The Far East is the birthplace of Schisandra chinensis. It is there that this plant feels in the best way, pleasing the eye not only with beautiful climbing vines, but also with an excellent harvest. The value of its fruits in the East was known several thousand years ago. Hunters and sailors on long journeys greatly appreciated the harvested lemongrass berries, because they added strength and helped to overcome sleep. Nowadays, in some photos you can see that Chinese lemongrass is also used as an ornamental culture. Lemongrass can also be grown in the Moscow region. To do this, it is enough to comply with certain conditions of planting and care.

Varieties and varieties of lemongrass

Experts counted 25 types of lemongrass, but they could not come to a common opinion on how many varieties each of them is represented. But among summer residents, only one variety of lemongrass is cultivated - Chinese. It is a perennial vine, the length of which can reach 10 m. It grows wild only in the Far Eastern regions.

Only two cultivated varieties are known:

1. Variety Pervenets... Bred by Russian breeders. It is a dense woody liana up to 2 m tall with fruits in the form of a cylindrical brush. Each brush contains 40 berries. Fruits ripen by the end of summer. This variety of lemongrass blooms with small pinkish or white flowers. It is unpretentious in care and feels good in different regions, including the Moscow region.
2. Garden variety-1... Bred by Ukrainian breeders. A long liana (from 5 m) with shiny leaves, on which large clusters of very sour juicy fruits ripen. Each plant can produce up to 2 kg of berries by the end of the season. Like Pervenets, it feels great in the climate of the Moscow region.

Planting lemongrass

The success of growing lemongrass depends a lot on the place of planting, therefore this issue must be treated responsibly. Lemongrass will feel good in a warm place protected from the winds. You can plant it along the fence or gazebo.

In the Moscow region, lemongrass is recommended to be planted in early June. But it is better not to delay, because when planting at a later date, the plant may not have time to gain strength for the winter. Lemongrass must be planted at a distance of at least a meter from each other. If you are planting vines around the house, then gardeners recommend retreating from the wall 1-1.5 m so that drops from the roof do not fall on the roots.

A hole for the handle is dug 40 cm deep and 50-60 cm in diameter. A drainage layer of stones or bricks is laid at the bottom of the hole. The rest of the pit is covered with a mixture prepared from leaf compost, sod land and humus in a 1: 1: 1 ratio. In addition, 200 g of superphosphate and 500 g of wood resin must be added to the mixture. Too deep the plant during planting is not worth it.

Advice. It is best to use two-year-old seedlings for planting.

Chinese lemongrass care

In order to provide the plant with light, to increase the yield and decorativeness of the vines, it is necessary to provide the lemongrass with support. Most often, lemongrass is grown on trellises, which are installed in the year of planting lemongrass. If this is not possible, then lemongrass must be tied to the pegs, and the trellises must be installed next year.

Attention. Lemongrass without support is a low-growing shrub that rarely blooms and does not bear fruit.

When planting lemongrass around the house, you can use obliquely set ladders as supports.

An adult lemongrass does not need a winter shelter, but a young one is recommended to cover the first three years with a dense layer of leaves and spruce branches.

Two years after planting, lemongrass begins to be cut. Of the numerous young shoots, it is necessary to leave 4-5 pieces, the rest should be cut off above the soil itself. It is best to do this in the fall, when the leaves have already fallen off. If the liana has grown too much, and the pruning was not done in the fall, then you can do it in June. But this only applies to root growth.

Vines cannot be pruned in late spring and winter. From time to time, adult plants need to be sanitized. At the same time, old ineffective vines are cut off and young productive shoots are left. Broken and dried branches are also removed, and trifles that lead to excessive thickening of the crown. Lateral shoots are shortened after the 12th bud.

It should be borne in mind that the homeland of lemongrass is known for high air humidity, therefore, in the hot conditions of the Moscow region, lemongrass must be sprayed with warm water, and during periods of drought, water at the rate of 6 buckets per plant. It is important that the water is not too cold. In addition to dry periods, watering must be carried out after each feeding.

Fertilizer and feeding

Nutrients begin to be introduced into the soil in the 2-3rd year of lemongrass growth. In April, up to 30 g of saltpeter is poured around the trunk of lemongrass, which must be mulched with a layer of compost from leaves or humus.

In the summer, liquid organic matter must be added every three weeks. And in the fall, when lemongrass sheds its leaves, 20 g of superphosphate is added under each plant, and the earth is loosened with the addition of 100 g of wood ash.

After 5-6 years, when the lianas begin to bear fruit, they fertilize with nitrophosphate in the spring, and after flowering, diluted organic matter is introduced. In autumn, potassium sulfate can be added along with superphosphate.

Reproduction of lemongrass

Seeds. The most difficult way to reproduce lemongrass. It is recommended to use it only if it is impossible to purchase other planting material. Only fresh seeds harvested this year are needed for sowing. They can be sown both immediately in the fall and in the spring, after stratification. In the second case, seed germination will be twice as high as that of spring sowing.

The seeds are collected from ripe berries. After washing and drying, they are removed until December in a dry place in a paper bag. In December, the seeds are soaked for 4 days, changing the water daily. After that, the seeds in a nylon bag are buried in wet, pre-calcined sand and kept there for a month, periodically watering. Once a week, the bag is dug out, the seeds are washed and aired for 5-10 minutes, after which they are buried again.

In January, a box of sand is placed in a refrigerator or room with zero temperature for a month. Then they are moved to a room with a temperature of +8 C. Weekly, the seeds are ventilated and moistened.

After cracking the seeds, they begin to plant them. A mixture of soil, peat and sand is poured into the seedling containers in a 1: 2: 1 ratio. Seeds are sown in furrows at a distance of 1 cm from each other, covered with a thin layer of soil and sprayed with a spray bottle. Cover with newspaper on top.

Moisten the soil moderately every day until shoots appear. Then the box is rearranged on the windowsill, but they make a shelter from the direct rays of the sun. In early June, the seedlings are transplanted to the garden bed and make them a shelter. Under cover, plants should grow until winter. No top dressing is added. Care consists in timely watering and removal of weeds.

Propagation by cuttings. Young shoots are cut into cuttings in early June. Before planting, cuttings must be kept in water. They are planted under a non-woven shelter or in a cold greenhouse. Cuttings are watered 2-3 times a day right through the shelter, because it is removed only in mid-August. Remember that only half of your cuttings will take root. This is the peculiarity of lemongrass. In the fall, rooted cuttings are removed along with a lump of earth to a cool basement. It is best to place the lump in damp sawdust.

Overgrowth... The most affordable and simple way to reproduce. Young shoots appear in large numbers near the mother bush. As a planting material, offspring separated from the mother vine are very well suited.

Root cuttings. From the roots, it is necessary to cut off small (5-10 cm) areas on which dormant buds are located, and plant them in a cold greenhouse. In order for the cuttings to take root, daily watering is necessary. In the next spring, young plants can be transplanted to a permanent place.

Diseases and pests

In the Moscow region, lemongrass is very rarely exposed to diseases. You can add them only if you purchase planting material imported from the Far East. Indeed, most often in this way they bring young shoots of wild lemongrass, and with it the pathogens to which the maternal vine was exposed.

Thus, despite the fact that Chinese lemongrass is traditionally considered an inhabitant of the Far Eastern regions, its cultivation in the Moscow region does not cause much trouble. This unpretentious plant will not only bring you a lot of useful fruits, but also bring zest to the landscape design of your garden. You can be convinced of the decorativeness of this plant by looking at numerous photos.

"Schisandra chinensis" is a type of perennial lianas with beautiful red berries, which serves not only as a decoration for your garden, but also as a supplier of raw materials for the preparation of medical and cosmetic products.

Perennial vine with bright foliage and red bunches of berries - Chinese magnolia vine is gaining more and more popularity among domestic gardeners. The unpretentious plant is widely used in medicine and cosmetics.

Planting and care operations do not require much experience and effort from flower growers. Having planted a plant, you get the opportunity to enjoy its beauty for at least 15 years.

Brief description of berry culture

A curly tree-like liana with round red fruits of a bitter - sour lemon taste is a simple description of a plant that came to us from China and the Far East. The Chinese call it "the berry of five tastes" for its rich taste sensations. Subtropical, relict liana belongs to the class of "flowers" and the family "Schizondria".

In terms of the structure of the inflorescence, the liana is similar to the magnolia. The homeland of the plant is China, Japan, the Amur region, Primorsky Krai, the islands of the Sakhalin archipelago and the Korean Peninsula. 23 species of tree lianas have been studied, but one species grows in the wild on the territory of the country - “Schisandra chinensis”.

Root system

Lemongrass root system - rhizome, covered with many dormant buds, from which separate trunks develop as they grow. The depth of the roots is up to 200 mm, therefore, when leaving, the constant loosening of the soil directly near the trunks of the plant is excluded.

Trunks

Schisandra tree trunk thickness - up to 30 mm, and its maximum height reaches 16-17 m. Liana is fixed on the branches of shrubs or trees and creeps up. When grown in garden plots, requires the installation of trellises and poles.

The trunk is covered with longitudinal lenticels. The color of the vine changes with the growth and development of the plant. In young ones, it is glossy with a yellowish tinge of scaly bark. Adult vines are dark brown in color.

Foliage

The plant is covered with "alternate" elliptical leaves. The tops of the foliage are slightly sharpened, and the base is wedge-shaped. Leaves grow in several pieces from each petiole, colored brown with a pink tint.

The length of the foliage, depending on the age of the plant, can vary from 50 mm to 100 mm. Width - 30-40 mm.

Flowers

Dissolved lemongrass flowers are located on one liana trunk. The petals are pinkish-white to white in color. They grow from a thin and long peduncle.

Blooming liana fills the garden with a pleasant aroma. When growing Schisandra chinensis in Siberia or the Urals, the plant blooms for a short time - in late spring or early summer. After flowering, beautiful bright red fruits grow on the liana.

Schisandra fruit

The fruits are spherical and colored red. The brush, like that of red currants or grapes, is collected in a bunch on one peduncle. The fruiting period in different regions starts at different times, but mainly, it is the end of the summer period and the beginning of September.

Each plant, under normal climatic conditions and good care, gives up to 3 kg of juicy berries.

Reproduction methods

You can get a new planting material for lemongrass in several ways:

• seeds
• vegetative reproduction

All these methods will require the cultivation of a 3-year-old seedling, followed by transplantation to the place of its permanent growth. We will dwell on this issue in more detail in a separate chapter.

Reproduction

Let us examine in more detail the methods of reproduction of Schisandra chinensis at home.

Seeds

Before starting work, be sure to pay attention to the expiration date of the seed and its condition. Overdried seeds do not guarantee even 70% germination... The same goes for old seeds. No mechanical damage or cracks on the seed. A healthy plant cannot grow from such seed material.

Read also: Growing garden blackberries - a description of the process from buying and planting a seedling in open ground to leaving and harvesting from the Moscow region to Siberia (Photo & Video) + Reviews

The seed method will require planting in the autumn, so that the seeds go through the process of natural stratification (cold treatment of seeds). In the spring, during the first thaws, the seeds will sprout, they will easily germinate through the moist and loose soil.

If the planting time is postponed to spring, it will be necessary to stratify the seeds in the refrigerator, after soaking them in water with manganese, for 7-8 days.

The water in the container will need to be changed daily:

After the preparatory stage, the seeds are dried and mature, undamaged seeds are selected from the total mass. Another way to determine the quality of the seed is after soaking, all floating seeds are removed.

River sand undergoes high temperature treatment for disinfection and is placed in seedling containers. Seeds are planted, placed in a warm place and constantly moistened. The processing time is 30 days.

After the onset of the first cold weather and snowfall, the containers are completely covered with snow or placed in a cold room for the whole winter.

