants, since they are calm towards shading.

Practical advice on installing a support for cucumbers

At a distance of five meters from each other, vertical pipes 3-4 meters high are installed. Of these, a U-shaped arc is made. Between the pipes, a slate with a flat surface is dug in, so that its edge protrudes slightly above the ground. On both sides of the horizontal septum, grooves are made, into which tubers with feminine and masculine elements are placed separately. Planting is sprinkled with soil and fenced, so that the plant does not entangle the whole garden.

Using

Flowers of the plant over time form ovaries, which in the process of growth turn into fruits. While the red cucumber is not ripe, vegetable dishes are prepared from a fresh green vegetable. Especially good are salads with the addition of feather onions and butter. Such fruits can be preserved and salted. As soon as the color becomes red, the Tladian acquires a sweet taste, and jam, jam, jam are cooked from it.

During treatment, the healing properties are preserved. It is the high sugar content that is the hallmark of the red cucumber. This plant is widely used as a decorative fence. For example: only two plants are sufficient to flap the garden gazebo from all sides in a short time.