Unabi is a thermophilic plant. Due to its healing properties, it has become widespread in areas with a subtropical climate. His homeland is China. Here this plant began to be cultivated more than four thousand years ago. Currently, unabi can be seen in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Crimea, Transcaucasia, Central Asia, Europe, America and Africa. This plant is called differently: jujube, Chinese dates, breast berries, jojoba ... Unabi is a tree of youth and health, as they say in China.
Description
This plant from the buckthorn family has more than fifty species. Breeders from different countries have long been bred winter-hardy varieties. But, like any southern plant, a lot of heat and light need unabi. Planting and care are carried out in well-lit areas with loose soil and groundwater, occurring at great depths.
This is a fabulously beautiful tree. His crown is openwork, sprawling, large. The leaves are shiny, have a light green hue and stretch to the sun, forming a right angle. The vegetation process begins late - in late April or early May. Accordingly, unabi blooms by the end of June. Up to several hundred thousand small flowers of yellow-green color appear on the tree. But not all of them form an ovary. The tree itself selects viable flowers that will give a good harvest in the future and continue the genus.
The fruits ripen in late September - early October. In size, they are large, medium and small. Shiny glossy brown skin protects the juicy flesh. In appearance, the fruits resemble dates.
Useful qualities
All parts of the plant possess healing properties: fruits, branches, bark, leaves and roots. The bark is harvested during the movement of the juice, when it is easy to separate from the trunk. The leaves are picked and dried in the middle of summer, and the fruits are removed after full ripening. The roots are dug up before the onset of the winter period.
The fruits are famous for their healing, nutritional and taste properties. They are consumed fresh, dried, canned and smoked. Compotes, preserves, jams are cooked from them. This plant is widely used in the pharmaceutical, perfumery and confectionery industries.
In China, dried fruits are ground into powder, which is added to the dough. Bread from it does not stale for a long time. The fruits have a sweet taste and a pleasant aroma. Unabi - healthy fruits from China, they contain many vitamins, proteins and organic acids. Date is rich in vegetable fats, tannins, alkaloids, folic acid and carotene.
- Fruits have anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anesthetic and anti-sclerotic effects.
- They are taken for diseases of the stomach, bladder, kidneys, and oral cavity.
- Eating unabi fruit lowers blood pressure.
- A decoction of them strengthens the body, cures anemia and alopecia, improves memory. It is used to eliminate bronchitis, whooping cough, dizziness, shortness of breath.
- The fruits of this tree treat a neglected form of hypertension.
- The broth is milk-based for nursing mothers, normalizes metabolism and is considered a general strengthening agent.
- Dried fruits of date are used to treat colds and heart diseases.
- A decoction from the roots of the plant promotes hair growth.
- An infusion of branches, bark and leaves heals wounds, treats gastritis and tuberculosis.
Contraindications to the use of fruits may include individual intolerance, pregnancy and low blood pressure.
Seed propagation
With this method of propagation, plants with small fruits are obtained. Culture derived in this way can be used as a decorative element or stock for valuable varieties. Due to the hardness of the seeds, the percentage of germination is very low. To stimulate this process, they are stratified and scarified. To do this, in the fall put moistened seeds in moss, wrap them with polyethylene and send them to the refrigerator for the whole winter. Twice a month, unabi seeds are unfurled and aerated in air. Planting and care are carried out throughout the vegetative period.
Seeds are planted at a constant place of growth in spring. To do this, grooves are marked at a distance of 20 cm and the seeds are laid out in them, deepening into the ground by 4 cm. In about two months, seedlings will appear. On well-moistened soil, this crop begins to bear fruit faster.
Propagation by cuttings
For cuttings on a young shoot 10 cm long, all leaves are removed except the top two. Their plates are cut in half. This is necessary so that the leaves do not pick up moisture from the unaby stalk. Planting is carried out in loose garden soil. Washed sand is poured on top with a layer of 5-6 cm. A stalk is placed there.
Planting should be covered with a glass jar for better root formation. Every day, lift it for a few minutes. And when shoots begin to appear on the handle, remove the jar first for a few hours, and then for the whole day or night. So, young plants will get used to the environment, and in a few days they will not need to be covered.
When the stalk is rooted, you can transplant unabi. Planting is carried out in larger pots or boxes. In the first year after the cuttings, let Unabi winter in the house, and in the spring of next year, plant it in the garden, determining a permanent place of growth.
How to plant a tree?
Unpretentious is unabi. Planting and care are carried out as necessary. This culture grows on any soil except clay and saline. If groundwater passes close to the surface of the earth, it is better not to plant a tree in this place. Even if it does not die and begins to bear fruit, then the yield will still be low. The best landing site is the southern slopes of the site.
The date is very fond of heat and does not tolerate cold winds. Therefore, for its landing, choose a place well lit by the sun and not blown by the winds. Soil should not be fertilized with humus, otherwise the plant will lose its healing properties.
If you have decided on the site, start digging and loosening it. Then determine the location for the planting pits at the rate of 4x3 square meters for each tree. Dig holes in a depth of half a meter and a diameter of 60 cm. At the bottom, make drainage from fragments of brick, small pebbles. In each hole, make a glass of ash and plant the future unabi tree. Planting and care are accompanied by abundant watering. Tamp the ground around the trunk and mulch with improvised means: straw or sawdust.
The best time to plant this crop is early or mid-autumn. But you can plant a tree in the spring, in the middle or at the end of May, when the air warms up to 12-14 degrees.
Features of competent care
When caring for this plant, you need to remember about the close occurrence of its roots to the surface of the soil. In order not to damage them, you do not need to deeply loosen the earth. An unpretentious culture is considered to be Chinese dates (unabi, jujube). Care, growing problems and diseases can be minimized by rational and timely watering and the application of appropriate fertilizers.
This tree tolerates hot weather well. In a drought, it will not die, but without enough water, productivity will decline. Therefore, if there is no rain for a long time, moisten the soil around the trunk with plenty of water. In the first year of life, the tree needs to be watered up to 7 times a season. So it will take root better. During flowering, irrigation is not needed, since the fruit ovary occurs only in dry weather.
The date does not need frequent top dressing. It is enough to add humus or humus in the calculation of 5-6 kg for each tree with a frequency of three years.
Caring for a tree involves cutting it. It is necessary to remove dry branches and create a productive crown, which can be formed within 1-2 years, and subsequently maintain its shape. Young trees are pruned in May, and adults in March or April.
Diseases and pests, the fight against them
The unabi tree is not susceptible to disease, so it does not need to be treated with chemicals. But sometimes you can see bites on unripe fruits. What they are made of, it is impossible to establish exactly. Presumably this is a locust. But ripe fruits often suffer from birds.