Overwintered seeds, with the onset of a warm period, are planted in a school. To do this, furrows up to 20 mm deep are drawn with a hoe on the loose soil of the selected area. Sprouted seeds are laid, and covered with sod soil on top. After watering, the bed is covered with a layer of mulch. For this layer, you can use peat, old sawdust or sunflower husks.

Now you need to constantly moisten the soil and add a layer of mulch under the growing plant, for 2-3 years. Only after that, transplant the seedlings into place.

For the first year

Development in the school, plants grow in height up to 50 mm. It is important for them to create optimal conditions for growth. Periodic top dressing, watering and constant loosening of the soil in the aisle, removing weeds. With a steady hot period, you will need to shade the school with seedlings using a thin "Agrospan" or old curtains.

Second year

The main task is the development of the root system and the ground part. To do this, you will need to ensure the introduction of mineral and organic fertilizers and perform sanitary pruning of damaged or weakened stems of the liana bush. The task of the 3rd year is to provide the plant with conditions for its growth up to 500 mm in height. During this period, it is already possible to plant a ready-made strong seedling in a permanent place.

This technique requires a lot of time and increased attention and does not give 100% confidence that the seedlings will grow strong and healthy. Therefore, the technique is used when growing lemongrass in nurseries.

Vegetative method of obtaining seedlings

Read also: Raspberries are one of the sweetest berries. Description, planting in the open field, reproduction and care. Popular varieties: from early maturing to remontant (25 Photos & Video) + Reviews

This method allows you to get a ready-made seedling already in the second year of its growth.... The vegetative technique allows propagation using root cuttings or cuttings.

The best option is to plant part of the root of the mother bush. But if this is not possible, you can ask the neighbors for shoots after sanitary pruning and thinning the old bush, and prepare a sufficient number of cuttings.

Cuttings are cut so that each has at least 4-5 buds. Two of them are left above the ground, and the rest of the seedling must be scratched with a fork or other tool and planted in moistened soil.

The stalk will start up the roots, it will begin to develop. It is important to provide it with moisture and oxygen. Within a year, it will be possible to plant a ready-made seedling in a prepared place.

Root cut will allow you to plant a ready-made seedling directly when dividing the bush. To do this, it is enough to cut off the liana bush on one side, carefully peel the rhizome and separate from it an area with at least 3 dormant buds. A seedling is placed in the prepared planting hole and further work on growing and care is carried out according to the basic scheme.

Criteria for choosing a variety and planting material

Breeders have launched 2 main forms of Schisandra chinensis to the market. There is no unambiguous varietal material.

Here are some popular forms of this plant:

"Garden" is a low-growing plant. The tree-like liana grows up to 2 m in height. The berries ripen at different times. Chinese lemongrass in the Moscow region ripens at the end of summer. Chinese lemongrass is harvested in Siberia in early autumn. Regardless of the region, an adult bush allows you to harvest a good harvest of berries, which grow up to 25 pieces per stalk.

"Firstborn" is a plant with an increased level of frost resistance. This type of Schisandra chinensis is successfully grown in the middle lane and in the south of the country. Bushes are undersized, vines grow up to 2 m. Up to 28 juicy berries develop on each stalk.

When buying seeds, you need to pay attention:

• for the expiration date
• zoning and regions suitable for planting this type of lemongrass
• condition of packaging and quality of seeds
• certificate of conformity and environmental safety

If you buy ready-made planting material, first of all, you need to pay attention to several factors:

• the seedling should not have mechanical damage to the stem and root system
• the plant must have a healthy appearance. Dried bark, sluggish leaves and roots are signs of a weakened, poorly developed plant.

The best purchase option is seedlings sold in separate cups with a moistened clod of earth on the root system and succulent foliage and stem. Plants with a developed root system take root better, even with insufficient stem height.

Step-by-step instructions for planting a shrub

Lemongrass grows well in a quiet place where there are no drafts and strong winds.

This process is broken down into several main stages. Let's analyze each in more detail.

Preparatory work

Choosing a landing site

Planting sites of Schisandra chinensis are selected in a nook, without constant drafts and wind. If the site is wet and heavy soil, it will be necessary to additionally drain the soil with a layer of expanded clay or old broken brick.

The most suitable option is a flat surface near the house, in a warm place. It is not recommended to plant a vine directly under trees or shrubs. Schisandra develops well in partial shade, but the root system of trees will take food and moisture, so the development and growth of the bush will slow down.

The minimum distance to buildings is from 1.5 meters - this indentation will protect the plant from excess moisture flowing down the walls of the building. For the middle lane, it is recommended to plant vines from the west side of the building, and in the southern region - from the east. This ensures that the plants receive sufficient heat and light and are protected from sunburn in the summer.

Timing depending on breeding method

Depending on the region, the landing dates vary considerably. If for the southern regions the optimal time is October, then in the Moscow region Chinese lemongrass is planted in April or even in May with a steady heat.

Soil preparation

For a plant, it is required to create familiar conditions, such as in nature. Therefore, preference is given to a flat area with a layer of fertile soil. It is better to increase the drainage layer to 150-200 mm - such care will allow the plant to grow and develop quickly.

For planting on acidic soils, it will be necessary to additionally perform liming of the soil by adding quicklime to the ground. The introduction of organic matter and mineral fertilizers is carried out directly into the planting hole. For this, the sod land is mixed in a certain proportion.

Landing

Before boarding, it is important to decide on a location. Lemongrass does not like transplants, such a vine will hurt and lag behind in development. Therefore, the site is chosen for a long time and taking into account possible redevelopment of the site. It is recommended to plant plants in beds where all types of vegetables and row crops grew.

The work is carried out in several stages:

In the selected places, at a distance of at least 1 m, planting holes are dug, 500/500 mm in size and 500-600 mm deep. The depth of the pit depends on the moisture level of the site and the increased drainage layer.

The excavated soil is mixed in equal proportions with humus, manure and river sand. Nitrogen is added to the soil - 40 g, any phosphorus fertilizer up to 150 g per 1 m2. The earth mixes well. The soil should not be lumpy and dry, such pieces can damage the root system. Therefore, the earth is pre-wetted with water and loosened.

If a short row of vines is planted, as a decorative hedge, holes are drilled in the extreme holes and 2 pipes are hammered. Length, depending on the variety of lemongrass - up to 3 m above ground level. For a long row of plants, it will be necessary to hammer in intermediate pillars to make a frame for attaching tall creeping plants.

Several rows of strong wire are stretched and fixed on the posts. It is better to do this work immediately, so as not to damage the young plants later. They will braid the hedge themselves; it will only be necessary to slightly adjust the direction of growth of individual vines.

At the bottom of the pit, a drainage layer of expanded clay, sand or broken brick is poured. The minimum thickness of such a layer is 100-150 mm.

In the middle of the hole, a mound of prepared soil is poured. Of all the seedlings, the strongest are selected. Each plant is pruned with a sharp secateurs, leaving only three buds. The cut edge is covered with garden varnish or clay solution. The root system is dipped in a slurry of clay mixed with cow dung.

The finished seedling is set on a mound in the hole, each root is carefully straightened and covered with small handfuls of earth so as not to damage the roots.

The soil is not filled up in height by 50-60 mm, it is compacted around the seedling. Up to 30-40 liters of warm water is poured into each hole. The remaining distance in the hole is filled with a layer of peat, sawdust or chopped bark of deciduous trees.

It is not recommended to plant single vines on the site. The best option is that there are at least 3-4 adult plants nearby. This planting provides good conditions for growth, increases the yield of the bushes and creates an attractive appearance of the site.

The plant is able to pollinate itself on its own, since it is monoecious with the presence of male and female flowers on it. But group planting provides a more efficient pollination process.

Lemongrass leaves are very fond of watering, especially in drought.

The plant is very fond of pouring water over the leaves, especially during dry periods. It is better to carry out the treatment in the early morning or late evening to avoid sunburn by leaves. It is recommended to cover the area without weeds with a layer of chopped oak bark. Such processing will allow you to retain moisture and not loosen the soil and will make the bed attractive with an additional color shade.

Fertilization

This work begins to be performed already in the 2nd year of growth of Schisandra chinensis. In early spring, 30-40 g of ammonium nitrate is applied along with a layer of humus mulch, which is mixed with compost.

In the summer months, during flowering and the beginning of fruiting, organic matter is introduced with a frequency of treatments at least once every 20 days. The manure is soaked in a separate container for 3-5 days. Then the finished top dressing - 0.5 l is added to a bucket of water. A bucket of the resulting mixture is poured under each bush. For the passage of nutrients to the roots, after feeding the moisture, the plant is well filled with warm water.

5 year - the beginning of fruiting, it will require phosphate fertilizers in the spring. To prepare the solution, 20 g superphosphate is used. In the fall, they are additionally fed with organic fertilizers.

Old and damaged trunks are removed several times during the season

After the 2nd year of plant development, they begin to be cut. A maximum of 4-5 shoots are left on each lemongrass. The rest of the trunks are carefully cut with a sharp pruner directly near ground level. This operation is carried out in the pre-winter period, after the foliage has fallen.

In the fall, it was not possible to cut the bush, this work will need to be done at the beginning of the summer. First of all, damaged, frozen shoots are removed. 5 strong shoots are selected, the rest are cut out.

Several sanitary operations will be required during the season to remove old or damaged trunks. In parallel, the lateral shoots are shortened behind the 12th bud - this reduces the load on the bush and allows it to prepare for winter.

A 15 year old plant will have to be rejuvenated. For this, all the old vines of the bush are removed and 5 young trunks are left.

Regardless of where magnolia vine is grown, in the Urals or in the southern regions, the plant is not affected by diseases and pests. You can only import the infection from Primorye or China when buying seedlings in these regions.

When planting, the strongest shoot of the seedling should be cut into three buds, the roots are shortened by 20-25 cm, and the weak shoots are removed. The roots are dipped in a clay mash with a mullein (1 liter per bucket). The seedling is placed on a cone-shaped tubercle, the roots are spread in all directions and sprinkled with earth. Then it is compacted, the plant is watered abundantly and the trunk circle is mulched. It is better to plant several plants at once in a trench 50 cm wide and no more than 60 cm deep.In the middle of it, at a distance of 1.5 m from each other, metal stakes are driven in to fasten the support. To the bottom

put crushed stone, gravel, broken brick, construction waste with a layer of 30 cm and slightly compact, on top - fertile soil mixed with manure (60-70 kg per 1 m) and sand (3-4 buckets), add lime - 500 g phosphorus - 150 g. Nitrogen - 40-50 g. Per 1 m. Planting time - autumn and spring.

A deep planting hole for lemongrass is not needed; when planting, it is quite simple to dig deep enough (on a shovel's bayonet) to dig up the area, having previously added 1 sq. m 2-3 buckets of well-decomposed humus. In the future, the soil under the bushes is not dug up, but only shallowly loosened.

It is recommended to plant lemongrass in a permanent place in the garden in the spring. They choose a site on an elevated place where there is no stagnation of water and where trellises can be placed. Planting holes are prepared at a distance of 1-1.5 m in a row. The seedlings are delivered from the nursery with a closed root system, i.e. with a lump of damp earth wrapped in plastic wrap. A mixture of organo-mineral fertilizers is introduced into the planting pit 40x40 cm in the same doses as for other berry growers. Stones, sand are laid at the bottom of the drainage pit, then fertile soil mixed with fertilizers is poured. A seedling is placed on a mound in a hole, watered, and the soil is compacted around it. The root collar of the seedling is not buried. After the soil has settled, there should be no deepening near the seedling to avoid stagnant water. During the summer they carry out weeding, shallow loosening. In dry weather, the seedlings are watered, and the soil around is mulched. In the first years of life, young seedlings especially

Lemongrass is propagated by both seeds and cuttings, but it is better to propagate by seeds. You just need to remember - the seeds must be both male and female. The seeds must be stratified, i.e. keep for 90-100 days in wet sand at a temperature of 17-20 ° C. In the spring, as soon as the ground warms up to a depth of 10-15 cm, seeds are sown to a depth of 4-5 cm, and the distance between the rows is 20-25 cm, the ridges should be shaded, covered with shields at a height of 80-120 cm from the ground. Lemongrass is planted in a permanent place at the age of 2-3 years. After disembarking, it is necessary to provide support for the lemongrass so that it can catch on to the rope or tree. The best time to plant lemongrass is spring. The soil should be moisture-absorbing, breathable, and this is peat-crumb with sand, sawdust. Heavy clay soils are not suitable for growing lemongrass. The acidity of the soil should be 5.4-5.6 Ph, and for successful engraftment, it is necessary to maintain the moisture content of the soil and air at 80-90%.

