Grapes are a favorite autumn treat and a great chance to enrich your body with useful vitamins and minerals before the onset of winter. Grapes contain sugar, fiber, ascorbic and organic acids, vitamin B, pectins, enzymes. All these components make grapes a valuable food product recommended by nutritionists, gastroenterologists, immunologists and other specialists. How can one not pay attention to the benefits of grapes and remain indifferent to such berries?
Today, the boom in apartment buildings is on the decline. Most of the urban population wants to break out of the noise of the city and move to live in the suburbs or rural areas. There you can relax, and breathe fresh air, and get a garden and a garden. But many dream of vineyards in the country. So which grape variety to choose and how to get a good harvest from a bush?
Some of the grape varieties are striking in appearance and taste, while the rules for caring for them are minimized. Chameleon grapes are attributed to a number of such plants, the description of the variety of which we will try to study in more detail. What is this plant?
Chameleon grape variety: botanical reference
The variety was bred by the efforts of Ukrainian breeder Vishnevetsky Mykola Pavlovich as a result of hybrid crossbreeding of four grape varieties: Arcadia, Kishmish Luchistogo, Glasha, Atlanta Zaporizhia. The researcher planned to develop a variety unique in its qualities, characterized by high fertility and taste. And it is worth noting that CIS breeders admitted that this experiment was a success.
Harvest Features
Grapes ripen in just 100 days, so at the beginning of August you can already start picking Chameleon grapes .
If you are late for your harvest, don't be discouraged. Berries do not lose their taste and shape for a long time, stored even on a bush.
Providing the plant with good care, you can be sure that you will get a good harvest from the bush - up to 30 kg of grapes. Torn brushes can be stored for a long time in a cool room, while maintaining their beneficial properties. Another distinguishing feature of the Chameleon hybrid grape variety is its excellent transportability.
The plant is frost-resistant, which allows you to grow grapes even in regions with harsh climates. The plant easily tolerates up to -23 ° C.
Grade description
Chameleon vineyards are vigorous, lush. Bisexual flowers. The average weight of one bunch of grapes is 1.5-1.8 kg (less often 2 kg). The berries are large and heavy, reaching sizes up to 30x27 mm and weight of 14 grams each. The berries are even oval, contain up to 18% sugar.
Ripe fruits with an orange-pink tint, crisp and dense crust, fleshy and juicy pulp. Such characteristics contribute to excellent turnover due to the attractiveness of grapes.
Features of planting and plant care
In general, the Chameleon (grape), the description of which you studied, is not picky, and the rules of care do not differ from the system for growing other common grape varieties. The rules for caring for the crop are:
- regular weeding of soil;
- loosening the soil;
- the implementation of systematic watering;
- breaking off and pinching shoots;
- pruning
- fertilizer application.
As we have already said, the Chameleon grape, the photo of which is presented in the article, does not need special care and the creation of special conditions for growing the variety. Almost any soil is suitable for planting seedlings.
You can plant grapes in spring and autumn, but most gardeners still prefer spring. The landing period begins in the last decade of March.
What is the advantage of spring planting
When planting at this time, the plant is better strengthened in the soil, the root system develops more actively. Thanks to this approach, the bush is more likely to adapt to winter cold and will better tolerate frosts. The root processes in the seedlings at the time of planting should reach 20 cm in length and up to 1.5-2 cm in volume.
Sometimes seedlings with several shoots come across, in this case they leave only one - the most powerful, otherwise the plant will slowly develop. Do not forget that adult bushes occupy a fairly large space, therefore, when planting, consider the distance between adjacent bushes of plants. Ideally, you need to leave up to 3 meters of free space between the Chameleon vine bushes. Description of the variety - this is your cheat sheet for growing any of the crops, including grapes.
Care Tips
Highlight such basic tips for the general care of grape bushes:
- Some of the brushes with a formed crop can reach a large weight (up to 2 kg), which represents a high level of load on the vine. Therefore, growth control will not be redundant. On each of the fruiting shoots, it is desirable to leave 5-6 eyes. From weak and non-fertile shoots just get rid of. This will ease the load on the bush, and a sufficient number of left eyes (up to 30 in total) will allow you not to lose a precious crop.
- Watering requirements are not required. The rate of water application according to the standard irrigation scheme is equal to three buckets of water per square meter of area. During fruiting, the water volume is doubled. Between waterings take breaks at intervals of 14 days.
- Mulching must be present in the plant care system. It helps retain moisture in the basal soil and protects the grapes from the negative effects of weeds. As mulch use straw, burlap, sawdust, crushed bark of trees.
- As a fertilizer, a mineral supplement is suitable that compensates for the lack of phosphorus, zinc, potassium in the soil. Of organic fertilizers, compost, peat, and litter are suitable.
- Despite the high indicators of frost resistance, it is still better to cover Chameleon grapes for the winter, so the plant will tolerate cold less stressfully and rather adapt to spring heat.
The impact of diseases and pests on grapes
A chameleon is a grape that is resistant to fungal diseases, but is still negatively affected by mildew, which affects not only grape leaves, but also shoots and fruits. Which makes it the most dangerous disease for grapes, capable of destroying not only the whole bush, but the entire plantation. With timely spraying of grapes with protective agents, the culture can be protected from invasion.
As protective measures, treatment with fungicidal group preparations is used, which provides plants with excellent protection. Spraying is carried out before and after flowering - from the time the shoots reach a length of 20 cm until the fruits reach the size of a pea.
Of the preparations, gardeners distinguish “Ridomil”, “Tsinos”, “Tiram”, “Follet”, “Kaptan”.
Chameleon is the best cultivar
A chameleon is a grape that is considered one of the best crop options for cultivation by beginner growers or just people who do not have enough time to carefully care for the garden.
A chameleon requires a minimum amount of cost and effort in growing, but gives a generous harvest of grapes with rich taste and external properties. Thanks to this, it is suitable for personal use, cultivation for the purpose of sale, export. It is these qualities that make the product so popular not only in the domestic market of the country, but also at the international level, where Chameleon grapes are in great demand. Description of the variety, photos and customer reviews - this is your guideline when choosing seedlings for planting on your site.