A lot of good varieties of plums for the whole time of cultivation of this garden crop were bred. One of the best at the same time is considered to be the fertile and relatively unpretentious “Anna Shpet”. This plum first began to be grown in Germany. The creator of the variety was the German breeder L. Shpet. In Russia, this species was registered immediately after the war - in 1947, in the Lower Volga and North Caucasus regions.
Plum "Anna Shpet": grade description
This variety can be distinguished from other varieties primarily by the dense pyramidal appearance of the crown. The trees of Anna Shpet grow not too high, but not particularly low - up to 4.5 m. The shoots at this plum tree are powerful, the headquarters are straight and smooth. The bark at the Anna Shpet plum is gray, and the internode is small in size - 4 cm. The elongated buds of this variety are firmly pressed to the branches. The leaves of the plum "Anna Shpet" are small long and narrow, friable consistency. Their lower surface is slightly pubescent, the upper one is matte.
Two white flowers, funnel-shaped, immediately grow out of one bud in this plum. Their petals are oval, tightly pressed against each other. Each flower has 18 stamens.
Plum fruits "Anna Shpet"
For the first time, harvest from trees of this variety is harvested for 3-5 years after planting. The fruits of plum "Anna Shpet" has large (up to 45 g), oval isosceles. Summer residents respond very well about their taste. The pulp at the plums of "Anna Shpet" is yellow, tender, sweet with sourness. A certain drawback of the fruits of this variety is that because of the juiciness, they sometimes crack. The bone in the plums is small, elongated. Her continuous seam is open, the side seam is narrow. In this case, the central rib is pronounced, and the lateral ones are absent.
The peel of the “Anna Shpet” fruits is dense and thin. Its color is traditional dark purple, almost black with a pronounced waxy coating. Use the fruits of plum "Anna Shpet" mainly fresh or in compotes. They are not suitable for drying.
The opinion of summer residents about the variety
Judging by the reviews of gardeners, the plum variety “Anna Shpet” has the following advantages:
high productivity (about 23 kg per tree);
relatively good winter hardiness and ability to regenerate;
resistance to red spotting and moniliosis.
Of course, the Anna Shpet plum is not the only virtue that distinguishes it. Gardeners' reviews about it are good, however, some summer residents note this variety also has certain disadvantages. The disadvantages of this plum are the owners of suburban areas consider, first of all, the tendency of the fruits to crack. Also, many gardeners note some difficulty in harvesting. After all, the crown of this tree is quite high. Therefore, to collect the drains, you have to use a ladder. Also, the minuses of the variety include some friability of wood.
Where to plant
“Anna Shpet” is a plum tree that prefers loose and fertile soil with a neutral pH. Also, this variety is very sensitive to the sun. Near the wall of the house, and especially the north, this tree will not develop well. Plum should be planted in an open area. At the same time, at a distance of 3 meters from it there should not be any other trees or shrubs.
Preparation for landing
It is advisable to dig a hole for the "Anna Shpet" plum from the fall. Its depth should be about 60 cm, diameter - 80 cm. It is allowed to dig a hole in the spring. The backfill mixture should be as follows:
How to plant
The roots of the selected seedling should first be dipped in a clay mash. At the bottom of the pit, several pieces of limestone are laid. Next, pour the prepared soil mixture to 2/3 of the height of the walls and drive in the center of the pegs. The seedling is lowered into the pit so that its root neck is 5-6 cm above the ground and tied to a support. When backfilling, the soil is gently rammed with your feet. At the final stage, a hole is made around the tree and 25 liters of water are poured into it. Immediately after planting, the drain must be cut off. When performing this procedure, the main conductor is left untouched. All other branches are shortened by 1/3.
How to feed
If the plum "Anna Shpet" was planted in compliance with all the recommendations, it is not necessary to feed it in the first two years. The pit will be enough for the normal development of the plant nutrients. In all subsequent years, several feedings are done during the season.
In spring, it is advisable to fertilize the trees under the root before, during or after flowering. In this case, you need to use a solution of mullein or urea. In summer, plums are sprayed with a composition that includes:
urea - 10 g;
lime - 2 g;
water - 10 liters.
When processing, make sure that the solution does not drain from the leaves.
Autumn root dressing is done at the end of September. In this case, use a solution of 3 tbsp. l superphosphate and 2 tbsp. l potassium sulphide per 10 liters of water. 30 liters are poured onto each tree. When digging a near-trunk circle for the winter, it is advisable to add 15 kg of manure, 50 g of ammonium nitrate and 150 g of superphosphate under each drain.
Watering plums
One of the distinguishing features of this variety is its exactingness in relation to soil moisture. In this regard, tree care is relatively complicated. “Anna Shpet” is a plum that poorly tolerates both overdrying and waterlogging of the soil. This variety is watered three times a season. For the first time, this is done immediately after the shoots appear. The second watering should be carried out during the ripening of the fruit. For the third time, the soil under the drain is moistened after harvesting. Irrigation rate - 30-50 liters of water per tree. This indicator may vary depending on the amount of precipitation. The main thing is that when watering the drain, you need to make sure that the soil gets wet by about 25 cm.
Crown formation
Plum "Anna Shpet" (the description of this variety was given by us in full detail above) - a tree, among other things, requiring periodic pruning. It is advisable to remove unnecessary branches from plants of this variety at least three times per season. For the first time, this is done in the spring, shortening last year’s growth and cutting off excess shoots that thicken the crown too much. The second pruning is carried out in the summer - in July. This time, all branches that have not survived the winter are removed. In summer, they are clearly visible due to poor leafiness. Also at this time, you need to remove from the tree all the branches affected by pests and, of course, remove the shoots. In autumn, make a light anti-aging pruning prune. At the same time, the top is shortened and all damaged and broken branches are removed.
What pests can infect
Most often, the owners of suburban areas have problems with Anna Shpet plums due to infection of the latter with a moth, sawfly or red fruit tick. In the first case, Avant or Tagore preparations are used to control the pest. Spraying is carried out before flowering, having prepared the solution according to the instructions. Autumn can be used kalbofos. As a prophylactic for plum moth, a 3% urea solution is most often used. Spray plants with this tool in April.
From sawflies on trees get rid with the use of karbofos or means "Cyanox". The red fruit tick can be destroyed by spraying the tree with Nitrofen preparations before the buds open or Metaphos after flowering. It is possible to prevent infection of trees with a sawfly and tick by burning fallen leaves in the fall and digging. And, of course, only those Anna Shpet plums will be resistant to various diseases, for which good care is provided throughout the season.
How to properly prepare a tree for winter
"Anna Shpet" is a plum belonging to the relatively winter-hardy group. However, it is necessary to prepare trees of this variety for winter. At the very end of autumn, it is desirable to whitewash the trunk and branches of plums with lime or paint with a water emulsion. Young trees also need to be wrapped with paper completely. In adults, only the trunk is wrapped in plums.
Of course, before snowfall, trees should also be protected from mice. To do this, their stems are wrapped with a nylon mesh. Young plums can be covered with this material completely.
As you can see, “Anna Shpet” is a plum variety, reviews of which are mostly very good. The main advantages of this variety are, therefore, include good taste qualities of fruits and high productivity. As for the care, it is not more complicated than for many other varieties of this culture. The main thing is to water and fertilize plants on time, and also make sure that their branches, leaves and fruits are not affected by pests.