The first harvest can be obtained 5-6 years after planting. The yield per plant is about 3 kg, however, there is a frequency of fruiting every 2-3 years.

Seat selection

For successful cultivation of lemongrass on the site, choose a place where the vine will be illuminated by direct sunlight in July for no more than 5-8 hours. Note that lemongrass is photophilous, but young plants can withstand a little shading.

Need for support

The most important and stable feature of Schisandra is a pronounced need for support, along which it rises up. Schizandra plants grown from seeds initially have a fibrous root system with a small, weakly branching root. In the 3rd year of life, seedlings begin to form curly shoots that need support. Not finding it, they twist into a bundle, hang to the ground, which slows down their growth. Without support, both in seedlings and in adult plants, new shoots are formed from the root collar, which spread along the ground, forming many underground shoots and rhizome shoots. Such plants do not bloom.

Adequate light is needed, and supports are imperative. If lemongrass has nothing to catch on, its shoots will creep along the ground and give a lot of root shoots and layering. In spring or autumn, you can dig out some of the layers and transplant them to another place. This is one of the most reliable breeding methods. Lemongrass is easy to breed with cuttings, which are cut in July from the tops of young shoots. They are good

take root after processing them with growth stimulants (heteroauxin and some other drugs). You can sow freshly harvested seeds in the fall, which will sprout in the spring, or sow them in the spring after two months of stratification.

Pruning

In order to thin the crown when thickening, pruning is carried out in the summer. Pruned shoots are used for cuttings. In the fall, vines are cleared of rhizome shoots, which can be planted in the garden. Pruning is carried out in the fall, removing dry vines, weak and excess shoots. For the winter, vines cannot be removed from the trellis. With a strong thickening of the crown, pruning can be carried out in the summer, using cut annual shoots for cuttings. Rhizome shoots are removed in late autumn, also using it as planting material for expanding plantings.

The soil

Better conditions for growing lemongrass - loose fertile soil with a neutral reaction of the environment, for example, light and medium loam. At home, lemongrass is usually found on well-drained mountain slopes. Lemongrass grows on soil with a slightly acidic reaction, with a lack of phosphorus. The best for the growth of seedlings is a mixture of soil, peat, sand in a ratio of 1: 2: 1. On clean perlite sand, the growth of seedlings stops after 2 weeks due to the depletion of seed storage substances and the lack of fertilizing. Schizandra has a shallow root system, and therefore deep loosening can damage the roots. The soil is shallowly loosened around the vines.

Watering

Schizandra does not tolerate close standing groundwater or swampiness. It is somewhat less demanding for air and soil moisture than actinidia plants. In the first years of the seedlings' life, the main attention should be paid to the creation of a favorable moisture regime. These plants do not tolerate stagnant soil moisture, but respond well to an increase in air humidity. It should be borne in mind that vines grow in their homeland at high relative humidity. For successful growth, lemongrass seedlings in dry summer should be sprayed with water in the morning and in the evening in order to create favorable conditions for the growth of shoots.

Top dressing

When grown in culture in the first and subsequent years, lemongrass is very responsive to the introduction of organic fertilizers. Lemongrass reacts well to organic and mineral fertilizers, watering. Fertilizers are applied superficially, they loosen the soil shallowly, since the roots are at a depth of 8-10 cm.

Plant lemongrass in a shaded area on slightly acidic soil rich in organic fertilizers;

in the second year, give the vine a support, and in the future, provide the height of the support so that lemongrass climbs it to the sun;

protect lemongrass from both ground and upper water (the soil must be sufficiently drained);

do not dig or loosen the soil around lemongrass;

don't forget to water it, but don't overdo it.

Procurement of raw materials

As a medicinal raw material, fruits, seeds, young shoots are harvested. Berries are harvested as they ripen, leaves - in early summer, shoots - in spring. Most often, ripe fruits and seeds are harvested, dried and dried in dryers at a temperature not higher than 60 ° C.

The berries are removed carefully, without crushing them or damaging the vine. The berries are dried in the shade, under a canopy, or in the oven, but the temperature during drying should not exceed 50 ° C.

Leaves of Schisandra chinensis are picked dark green in August-September, dried and used to make tea.

Surprisingly, there are only two varieties of lemongrass:

1. Firstborn. The variety was bred by breeders in Moscow and is characterized by frost resistance. The plant is medium-sized, the length of the vine reaches two meters. The cluster consists of 22 berries, which ripen towards the end of summer.
2. Sadovy-1. This lemongrass is bred in Ukraine, it is a medium-sized variety, the vine length is 1.8-2 meters, the berries are large, there are about 28 of them in the bunch. Ripen by early September.

Work is actively underway to breed other varieties with earlier fruiting.

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Read about planting and growing stethosis in the article -

Planting a plant

Inspired by the idea of ​​growing this outlandish liana on the site, having learned about the varieties and their features, the question arises: where to start? How to plant lemongrass most successfully, so that later you do not regret the time and money spent?

Seat selection

The choice of a planting site for lemongrass must be approached thoroughly, taking into account both the characteristics of the plant and the layout of the site. The plant prefers slightly shaded areas with deep groundwater. The best option is placement on level ground in the shade of buildings or trees.

1. Directly near the trees. First, the vine will interfere with their normal growth. Secondly, the powerful root system of the tree absorbs moisture from the ground, causing it to be deficient in lemongrass.
2. Near the walls of the house. The reason is the abundance of precipitation flowing from the roof and stagnating near the foundation. Excess moisture occurs, which adversely affects the plant.

The soil should be fertile and light. In heavy clay soil, the plant develops slowly, the situation can be corrected by adding sand, calcium sulfate and manure.

If you plant lemongrass correctly, then for 5-6 years it will delight you with its fruits

Landing features

Lemongrass develops faster from a seedling, therefore, when buying planting material, it is better to stop at this option. It should be borne in mind that the plant does not tolerate transplantation, it is better to plant it in a permanent place.

About 65 kg of humus, 2-3 buckets of sand, 40-45 g of nitrogen, 150-155 g of phosphorus need to be added to the fertile layer dug from an area of ​​one square meter. Mix.

For disembarkation, it is better to use a ditch, half a meter wide and deep. First, arrange drainage using stones, broken brick, rubble. Above the drainage, seats are arranged in the form of cone-shaped hillocks from previously prepared soil. The distance between the landing sites is about a meter.

You need to inspect the seedling, choose a strong shoot and cut it into three buds. Shorten to 20 cm and coat the roots with clay. Place the plant on a mound, gently straightening the roots. Cover with prepared soil, slightly compacting it. Water abundantly, in the amount of three to four buckets.

Planting work is best done in the fall.

You cannot plant seedlings one by one. It is better when there are three or more plants nearby, while effective pollination of the flowers occurs, which guarantees productivity.

Care

Watering

Adult plants are undemanding to watering. However, it must be remembered that they come from the Far East, where high humidity prevails. Therefore, in the hot season, it is necessary to spray with water.

Top dressing

Starting from the third year of life, plants need mineral fertilization. For this, nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus are used. Fertilizers are applied in the form of mulch, which is mixed with a rake with soil, watered with water

Pruning

It consists in removing dried and weak shoots in the fall. Overgrown lashes can also be removed at this time of year. In the summer, pruning is undesirable, except for the removal of dense young growth.

Collecting lemongrass fruits

Breeding features

Schisandra reproduces by all vegetative methods.

Seeds

In the fall, you need to collect the seeds, soak them in water for several days. On the prepared bed, make shallow grooves, sow, sprinkle the seeds with a thin layer of 1-2 cm. During the winter, the seeds will undergo natural stratification.

Seedling care consists in timely watering, removing weeds and shading with a net or gauze. The grown lemongrass can be planted three years after sowing.

Layers

The plant produces root cuttings, which are carefully separated from the vine and transplanted to a permanent place. In this case, more thorough watering and care of the plant is necessary, which at the time of transplantation has practically no root system.

You cannot dig up all the offspring, otherwise lemongrass will die.

Cuttings

Cut the old shoots remaining after the autumn pruning into pieces, 20 cm long. Place in the snow. In the spring, put in water, about three quarters. Plant in soil after a few days. Care consists in removing weeds and watering abundantly. The plant will be ready for transplanting in two years.

Diseases and pests

Surprising fact: cultivated lemongrass does not get sick. In addition, it is not touched by pests and birds, which are frightened off by the smell of the plant.

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Schisandra chinensis

Since Schisandra chinensis is a very interesting berry and medicinal crop, and I have almost 51 years of experience in its practical successful cultivation in our conditions. To do this, I had to study in detail the main features of this plant, grow several hundred of its seedlings from seeds of various origins and bring several dozen of them to fruiting with the selection of the best of them. Observations of the growth of these seedlings made it possible to develop and propose a technology for successful cultivation for the conditions of the Middle Urals. In my opinion, the proposed technology or some of its parts are quite suitable for other regions with harsh climatic conditions.

Since the volume of accumulated materials about Schisandra chinensis during its cultivation turned out to be very significant, I decided to present it again in the form of a cycle of 5 articles:

1. Medicinal properties and features of use.

2. Biological features.

3. My experience.

4. Methods of reproduction.

5. Growing technology.

At present, Chinese magnolia vine is very widely known among gardeners. Great interest in this plant is due to its medicinal properties... Many of its green brethren could envy the fame of Schisandra chinensis. The inhabitants of the Far East have known him since ancient times. The Consolidated Chinese Pharmacopoeia, compiled in 1596, says: “Wu-wei-tzu- the fruit of the Chinese magnolia vine - has five flavors, classified as the first category of medicinal substances. The flesh of wu-wei-tzu is sour and sweet, the seeds are bitter-astringent, and the overall taste of the fruit is salty. Thus, all five tastes are present in it ... ". For indigenous Far Easterners- Russians, Nanai, Udege- it is well known that lemongrass eliminates fatigue, restores strength, and invigorates. Going on hunting and taiga hikes, they often take with them dried fruits or seeds of lemongrass, and instead of tea, they brew its leaves or pieces of liana at the halts. "Golds (the old name of the Nanais - author's note) see them as a reinforcing agent and in winter they take schizandra berries (the Latin name for lemongrass) for hunting, like the Indians of Chile or Peru- cola leaves ",- wrote in 1903 by Academician V.L. Komarov.

LEMONNIK CHINESE: BIOLOGICALLY ACTIVE AND TONING SUBSTANCES

The great popularity of Schisandra chinensis as a medicinal plant in ancient and modern oriental medicine prompted Soviet scientists to begin a more detailed study of Schisandra and the possibility of its use as a medicine. As a result of many years of careful chemical analyzes in the fruits and other parts of Schisandra chinensis, a variety of very valuable components with various important nutritional and medicinal properties were found.

