As a garden plant, cranberries have been grown in Europe and the USA for more than 150 years. It is a stunted shrub with flexible, threadlike stems and oblong leaves. Flowers bloom by mid-May and have a pink color. The berry itself is spherical, red in color, ripens in late August. Growing a plant like garden cranberries, the planting and care of which are laborious, it is worth remembering that this is a very winter-hardy species that prefers sunlight. The plant prefers acidic, fertile, moist soils and tolerates waterlogging or stagnation of moisture. In arid heat requires abundant watering. In one place, the bush can grow a couple of decades.
In order for garden cranberries to grow healthy and with large and large berries, all factors must be taken into account when growing it. The sunny area should be freed from the roots and various useless plants, this is due to the fact that creeping shoots can get tangled in weeds and stop growing.
To get the delicious berries that cranberries give gardening, planting and care should be timely.
The top layer of the earth, about 20 centimeters, is best mixed thoroughly with peat. In cases where the subsoil is quite light and sandy, the bottom of the pit is covered with a thick plastic film. For proper growth, mark the area square meters and align it under the landing so that there are no large pits with strongly stagnant water.
Large-fruited garden cranberries are planted from around mid to late May. Observe the correct distance between the rows - at least twenty centimeters, and in the row - at least ten. In one place, the landing has 2 cuttings. For example, up to sixty cuttings are needed per 1 square meter.
For planting, use sand, it should be moist, but not very wet, and remain in this state until new shoots begin to form. Garden cranberries are not so simple: planting and caring for them require special attention from the gardener in the first three weeks. It is worth monitoring the growth and watering twice a week. When shoots appear, then enough once. The growth of new shoots also means the growth of new roots.
Remember, garden cranberries, planting and care of which should be carried out consistently and correctly, will quickly form new roots, and therefore, an early harvest will not be long in coming. Full rooting occurs on about the twentieth day, and the crop on the 2-3rd year. With one square meter, you can collect about half a bucket of berries.
As you grow, pin the shoots with a stick, thereby preventing them from leaving the site. If the bushes are poorly developed, top dressing in the form of organic fertilizers is recommended. Use them only in dry form.
In the first year after planting, still non-fruitful cranberries in winter should be covered with spruce branches. The fruiting one is not necessary.
Proper planting and care is the key to a well-developed cranberry! Such a plant will delight you with its wonderful healing properties and a large number of vitamins. Cranberry leaves will help with rheumatism, salt deposition. The berry has a tonic and refreshing effect, improves mental activity and physical ability to work.