The substances causing the stimulating effect of Schisandra chinensis seeds were first identified by the Soviet scientist D. A. Balandin, who named one of the substances contained schizandrin (a derivative of the Latin name for Schisandra). Later, other substances that cause a stimulating effect were named. For example, one of them was named schizandron. Numerous studies on animals and humans have proven the stimulating, stimulating and tonic effect of lemongrass on the cardiovascular and nervous system. Schizandrin, schizandrone and their derivatives are sequiterpene carbohydrates and their ketones. In addition, water-soluble dibasic and tri-basic free carboxylic hydroxy acids also have stimulating properties in lemongrass fruits.

According to the results of research of the ULTA laboratory of biologically active substances (BAS) under the leadership of L.I.- 250 mg /%. The content of these substances in the pulp of fruits ranges from 6 to 10 mg /% (in terms of wet weight), in leaves, stems and roots- 26-60 mg /%, in aqueous decoctions of dry leaves- 0.3 mg /%, in dry whole fruits- 1.1 mg /%. From the above data, it can be seen that tonic substances are contained in all parts of the plant. Moreover, it is most expedient for medicinal purposes to harvest seeds, fruits, leaves. Leaves can be harvested from non-fertile plants (in small quantities) throughout the growing season. At the end of it, you can collect all the autumn leaf litter, it contains up to 45 mg /% of the active substance.

Schisandra fruits contain sugars, organic acids, vitamins, microelements, etc. Belarusian biochemists and the ULTA laboratory of biologically active substances have found that fruit juice with pulp contains 12% dry matter, up to 10% organic acids, 0.15% pectins, up to 2 % sugars, up to 20-25 mg /% vitamin C, 100 mg /% vitamin P, 0.02% vitamin E and a number of other compounds. Dry fruits contain up to 16% sugars, 30-70 mg /% vitamin C, up to 10% citric acid, up to 9% malic acid and up to 2% tartaric acid, there are bioflavonoids, carotenoids, pectin, essential oils and some other substances. The content of fatty oil in seeds reaches 46%, it contains up to 3 mg /% vitamin E. The largest amount of vitamin C (130 mg /%) is concentrated in the leaves. Leaves, bark, fruit pulp also contain a large amount of essential oils.

The following trace elements were found in the ash of the fruits: zinc, copper, manganese, nickel, titanium, molybdenum, silver, lead, and in the ash of seeds- 50-61% potassium oxide, 8-9% sodium oxide, 9% magnesium oxide, 10-11% calcium oxide, 10% sulfur trioxide, 1.8-2% iron oxide, 7-7.5% phosphoric anhydride, 2 , 5% silicon oxide and 0.5% chlorides. It is interesting to note that molybdenum and silver were found in the fruits of schisandra in an amount of 0.001-0.002% (while in the upper and lower layers of the soil under the plant, these trace elements are contained in negligible concentrations), which indicates the ability of the plant to accumulate these substances ...

Consumption of lemongrass fruits and products of its processing, according to research by scientists, improve the general condition, physical and mental performance of a person, sleep, increases appetite, strengthens the nervous system, stimulates the cardiovascular system and respiration. Lemongrass is not a specific medicine, at the same time it increases their effect and has a beneficial effect on human well-being. Many people believe that lemongrass preparations are close to ginseng in their action. The stimulating effect of lemongrass has been established to increase the working capacity of people of mental labor, athletes, pilots and representatives of other professions. Consumption of lemongrass preparations in all cases should be agreed with the doctor. It is contraindicated, for example, in hypertension, epilepsy and a number of other diseases. Currently, lemongrass preparations have been introduced into scientific medicine and are still widely used in traditional medicine.

LEMONNIK CHINESE: COLLECTION, PROCESSING AND USE OF FRUITS AND LEAVES

As mentioned above, the fruits of lemongrass, according to the evidence of ancient Chinese books, have 5 flavors: sour, bitter, salty, acrid and sweet. For this reason, eating it fresh is not a very pleasant procedure. In addition, fresh fruits can only be eaten for a limited period of time, only when they are ripe. Mainly for medicinal, prophylactic and other purposes, they are used in a processed form. It should be noted that only fully ripe fruits are suitable for processing, which appear in our conditions, usually from September 1 to 25. The fruits that have begun to blush ripen well, being removed, and in room conditions. But fully ripe fruits are stored in room conditions for a very short time and quickly grow moldy. Collection of fruits in metal dishes is inadmissible, because the released juice causes oxidation of the metal and the appearance of various harmful and often poisonous chemical compounds. For this reason, it is also unacceptable to use metal juicers, juicers, sieves with a metal mesh, etc. in the processing of fruits. Crushing of the seeds should also be avoided during processing, as they impart a bitter taste. Use the most simple ways processing: it can be fresh fruits in sugar, dried fruits, canned juice (syrup), compote.

When candying fresh berries, it is necessary to use twice as much sugar as berries, and when making juice- one and a half times (the juice should be squeezed out through several layers of gauze into an enamel bowl). Compote syrup is made from sugar and water in a 1: 1 ratio. It is advisable to store these processed products in glass jars with a volume of 0.5-1.0 liters in a cool place and in no case should they be closed with iron lids.

Drying- the simplest and most effective way to preserve lemongrass fruit. Dry slightly dried fruits in the oven in an electric or gas stove or in a conventional oven at 60 ° C for 3-4 days. When dried, they have a dark red color and large "wrinkles". It should be warned that at a temperature of 70 ° C, lemongrass fruits turn black, and when dried in a room- become moldy (due to the high juice content). Fresh fruits in sugar, canned juice, compote can be stored for more than a year, dried fruits - for several years. Lemongrass seeds dried at room temperature are very convenient for long-term storage for medicinal purposes. Leaves and broken shoots for medicinal purposes can also be dried and stored for a long time. They are crushed, laid out in a thin layer (under a canopy with natural ventilation) and mixed repeatedly.

Fruit processing products and fresh fruits in sugar can be used as a seasoning for tea, for the preparation of confectionery and culinary products and tonic drinks - fruit drinks, kvass, etc. Dried fruits are used for the preparation of confectionery and culinary products, soft drinks, jelly, which have a weak tonic effect, and for medicinal purposes. Dried leaves are also suitable for making tonic drinks and tea (10 g of leaves are brewed in 1 liter of boiling water). Lemongrass tea is considered one of the best natural substitutes, has a lemon aroma and taste, invigorates and refreshes.

All products made from lemongrass at home increase efficiency, relieve fatigue with strong physical and mental stress, overcome drowsiness and depressive conditions. For example, medicine has found that taking 25-50 g of raw pulp with skin or 0.5-1.0 g of seed powder is sufficient to restore a person's daily energy expenditure. The indigenous population of the Far East successfully uses all parts of lemongrass to treat colds, frostbite, shortness of breath, gastrointestinal diseases and in many other cases. Of course, I spoke very briefly about the medicinal use of preparations from fruits and other parts of lemongrass, because this is not the subject of this article. For those who are interested in this issue, I can later tell about it in more detail or give a list of relevant literature.

Schisandra: botanical features

Schisandra chinensis belongs to the genus Schisundra, which belongs to the Magnoliaceae family. Modern scientists count 7 species in the genus Schizandra, others double this number, and still others even triple and describe 25 species of Schisandra, mainly of East Asian origin. The genus lemongrass was first discovered in North America in 1803 by a French-born scientist, Andrew Michaud. To this genus, he attributed the only North American species of lemongrass. Chinese schisandra (Schisundra chinensis) was first described by the Russian botanist N.S. Turchaninov in 1867. Schisandra chinensis has several popular names - lemon tree, red grape, kotselta (Nanai), state bank (Udege), omidza (Korean), gomishi (Japanese), wu-wei-tzu (Chinese).

As a natural wild species, Schisandra chinensis is found only in the Far East. Here it grows in Northeastern China, on the Korea Peninsula and in Japan, and within Russia - in the Primorsky and Khabarovsk Territories and in the Sakhalin and Amur Regions - from the southern state border with the DPRK to the north to Lake Kizi, the middle reaches of the Borin River, the lower reaches of the Zeya and further to the west somewhat north of Blagoveshchensk; on Sakhalin it goes north to the latitude of Aleksandrovsk-Sakhalinsky; also grows on the Kuril Islands (Kunashir, Shikotan, Iturup). It grows in cedar-broad-leaved and other mixed coniferous-deciduous forests, less often in mixed deciduous forests, mainly in narrow valleys of small mountain rivers and streams, in glades and on forest edges, in old clearings and burned-out areas. It does not occur in river floodplains with prolonged flooding and prolonged waterlogging of the soil. In the mountains it rises up to 600, rarely up to 800-1000 m above sea level. Grows in groups, often forming large thickets.

The Schisandra chinensis plant is a woody liana. In its structure, and especially in its fruit, Schisandra chinensis vine differs from actinidia and Amur grapes. It is much thinner - no more than 2 cm - and, if supported, has a spiral structure. Twisting around the support plant, the Schisandra vine from the first years of life prevents the support from thickening, which often leads to its withering away. It is mainly supported by plants of the lower or middle tier. In the middle part of our territory and to the northeast along the Amur, the natural distribution of lemongrass occurs mainly along the banks of mountain rivers, where it finds the best illumination. The height of lianas in the taiga reaches 12 m, in the northern regions - no more than 3-5 m. At the northernmost border of distribution, lemongrass, due to frequent freezing, acquires a bushy and even creeping shape. Here it grows in community with lingonberry, wild rosemary, rhododendron, dahurian larch and other northern plants. In these conditions, snow cover serves as its winter protection.

A characteristic feature of the liana is its strength, even when twisted it does not break. The color of the perennial part of the vine is thick brown, the bark is flaky, on two-three-year-old shoots it is yellowish-brown with numerous lenticels. The annual shoot is light brown, thin, flexible, with a curling thin end. In contact with the support, the thin flexible end coils around the support in a spiral manner and continues to grow. Shoots are straight without support. Fruit-bearing shoots are formed on biennial branches, they are of various lengths. Buds are medium-sized or small, well-formed, pointed, dark brown, bearing the rudiments of shoots and leaves.

The leaf is large or medium-sized, round-elliptical or ovate, broadened towards the apex and wedge-shaped towards the petiole. The leaf blade is slightly corrugated or smooth with grooves along the veins. On the upper side, the leaf is dense green, on the lower side it is whitish with a slight cobweb pubescence. The petiole is short, reddish, passes into the main vein, which has a light green color. The venation is pinnate. The leaves are almost whole, extreme. Lemongrass leafiness is strong, well preserved until autumn, leaves do not fall off even in dry weather. Flowers of medium size on long stalks, grouped in two or three, less often four. Sepals occupy a covering position and do not differ in color from the petals. There are five petals, they adjoin directly to the ovary, reddish at the base, in this they differ from sepals.

Flowers are unisexual. In female flowers, the ovules are gathered together on a long stem, each individually ends with a small projection - a pistil (Fig. 1). Female flowers do not have stamens, male flowers bear up to 10 stamens, fused in the lower part, without ovary (Fig. 2). On these grounds, female flowers can be easily distinguished from male ones. Flowering occurs in mid-June. Pollination is done by insects, which are attracted by the abundance of fragrant flowers. Mechanical ingress of pollen from male to female flowers or movement of pollen by air currents is also possible.

Schizandra fruits are multi-berry, collected in a bunch that has grown from one flower (Fig. 3). The bunches are of various shapes - from cylindrical to round. The average weight of a bunch of ordinary lemongrass forms ranges from 3 to 15 g, on average - 5-7 g. The arrangement of berries in a bunch resembles grapes. The petiole of the bunch is long, up to 5 cm, reddish-greenish. The crest is twice as thick as the petiole, reddish-claret. The berries are small (about 0.2-0.7 g), irregularly rounded, in a bunch there are up to 20 or more berries. The color of the berries is dark red, shiny. The pulp is juicy, the juice is light pink. The juice tastes sour, with a characteristic lemon aroma. The skin is dense, bitter-sour. The berry contains one, less often two seeds of a characteristic kidney-shaped shape, yellowish-brown in color. The seeds separate well from the pulp. The mass of 1000 seeds averages 17-20 g.

Schizandra fruits ripen in September, the reddening of the berries and the browning of the seeds begins from mid-August. The taste of ripe fruits is pungent, with bitterness and a pungent lemon aroma; the taste of seeds is sour-bitter, pungent. Professor A. P. Nechaev defined the taste of berries as bitter-sour-sweet-tart-salty, which is closer to the Chinese definition of "fruit of five tastes." The brushes stay on the lianas until winter and look spectacular against the background of snow and winter taiga without leaves. The harvest of lemongrass is irregular under natural conditions. Many people celebrate good harvests after a year. According to N.V. Usenko, the average yield of wild thickets varies from 50 to 1500 kg per hectare, from one liana - up to 2.5 kg. According to Z.I. Gutnikova, the fruit yield of underdeveloped vines in the taiga is 0.2 kg, medium-developed - up to 1 kg and highly developed - up to 3 kg, only on some of the most powerful vines it reaches 8 kg.

Schisandra: structural features and requirements for growing conditions

The structure of lemongrass plants has certain features. Its roots in natural conditions develop, as a rule, in the surface layer of the soil and extend far beyond the crown. On highly fertile soils, the root system is highly branched, with a rich lobe; on thin, heavy loamy soils, skeletal filamentous roots with weak branching and lobe prevail. In seedlings, the original root from the embryo first grows vertically, but quickly loses its leading position and by the third year of the seedling acquires horizontal position closer to the surface and forms numerous branches.

Aerial roots are formed close to the root collar. They can be attributed to the organs of additional nutrition and reproduction of the plant. On thin, weakly fertile soils with an unstable water regime, aerial roots, in contact with the ground, give a lobe and thereby increase the power of the root system, and therefore provide additional nutrition for the vine. In favorable growing conditions, the vegetative mass of the aerial part of the vine grows rapidly, and the aerial roots turn into additional shoots. Due to the offspring, aerial roots and rooting of vines, reproduction mainly occurs and peculiar clones of lemongrass are formed, connected by a common root system and numerous vines. Often, such clones from one mother plant of magnolia vine spread over a large area, and the number of vines on all plants of the clone can reach 100 or more vines. A large group of vines, entangling the support, or a creeping thicket, if there is no support, is formed from one seed plant in favorable conditions in 3-4 years.

One of the distinctive features of Schisandra is the ability to produce numerous shoots from dormant buds located at the root collar, in the underground part of the stem - from adventitious roots in the event of the death of the main stem. Thanks to this property, lemongrass survives among herbaceous and shrubby vegetation. Grass does not grow under the shade of lemongrass leaves. This property allows lemongrass to quickly recover in case of death of the main stem from mechanical damage, frost, podoprevaniya. The lack of support during the growth of lemongrass is very undesirable, since it leads to a strong delay in the growth of the main stem of the vine and the beginning of its fruiting, and after the beginning of fruiting, to very low yields of berries.

Schisandra is a light-loving plant, but at a young age it is able to tolerate prolonged shading. With the entry into mass fruiting, light is necessary for it. Schisandra is picky about atmospheric and soil moisture. In taiga conditions, optimal moisture is provided by the plant community and abundant leaf litter of the soil. In especially dry years, Schizandra vines, even in taiga conditions, witness partial wilting, and often drying out of Schisandra vines on the southern slopes with a thin root-inhabited layer. Schisandra does not tolerate flooding and prolonged waterlogging of the soil during monsoon rains. On islands and in flooded river valleys, it does not occur in nature. On heavy, highly waterlogged soils, if there is no drainage of excess water, it stops growing, the leaves turn yellow prematurely and fall off. Under natural conditions, the most vigorous fruiting thickets of Schisandra are found in creeks, at the foot of slopes, river banks and hillsides, where well-drained fertile soils prevail. Schisandra makes high demands on soil fertility.

Schisandra: features of fruiting

Fruit-bearing shoots of lemongrass are formed on two-year-old wood. They grow in various lengths - from very short (1-5 cm) to long (70 cm or more). On the fruiting shoots, complex buds are formed in the form of nodes every 2-5 cm, at the base they are located more often, towards the middle and end less often, this is due to the growth conditions that develop during the growing season. In the year of fruiting, a shoot begins to grow from the bud, on which, at the very base, more often four flowers grow close together on very long and thin pedicels. Flowers can only be functionally female or male. According to A.A. Titlyanov's observations, female flowers predominate on long fruitful shoots, male flowers on short ones. Most scientists agree that lemongrass in the natural environment is a monoecious bisexual plant, less often individuals with purely male flowers and very rarely - with female ones. The female flowers are easy to distinguish from the male ones. They carry a multi-berry ovary in the form of a glomerulus, which can be dismembered into separate ovules. Their number roughly corresponds to the number of berries in a bunch or exceeds it.

Pollination of lemongrass is carried out by beetles with an incompletely opened flower. If pollination and fertilization has occurred, then the glomerular ovary gradually increases in size. Not all ovules can be fertilized, but only a part of them, in this case, not the whole bunch develops, but only a certain number of berries. Usually, such cases of the formation of an incomplete bunch, as in the case of bunches of grapes, are called peas of bunch berries. In my practice, one form of lemongrass was identified, in which peas in all clusters were observed annually and were genetically established. When picking berries in the fall, a wide variety of clusters with different numbers of berries are found. Unfertilized flowers persist for some time after the petals fall, but then gradually turn yellow at the base of the peduncle and fall off. Pedicels dry up and remain on the shoots until autumn. Male flowers do not bear ovaries, they are larger than female flowers, with colored anthers and bloom earlier. At the end of flowering, the male flowers, along with the peduncle, completely fall off. The floor of the creeper is established by the structure of the flower, as well as by fruiting.

LEMONNIK: FEATURES OF VEGETATION

Just like actinidia and grapes, lemongrass go through six phenological phases during the growing season, after which it goes into a state of dormancy. A sign of the awakening of Schisandra vine is the beginning of sap flow (first phase), which occurs in the third decade of April or the first decade of May. Sap flow in lemongrass is not accompanied by "crying", as is the case with actinidia and grapes. The spreading of the scales, and then the appearance of a green cone (the second phase - the beginning of blooming of shoots), depending on the course of spring, falls on May 5-15. During the budding phase, the temperature often drops; in the Far East, in places of natural growth of lemongrass, even frost to 11 ° C and below. In this case, the kidneys may undergo freezing, but at a higher temperature, they tolerate cold snap and snow without damage to themselves. The growth of plants exposed to freezing of the buds is resumed due to the buds that have not started to grow. This helps to maintain the vitality of lemongrass. In case of frost damage.

The third phenophase covers the period from the appearance of the first buds to the end of flowering. With the beginning of the growth of shoots, fully formed buds on long pedicels appear at their very base. At first they are very small, but after 5-10 days they increase in size, petals appear and buds open. This phase begins in early June, in cold rainy weather. In the northern regions, flowering occurs 10-15 days later. The flowering phase, depending on the amount of heat, lasts 10-15 days. During the flowering period of lemongrass, it often rains, high humidity is established, which worsens the conditions for pollination and fertilization of flowers. Due to unstable weather, the flowers open uncommonly - on the same shoots there are flowers in the bud phase, which have opened and with fallen petals. The predominance of rainy and cool weather in some years during the flowering period is one of the reasons for the formation of defective seedlings and a decrease in yield.

Lowering the temperature to zero during the period of shoot growth and flowering (at the end of May- early June) can cause complete death of growing shoots and flowers. At the same time, the shoots completely wither, turn black and dry out. In this case, only the awakening of dormant buds and the subsequent regrowth of shoots from them, at a much later time compared to normal periods, can prevent the complete death of the plant in this case. This usually occurs in older plants. Among the seedlings and seedlings of lemongrass at the age of 2 years, late spring frosts during the period of shoot growth cause their mass death.

The fourth and fifth phenophases cover the period from the beginning of the formation of berries to the full ripening of the fruits. At the end of June- at the beginning of July, it is already clear how successful the pollination and fertilization of flowers was. During this period, the ovaries begin to noticeably increase in size: on some fruit, a full brush is formed, on others- only a few or one berry. The complete formation of seed fruits takes place in the first half of August. Fruits on very long stalks look spectacular against the background of emerald green dense foliage. The berries are pale green at first, then yellowish, but from the sunny side they already acquire a blurred and dotted pink blush. The pulp also turns pink, its taste is almost the same as in a ripe state. The seeds turn yellowish, separate from the pulp, the shell is hard, the core is bitter. The size and type of seeds are the same as those of fully ripe fruits. The ripening period lasts until mid-September, outwardly it manifests itself in a change in color, pulp consistency and seed ripening. By the period of full maturity, the fruits acquire a dark red or red-burgundy color, and the seeds- yellowish.

Fruit formation is accompanied by increased growth of shoots, leaves and buds. Some shoots reach 50-70 cm and continue to grow, others, having reached a short length (5-10 cm), finish growing. The shoots and buds of Schisandra are characterized by a change in color as they grow. By mid-August, they take on a brown color. Only slightly twisted growing tops of the shoots remain greenish, which swing freely in search of support. The property of lemongrass shoots to quickly lignify at the very beginning of growth contributes to their good ripening and hardening by the end of the growing season, which ultimately determines their high winter hardiness. Lemongrass fruits are recommended to be removed after they acquire a red color. They ripen well in a lying bed until they are fully ripe; for this, the clusters are laid out in one layer.

Sixth, ending phenophase- end of vegetation- prepared in the process of the previous one. Already in September, shoots and buds along the entire length acquire a deep brown color and dense wood. Leaves of lemongrass in all phases of the growing season have a healthy appearance and are firmly adhered to the plant. A slight yellowing of the leaves is observed in mid-September, and they completely fall off after frost.

The duration of the active vegetation period of lemongrass - from the beginning of leaf blooming to the physiological ripeness of berries, depending on the growing area, is 100-140 days. General growing season- from the beginning of sap flow to complete leaf fall- 150-180 days. Schizandra, like other East Asian species of fruit and berry plants, according to Academician G. T. Kazmin, apparently does not have the deep organic dormancy characteristic of European species. Its vegetation is forced to break off with the onset of cold weather, but it can resume already at the beginning of winter, if any part of it is placed in appropriate temperature conditions. This circumstance must be borne in mind when transferring lemongrass to culture in the European part of Russia, in the Urals, in Western Siberia, where there is a sharp change in temperature from high positive to negative.

Schisandra chinensis: cultivation experience

I first learned about Schisandra chinensis and its unusual properties after reading an article by Academician VL Komarov about Far Eastern vegetation in one of the issues of the journal "Priroda" at the end of the 40s of the last century. A little later, at the same time, my acquaintance with this plant continued while reading the books of VK Arsenyev "In the wilds of the Ussuri region" and "Dersu Uzala". Well, further on, acquaintance with lemongrass was undertaken more purposefully with all available literary sources, including books, magazines and newspapers. By the beginning of 1951, I already knew quite a lot about this plant in medical terms, but I had almost no data about its agricultural technology at all. Nevertheless, I had a very strong desire to start cultivating Schisandra chinensis in my garden. From the literature, I learned the address of the Gorno-taiga station of the Far Eastern branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences, where the artificial cultivation of lemongrass was carried out and where methods of its reproduction and culture were developed. I signed up with this station and with great difficulty received from it in the spring of 1951 seeds for sowing and very short and complex instructions for preparing seeds for sowing, sowing them and growing seedlings. A total of 50 seeds were obtained. It was too late to do the complicated preparation of seeds for sowing, so all the seeds were sown without any preparation. Seedlings gave only 4 seeds, of which 3 seedlings were grown later. This is how my epic with the cultivation of lemongrass began. According to the inquiries I made at that time, practically no one cultivated Chinese magnolia vine in the Sverdlovsk region. At least, such an answer I received in the Sverdlovsk city society of gardeners.

Subsequently, every year, until 1962, I purchased seeds, seedlings, offspring of Schisandra chinensis from different parts of the Union. Seeds, seedlings and offspring were purchased as in government agencies as well as among amateur and experienced gardeners. Basically, all this was received by mail, but much was brought in personally. Here addresses were involved in the cities of Vladivostok, Ussuriysk, Artyom, Khabarovsk, Zeya, Moscow, Leningrad and in a number of smaller points in the Far East and Ukraine. In total, from the seeds, seedlings and offspring obtained in those years, I grew several hundred adult plants, of which more than 50 were brought to fruiting. Adult plants brought to fruiting were grown compacted, 3-5 in one planting pit. The experience of growing fruiting plants obtained from sowing seeds, planting purchased seedlings and offspring has shown that not all of these plants give good yields of fruits of the required quality. Most of the seedlings that began to bear fruit had low and some - very low yields. One plant turned out to have purely male flowers and did not bear fruit at all. Therefore, as the seedlings entered fruiting and fruiting for several years, a very strict selection had to be made, as a result of which, by 1970, only 7 plants were selected and left for growing, and all the rest were removed from the garden.

In 1972, the garden plot was demolished. The offspring of all 7 selected plants were transferred to the gardens of friends and relatives, where by the time I created a new garden, only one plant survived. The rest of the plants died due to inept care of them. The surviving plant was grown at one time from a seedling obtained in the fall of 1956 from the Primorsky Territory from the Innokentyevsky state farm. Thus, the epic with the cultivation of Schisandra chinensis in a new garden had to start, in fact, anew. First of all, I again had to take care of the acquisition of seeds. To this end, various points of purchase of seeds were considered.- again both research institutions and individual amateur and experienced gardeners. With great difficulty, it was possible to obtain seeds from selected Schisandra plants from the Far Eastern Experimental Station VIR (Vladivostok), the Far Eastern Research Institute of Forestry (Khabarovsk) and the Central Republican Botanical Garden of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (Kiev), as well as from a number of experienced gardeners in Moscow and Leningrad. In addition, the offspring from the selected form of lemongrass, which grew in the Garden of Medicinal Cultures named after V.I. L. I. Vigorova in Sverdlovsk. The specified selective form of lemongrass was obtained by a great lover of vines, the Dnipropetrovsk experienced gardener Z.B.Dushinsky, who at one time sent her offspring to L.I.Vigorov.

From the obtained seeds, about 240 seedlings were grown up to 3 years of age. 44 seedlings were brought to fruiting. These seedlings, like the seedlings in the old garden, were grown densely, with 4-5 plants in one planting pit. By the mid-80s of the last century, among the fruitful seedlings, selection was carried out for the early onset of fruiting, yield, size of the bunch and individual berries. A total of 8 plants were selected. These 8 plants, as well as forms from Z.B.Dushinsky and from the Innokentyevsky state farm, were planted in a permanent place and now represent very powerful vines of 26-31 years of age. Of course, it would be wiser to get the selected plants themselves from research institutions and from individual experimental gardeners, or rather offspring or seedlings grown from green cuttings from these plants. But all my attempts at that time to do this were unsuccessful. Therefore, I had to grow a large number of seedlings from seeds and make a selection among them.

Schisandra chinensis is a highly winter-resistant plant that fully fits into the climatic conditions of the Sverdlovsk region. Initially, I grew all lemongrass plants in an open form without removing them from the support for the winter. Until the winter of 1966-1967, all seedlings and adult vines wintered very well, and the plants that began to bloom bore fruit well. But after this winter, freezing and death of the ends of annual shoots was observed in many lemongrass plants, as well as, most likely, freezing of fruit buds, since the berry harvest in the 1967 season was very scanty. On some plants, there were no berries at all or there were single, strongly deformed bunches of berries. This made me think about how to grow lemongrass in our country in order to get a good harvest every year.

Back in the mid-50s of the last century, in correspondence with the director of the Station of Young Naturalists from the city of Zeya, Amur Region, V.P. bush or in stanza form, entwining the trunks and branches of dead trees and bushes lying on the banks of the river. And the conditions there are really very extreme.- winter temperatures drop to -56 ° C, with a very short growing season. True, there is never a thaw in winter. And after this winter I decided to grow 3 lemongrass plants without removing them from the support, the rest to grow in a semi-flat form, removing them from the support for the winter and covering them with snow. This experiment made it possible to see the benefits of the semi-shale culture a year after the end of the most severe winter of 1968-1969 of the 20th century. Since, according to many scientists, lemongrass has a very short period of organic dormancy, in winters with long thaws it quickly comes out of dormancy and freezes after the onset of frost. And the winter of 1968-1969 began with a thaw at the end of November, followed by very strong and prolonged frosts in December, January and February. After this winter, the annual shoots of lemongrass plants left on the supports were very frozen, even perennial wood was frozen, individual vines fell out, and fruit buds were completely frozen. Lemongrass plants, taken from their supports in autumn and covered with snow for the winter, overwintered excellently and gave a good harvest. Since then, I began to grow all lemongrass plants only in a semi-flat form with the use of a special removable support.

Since the beginning of growing lemongrass in my garden, I have tried in every possible way to satisfy its requirements for growing conditions. First of all, I studied the ecology of lemongrass growing in places of its natural growth. Then I tried to study the experience accumulated by that time on its artificial cultivation. Here, much was given by correspondence with A.A.Titlyanov, a researcher at the Mountain Taiga Station of the Far Eastern Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences. In accordance with the information received, I began to grow lemongrass in fertile, drained soil, in conditions of good soil moisture and good sunlight throughout the day. Had to try and different ways care of the soil, taking into account the introduction of fertilizers and fertilizing fertilizers into it. At the same time, it was revealed that due to the very shallow, superficial location of the root system, any deep soil cultivation is contraindicated for lemongrass, and any fertilization is permissible either superficially or in wells punched with scrap. Lemongrass plants turned out to be very demanding to air humidity. With prolonged dry and hot weather, the foliage and green parts of the shoots of the vines began to wilt very noticeably, and in order to restore the turgor in them, the plants had to be sprayed with sprinkling from a hose.

A lot of time had to be spent on creating a removable support and a method for forming the crown of lemongrass plants. As you know, starting from the 3rd year of growth of the lemongrass plant, it is required to remove it on a support and fix it on it. Plants that have not been raised on a support grow in the form of a bush, begin to bear fruit very late, giving scanty yields. As a support, I have tested various materials. Ultimately, I settled on a copper stranded wire with individual steel conductors in PVC insulation, which has served for many decades. Such a wire does not stretch from the gravity of the vines and wind load and has the necessary rigidity. Since PVC insulation is very slippery, the vines entwining such a support can constantly slide down, disrupting the crown of the plant. To prevent this from happening, nodes are made on the wire every 0.5 m, into which metal or plastic pins are inserted. The lower end of the wire is fixed rigidly at the base of the plant, and the upper end, with the help of hooks and loops made of a single-core steel wire with a diameter of 2 mm, is removably attached to the longitudinal pipe of a U-shaped structure made of pipes placed above the lemongrass plants. Removing the support with such a design takes very little time and shows the advantages of such a removable support.

It is known that with artificial cultivation of lemongrass in the garden, the length of its liana can reach 5 m or more. However, for an amateur gardener, plants with such a length of vines are not very acceptable, since it is not clear: how to make supports of such a height, and most importantly- how to serve them? Therefore, the height of the support, which mainly determines the length of the vine, is made reasonable in terms of its construction, maintenance, and high productivity of the vine. Although the greatest productivity of the vine is observed at its greatest length, since the largest number of overgrowing branches is formed on it every year, in my opinion, for an amateur gardener, a support height of 3-4 m is advisable, which was used in my garden. With a lower support height, the length of the vine, and therefore the number of annual branches growing on it, decreases, which reduces the productivity of the vine. But to create a highly productive whole plant of lemongrass, creating only one highly productive vine is not enough. It is required to remove several vines on one support, formed from new shoots growing from the base of the plant in the area of ​​the root collar or offspring forming around the plant. For even greater productivity of the whole lemongrass plant, its crown should be created from several removable supports, forming crowns of several vines on each support. The crowns of lemongrass formed in this way have the largest number of annually overgrowing branches and are the most productive.

I started forming crowns of this design in a new garden 31 years ago. At present, the size of the vines with all the overgrown branches on one support reaches about 1 m in diameter.The thickness of individual vines in the lower part of the support reaches the thickness of a thumb, and the thickness of the entire bundle of vines- the thickness of a human hand. With such a crown formation, lemongrass plants are planted at a distance of 1 m from each other. Currently, the crowns of plants have long been close to each other, and it would be better to grow them at a distance of 1.5 m from the plant, as the plants lack sunlight.

When growing lemongrass plants, it is very important to select plants that simultaneously bear male and female flowers on the same plant. Moreover, it is very desirable to select plants with an earlier appearance of female flowers on them, since usually male flowers appear first, and female flowers only after a few years. Among the lemongrass seedlings in the 50s of the last century, I had one plant with only male flowers, which had to be discarded. It is necessary to pay attention to the greater simultaneous flowering of male and female flowers on the same and different plants. The male flowers of Schisandra begin to bloom earlier than the female ones, and with a significant advance of the beginning of flowering, they may run out of pollen or it will lose its fertilizing properties. There are plants with defects in the female flower and with the abortion and nonviability of the pollen of the male flower. Such plants grown from seedlings should be discarded. When selecting seedlings, I took into account the indicated qualities of the flowering of lemongrass plants. Among the lemongrass seedlings, in my new garden, I had one plant that had some kind of defect in female flowers and for a number of years, with good flowering, did not set a single fruit. Therefore, gardeners should grow a sufficient number of lemongrass seedlings in the garden, so that among them there is a guaranteed pollination of plants blooming with female flowers.

When growing lemongrass plants, removing them from the support for the winter and covering them with snow, when snow falls on thawed soil with a significant thickness of it, podoprevanie bark can be observed in the area of ​​the root collar, the bases of the vines and throughout the vines.

In fact, this kind of support can also occur in plants growing without removing the vines from the support for the winter. Therefore, it is necessary to artificially limit the thickness of the snow in these places to 40-50 cm throughout the winter. Schisandra plants are damaged by spring frosts when the air temperature drops below 0 ° C. This damages leaves, green parts of shoots, flowers and ovaries. Weak spring frosts cause, without protection, the death of blossoming flowers, ovaries and ends of shoots with young leaves.

Severe spring frosts kill completely unblown flowers, all ovaries and almost completely new green shoots with all leaves. Secondary growth of shoots from dormant buds on plants, lemongrass after that begins with a lag from the first, often by a month or more. Lemongrass spends a lot of plastic substances on their growth, but they ripen only by the end of the growing season or in bad years they do not have time to ripen the ends of these shoots. Plants in this case hibernate poorly. They have weakened fruit buds.

To protect lemongrass plants from frost, I have practiced the following measures:

1. Earlier ascent of plants to the support immediately after the snow melts, which made it possible to slow down the beginning of their vegetation.

2. Since the magnitude of frost is greatest at the level of the soil surface, the cultivation of vines on a high trellis (support) 3-4 m high with the formation of the bulk of the crown with all green parts and flowers above 1-1.5 m in many cases saved the plants lemongrass from frost.

3. Covering the plants with a film or non-woven material on a support or with removal from the support on the ground protected lemongrass plants in most cases.

I would like to note a very interesting property of lemongrass thickets in my garden. From the second half of summer, for some reason, they attract large flocks of sparrows for the night (50-100 units and more, old and young). In the evening, the sparrows barely fit for the night in several floors on the trellis and on the shoots and branches of lemongrass. This began to be observed when the lemongrass plants reached a height of 2-2.5 m (approximately at 5-8 years). The same was practically observed when growing lemongrass in an old garden.

The presence of large flocks of sparrows for 1.5-2 months or more annually contributes to the accumulation of a significant amount of bird droppings under the plants and, in general, eliminates the need to apply any additional fertilizer under them, perhaps, with the exception of liquid dressings. Thus, in my garden, lemongrass plants seem to fertilize themselves, attracting birds for this purpose. Why do lemongrass plants attract sparrows? I can't say anything. At least, in the literature about a similar property of lemongrass plants, to attract sparrows for the night, I have not come across any information.

Using the technology described above for growing lemongrass plants, I have received high and sometimes very high yields of berries in the overwhelming majority of years. Quite often the yield from one plant reached 8 kg of berries in bunches. In 1988, my small article about obtaining such harvests of berries was published in the magazine "Household Economy", and a huge stream of letters (about several hundred) poured into me. Amateur gardeners asked to talk about the technology of obtaining such a harvest of lemongrass berries, and also asked to send seeds, offspring, seedlings. The answers to these letters caused such a waste of personal time that after that I gave up writing about anything in the central print media.

Schisandra chinensis: breeding methods

SEED REPRODUCTION

Schisandra chinensis, like many other fruit and berry plants, can successfully multiply in culture by sowing seeds. The collection and storage of lemongrass seeds intended for sowing differ from the generally accepted methods used for delivery to pharmacies, where there is no need to preserve their germination. It should be noted here that a characteristic feature of lemongrass seeds is empty grain, in which the seeds, normal in appearance, have an underdeveloped endosperm or are often without it. Under natural conditions, wild plants of Schisandra chinensis have empty grain- common, annual occurrence ranging from 10 to 90%. As a rule, among the completed seeds of wild lemongrass, there are many seeds containing abnormal endosperm with a loose powdery consistency. Therefore, for reproduction of lemongrass by sowing seeds and obtaining seedlings from them, it is very undesirable to use seeds obtained from its wild plants. Fruits for seed harvesting are harvested in full physiological ripeness, preferably from cultivated high-yielding healthy vines with well-executed seedlings (Fig. 1). They are spread in one layer, since they quickly deteriorate when poured in bulk. Separate the seeds from the pulp two to three days after picking the berries. Seeds from fermented fruits have a reduced germination capacity and are of little use for sowing; their shell and the upper part of the endosperm are pink in color. Freshly harvested viable seeds have a shiny light orange coat and a white, well-executed endosperm. When squeezed with your fingers, healthy seeds are elastic, but empty- softly crushed.

Separate the seeds from the pulp by grinding and washing in water. In the process of separating the seeds from the pulp and repeated washing in water on a strainer, empty lightweight seeds float to the surface, they are removed. Seeds separated from the pulp are spread in a thin layer and dried in a shady place in the air or indoors to a loose state. Dried seeds are stored until autumn sowing or the beginning of winter stratification in boxes, plastic bags, paper bags in a cool, moderately humid room. Long-term experiments have shown that the fine fraction of lemongrass seeds has a very low germination rate due to the underdevelopment of the embryo and endosperm. Therefore, for autumn and spring sowing, it is recommended to select only the largest, morphologically complete seeds.

In autumn sowing, dried seeds prepared for sowing can be sown in seed boxes or directly into the ground at the end of October. Seeds are planted to a depth of about 1 cm. The soil in boxes and on ridges is mulched. For seed boxes, the soil is prepared from a mixture of humus, sand and turf in equal amounts. The boxes are put out on the street for the winter, and after the snow falls, they are covered with snow. Seedlings appear at the end of May, germination rate is about 30-40%. After very frosty winters, the seeds do not have time to undergo complete stratification and their germination capacity is greatly reduced. Some of the seeds remaining in the ground sprout in the second year.

Seeds intended for spring sowing or obtained by the gardener late, when autumn sowing is not possible, must be stratified. For this purpose, they are mixed with calcined and moistened river sand in a ratio of one part of seeds to two parts of sand. You can use moss as a substrate. Stratification is carried out in boxes, pots, or other suitable utensils. From above, the dishes are covered with a lid or metal mesh so that mice cannot get to the seeds, and they are placed in a basement or refrigerator with a temperature of 2-5 ° C. During the winter, the stratified seeds are periodically moistened as they dry up. The period of post-harvest ripening of lemongrass seeds- 80-100 days. You can also use the following method of storing lemongrass seeds for spring sowing. At the beginning of October, dishes with stratified seeds are placed on the soil and covered with a layer of earth of 30-40 cm, and on top with manure, sawdust or peat. In winter, they are additionally covered with snow. Under such a tire, very good conditions were created for post-harvest ripening of seeds.

However, the best method of stratification, which gives the highest percentage of germination of lemongrass seeds, is the method proposed by the Far Eastern scientist A.A.Titlyanov. As a result of a large number of experiments, he found that in almost all years the embryos in the seeds of lemongrass do not have time to fully ripen by the time of harvesting its fruits. And, naturally, such seeds with immature embryos give low germination. To ripen the embryos of seeds and thereby increase their germination A.A. ... Thus, if sowing seeds in the ground or planting boxes for seedlings is supposed to be in April, then the stratification of seeds should be started no later than the second half of January.

When purchasing a small amount of dry seeds, before stratification begins, they are first sorted out, empty, small, damaged and rotten are removed, and then soaked in water for 3-5 days. The water is changed daily. During this time, the seeds absorb water from 50% of their mass and swell slightly. The best substrate for stratification of a small number of seeds is moss, which inhibits the development of molds on the seeds and retains moisture well. It is of course possible to use both washed and calcined coarse sand, which is less desirable. Wet moss or sand with a layer of 4-6 cm is placed in a container intended for stratification of seeds (it can be a small box, a flower pot, a can of canned food). The swollen seeds are placed in a damp nylon cloth and laid evenly on the substrate. From above, the seeds are covered with a layer of sand or moss. Within a month, the seeds are stratified in the room. Every 7-10 days they need to be ventilated, at the same time they are monitored so that the substrate does not dry out. After heat treatment, the seeds are placed in a home refrigerator in a place where the temperature is maintained at 3-5 ° C. A month later, the seeds are transferred to room conditions, where at a temperature of 12-15 ° C they usually begin to peck after 20-25 days. Naklyuvshih seeds are sown in seed boxes, nurseries. If there are few seeds, then they are sown in pots, peat cubes, bags with soil.

For sowing lemongrass, highly fertile soils are chosen, well seasoned with organic fertilizers. The soil is cultivated to the full capacity of the root layer and is well cut to a finely lumpy state. When sowing, grooves with a depth of 2 cm are arranged across the ridge at a distance of 30 cm from each other. The seeds are laid out in grooves at a distance of 4-5 cm. After sowing, the grooves are sprinkled with crushed humus, peat or earth. The soil must be well moistened.

When sowing, heavily hatched seeds are split apart and measures are taken to protect them from frost and direct sunlight.

Schisandra shoots appear under the cotyledonous knee in the form of a whitish loop. Straightening, they take the form of a hook, and then the cotyledons open and real leaves are formed. Schisandra seedlings are very tender, need watering, systematic loosening of the crust between rows and in a row (Fig. 2). With dense crops, they should be thinned out. To protect against strong overheating and wilting of seedlings, it is necessary to shade the ridges and protect the seedlings from the wind.

Amateur gardeners in sowing lemongrass in rows are advised to add a little dill seeds. Dill shoots, appearing earlier than Schisandra shoots, denote rows of Schisandra, which shoots appear later. Individual dill plants are left in rows until fall and provide light shading for the seedlings. During the growing season with early shoots, lemongrass plants reach a height of 12-15 cm.

To accelerate the growth of seedlings, liquid fertilizing is carried out in combination with watering, to which they are very responsive. In the first half of summer, slurry and mullein can be used as top dressing. To apply top dressing, grooves are dug near the row and fertilizers are poured into them (1 liter per running meter). After the fertilizer has been absorbed, the grooves are closed.

Mid august- at the beginning of September, superphosphate and potassium chloride are introduced into the rows - 50 g of each fertilizer per sq. m of fertilized area. If the seedlings were grown in planting boxes, then they are planted in the ground for growing in June-July or next spring. branches or shields for snow accumulation. The same is done with planting boxes with seedlings. It should be added here that unshaven seedlings are characterized by weak growth during the first two years and early transition to the formation of rhizome shoots. In conditions of light shading, they, on the contrary, intensively develop leaves and grow in height. Two-year-old seedlings grown in this way usually reach a height of 30-45 cm and are suitable for planting in a permanent place.

VEGETATIVE BREEDING

Schisandra chinensis can be propagated by green cuttings, layering, rhizome shoots. In general, the vegetative method of reproduction of lemongrass is used in a more limited size than the seed one, since it does not allow obtaining a large number of seedlings. But it has a number of advantages for fixing and distributing the most valuable forms of lemongrass with a predetermined floor.

The most efficient way of vegetative propagation- green cuttings. This method of reproduction of lemongrass by green cuttings differs little from reproduction in this way of other fruit and berry plants. With this reproduction of lemongrass, three conditions must be observed: the timing of cuttings, the age of the mother plants and treatment with chemical growth stimulants. Shoots for cuttings are cut shortly before flowering, during flowering or shortly after flowering (at the end of May- first decade of July), since after flowering, their rapid lignification occurs and the rooting rate of cuttings drops sharply. The younger the mother plant, the better and faster the cuttings take root. Optimal age of mother plants- 2-3 years. Cuttings are cut with 3 buds, about 7-8 cm long, from the shoots growing in the middle and upper part of the crown, from the rhizome and coppice shoots of the current year. The lower cut is made 4-6 mm below the kidney, the upper- 2-4 mm higher. The leaves are removed near the lower and middle bud, and the leaf is left at the upper bud. Immediately after cutting, the cuttings are dipped into a vessel of water. Then the cuttings are treated with a solution of indolylbutyric acid (IMA) or heteroauxin in the concentrations adopted for such purposes, and on the same day they are planted in cold greenhouses or planting boxes with wet sand. The best substrate for rooting cuttings is light and fertile, preferably leafy soil. Roots usually appear in 30 to 35 days. The rooting percentage does not exceed 20. For the winter, rooted cuttings must be dug up and stored in the sand in the basement at a temperature of 0 ... + 5 ° C.

The most accessible vegetative propagation method for lemongrass in amateur practice is the method of propagation by layering of vines. To obtain layering, part of the shoots located at the edges of the central liana is removed from the support, bent to the side, placed in pre-prepared grooves and pinned to the soil with hooks. The soil is well compacted, and a small layer of structural earth is poured on top of the shoots. The vines are laid in autumn or spring, before the sap flow begins. The shoots growing from the buds are tied to supporting pegs. In the fall of the second year, the cuttings are cut and used as seedlings. When digging and dividing rooted vines into parts, it is necessary to preserve as many roots and an earthen ball as possible, since lemongrass painfully tolerates transplantation. For this, the soil is preliminarily well moistened.

Lemongrass also reproduces quite simply by root and rhizome shoots. Rhizome growth is formed from numerous underground stems of lemongrass- rhizomes. At some distance from the mother plant, the tops of the rhizomes come to the surface and become aerial shoots. The lateral buds of the rhizome, awakening underground, contribute to its branching and further growth. Rhizome suckers are usually separated from mother plants in spring. When digging up such offspring, you need to make sure that there is a branched root lobe on the rhizome. The length of the rhizome should be at least 30-40 cm. The offspring are immediately planted in a permanent place or added dropwise, watered abundantly and shaded, since even short-term drying of the roots leads to a sharp decrease in survival rate. Schisandra seedlings obtained from green cuttings, cuttings or root shoots, when planted in a permanent place, must be watered abundantly for about 30 days.

The soil under lemongrass should be light texture, drained, sufficiently water-absorbing, have a neutral or slightly acidic reaction. Lemongrass does not tolerate high standing groundwater (their height should not exceed 1.5 m) and prolonged flooding by floods and rainwater. If the site does not meet these conditions, it must be specially prepared. Otherwise, the plants will die in the coming years or they will drag out a miserable existence, and you will not wait for the fruits from it.

For good growth and fruiting, lemongrass requires highly fertile soils, which are created from the moment the plants are planted. In the garden, plants are planted in planting pits or trenches up to 60 cm deep and up to 80 cm wide, which are filled with well-rotted humus or compost with the addition of superphosphate and wood ash. Good primary growth of young plants is solely determined by the quality of the filling of the planting hole or trench. To eliminate stagnation in the root system zone, good drainage (through the bottom, walls) of the pit or trench should be provided, for which a layer of rubble or broken brick is placed on the bottom, and the edges of the pit or trench are dug to the greatest possible depth with the addition of sand in the second year after landing.

Schisandra has a superficial root system (most of the roots are located in the surface layer of the soil, no deeper than 20-30 cm) and does not tolerate deep soil cultivation when it is loosened, weeded or applied with organic or mineral fertilizers. If this condition is not met, it stops growing and barely bears fruit for one or two seasons. The norm for lemongrass is loosening to a depth of no more than 5 cm, the introduction of mineral fertilizers into holes punched with scrap, and organic (with shallow loosening) - evenly under the whole plant. Lemongrass responds very well to liquid organic fertilizing (infusions of mullein, chicken droppings, slurry solutions, etc.). Lemongrass is fed twice in spring and once in early summer (before flowering, after flowering and during the period of ovary formation). Top dressing, along with the applied fertilizers, contribute to good fruit setting and, most importantly, the establishment of a significant number of fruit buds in abundantly fruiting plants, especially with female flowers, which ensures a high annual yield.

It should also be remembered that lemongrass reacts painfully to the compaction of the soil under it and significantly reduces the yield. In my garden, the yield of plants planted 0.3-0.5 m from the path was almost one and a half times less than that of plants that do not experience constant soil compaction. Therefore, lemongrass must be planted at least at a distance of at least 1-1.5 m from permanent garden paths.

AIR AND SOIL MOISTURE REQUIREMENTS

Schisandra is a moisture-loving culture. It is picky about both soil moisture and air humidity. Even with a wet growing season, some watering is required. Plants react positively (especially during drought) and to spraying. In no case should even partial wilting be allowed, because At the same time, plants (especially fruit-bearing ones) begin to grow poorly, practically do not lay fruit buds and do not give a harvest for the next year. In order to conserve soil moisture and improve the condition of plants in dry periods, mulching of the soil is mandatory. Lemongrass responds especially gratefully to mulch from forest litter (deciduous or coniferous) up to 15-20 cm thick, which will last several years and become a good organic fertilizer. This also eliminates the need to loosen the soil.

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE FORM OF GROWING

Under natural conditions, lemongrass is a large liana, reaching a length of 10-15 m. When grown in a garden, its length can reach 5 m or more. For normal growth and ensuring fruiting, the stem of lemongrass, starting from the third year of growth, must be brought to a support and fixed on it. In the future (as it grows), he himself will wrap the support clockwise, and no fixing is required. Fruiting in lemongrass seedlings occurs in the 5-6th year, in vegetatively propagated plants - in the 3-4th year. If lemongrass has no support, it will grow in the form of a dense bush, almost entirely consisting of long annual shoots and root suckers growing annually from its base. Finding themselves in the shade and receiving an insufficient amount of nutrients, in the absence of perennial wood, they practically do not lay fruit buds, and the plant begins to bear fruit very late (in my experience - in the 14th year), giving a scanty harvest of brushes with a small amount of small berries.

To obtain a high-yielding lemongrass plant, it is necessary to form a highly productive crown in it. Such a crown should have the maximum number of overgrowing branches on which fruit buds are laid. First of all, you need to choose a reasonable plant height. Since lemongrass is a liana-like plant and its height is determined by the height of the support, a higher support is also required to obtain a more voluminous crown. In amateur gardens, a support height of 3-4 m is most appropriate, but not 1-2 m, which is recommended in almost all gardening manuals. It should be remembered that on a low support you will never get a large number of overgrowing branches from a vine. In addition, for a greater increase in the number of overgrowing branches, it is necessary to direct not one vine, but several (up to 5 or more) to one support. For this I use shoots growing from the base of the vine in the area of ​​the root collar, as well as offspring from it. This is done within 5-7 years. As a result, by the age of 10, a "bundle" of several vines as thick as a human hand is formed at the plant on a support, with the thickness of each vine in the lower part of the plant being as thick as a human finger. The plant itself, with all the overgrowing branches, is a column with a diameter of up to 1 m or more. From a genetically potentially productive plant formed in this way, with proper care of it, one can already expect the laying of a large number of fruit buds.

GARDEN REQUIREMENTS

Lemongrass loves sunlight and should receive it within 7-8 hours. Therefore, plants need to be planted in open places; in the shade, it practically does not bear fruit. In an amateur garden, it is better to plant plants at a distance of 1 m from each other and 3 m from a row. Experience shows that even with such plantings, after 8-10 years, the vines completely close with each other and represent a single green wall, although they bear fruit quite well. Therefore, for even better growth and fruiting of plants, the distance between plants in a row can be increased to 1.5 m. A number of authors recommend making the distance between plants 0.5-0.6 m, which is absolutely insufficient. In this case, the plants close together at the age of 5-6 years, later they strongly shade each other and bear fruit poorly. It is irrational to place plants at long distances (2-3 m), because at the same time, the land area and the area of ​​the trellis with plants are poorly used, pollination of plants worsens in case of bad weather, which, ultimately, can again reduce the yield.

Strong annual growth of root shoots significantly thickens and depletes the Schisandra plant at maturity. It must be constantly cut in the summer before lignification or late autumn. However, it should be borne in mind that individual vines in a plant or an entire plant can fall out for various reasons (damping, mechanical damage, etc.). Therefore, when cutting out root shoots in case of repair, it is necessary to leave at least 3-4 reserve shoots for each plant annually, removing them the next year.

REQUIREMENTS FOR INTER-POLLINATION

Schisandra is a monoecious plant, that is, both female and male flowers bloom on the same plant. Plants with either only female or only male flowers are very rare. However, in culture, things are somewhat different. In the experiments of Far Eastern scientists (A.A.Titlyanova, L.M.Shilova, G.T. a female group (i.e. individuals annually form only staminate or only pistil flowers), a monoecious group (plants bear flowers of both sexes every year) and a group with an unstable sex ratio (staminate and pistil flowers are formed in one year, and in the other - only pistillate). Establishing the nature of the sex of lemongrass seedlings when growing it in amateur gardens is very important, because it is associated with the culling of large numbers of infertile males.

According to the observations of A.A.Titlyanov (which are consistent with my observations), the largest number of fruit buds with female flowers are laid on long overgrowing branches. On short overgrowing branches, as a rule, fruit buds with male flowers are laid. Therefore, plants with long overgrowing branches must be selected for culture. In addition, it should be noted that on the shoots, especially in young vines with female and male flowers, the largest number of female flowers is formed in the upper part of the vine; on the shoots in the lower part of the vine, male flowers are mainly formed. Therefore, from this point of view, it is advisable to grow lemongrass plants on a higher support. Increases the laying of fruit buds with female flowers and the use of nitrogen fertilizers. The yield of lemongrass plants, even if they have a sufficient number of male and female flowers, to a very strong degree depends on the usefulness of the pollen, its fertilizing ability (fertility). Pollen fertility depends on the genetic characteristics of a particular individual, season conditions, wintering and other factors. Individuals with sterile pollen, and self-infertile, and with defects in female flowers are found.

When planting seedlings, amateur gardeners need to take at least 5-10 seedlings in order to further reject seedlings with permanently male flowers, seedlings bearing a small number of female flowers or with defects in female flowers, seedlings with poor pollen fertility. In addition, such a number of seedlings, to a certain extent, guarantees the normal inter-pollination of plants. When planting vegetatively propagated plants of a known sex, for the above reasons, it is necessary to take 3-4 seedlings from different plants.

It is absolutely wrong to plant only one plant. In the absence of other lemongrass plants in neighboring areas, such a plant may never bear fruit. It should be remembered that only planting a sufficient number of plants with purely female flowers and monoecious plants with a predominance of female flowers, as well as plants with male flowers with good pollen fertility, can provide good cross-pollinating capacity and high yields. Of course, the best inter-pollination will be observed when planting one or several plants with purely male flowers, which is clearly not very justified. The same can be achieved by planting several monoecious plants with a sufficient number of male flowers. With all this, you should know that, as a rule, in monoecious plants with age, the number of female flowers begins to prevail over the number of male flowers.

ATTITUDE TO WINTER FROST

Lemongrass in our conditions is relatively winter-hardy. After an even winter without thaws with temperatures down to -40 ° C with full ripening of the shoots, it vegetates normally, hibernates and bears fruit well. However, the period of winter dormancy in Schizandra ends in January (and according to other sources, even in December), therefore the February and March thaws, alternating with a sharp drop in air temperature (up to -30 ...- 35 ° C) usually lead to significant freezing fruit buds. Frosts exceeding -40 ° C (for example, winters 1984-1985, 2005-2006), even during the dormant period with incomplete ripening of shoots, usually lead to freezing and death of part of the fruit buds and freezing of annual growth. After such winters, the plants grow well, but bear poor fruit. In especially severe winters (1966-1967, 1968-1969 and 1978-1979), even with relatively good maturation of the shoots, complete freezing of fruit buds was observed, significant freezing of annual growth and even perennial wood.

In order to preserve fruit buds, annual and perennial shoots from freezing and death in severe winters, it is advisable to cultivate lemongrass plants in a semi-flat form with removing the vines from the support for the winter to the ground and covering them with snow and then raising them to the support in the spring of next year. I have been leading such a regime of lemongrass plants since the late 60s of the last century.

Schisandra chinensis on a removable support

Of course, the work on the systematic removal and lifting of plants from a constant support was a significant inconvenience and great laboriousness. Therefore, I have developed a technology for growing lemongrass on a removable (movable) support. I believe that in order to ensure a good annual harvest of fruits, lemongrass in our conditions must be grown on a removable support, removing the vine for the winter and covering it with snow before frost. As a removable support, I use a flexible stranded wire with steel conductors (to prevent it from being pulled out) in plastic insulation. To prevent the vine from sliding along the support, knots are made on the wire every 0.5 m, tightly inserting metal into them (preferably from stainless metal) or plastic pins. The wire is fixed at the base of the plants on a metal pipe laid along the row (you can drive a metal rod into each plant). At the upper end of the stranded wire, a loop of a single-core steel wire with a diameter of 2-3 mm is fixed. Along the edges of a row of lemongrass plants, two metal pipes of the appropriate height are driven into the ground (my height from the soil surface is 3.5 m) and a crossbar is well fixed on them, also from a metal pipe. On a crossbar made of the same steel wire as the loop on the upper end of the stranded wire, hooks are attached near each plant. Lifting the plant from the soil surface together with the removable support consists in this case in putting on the loop at the upper end of the support on the hook on the crossbar, removing the plant - in uncoupling the loop from the hook. Such an operation is performed using a rope tied to the upper end of the support and thrown over the crossbar, which makes it easier, with a significant weight of the plant and support, to hook and unhook the loop from the hook, and the step-ladder in just a few minutes. I remove and raise my 10 twenty-five-year-old plants in about half an hour, and during the removal I still manage to arrange them along a row on the soil surface.

In the last two past winters, I decided to check once again the advisability of removing lemongrass plants in autumn from a constant support on the ground and shelter for the winter with snow and left them on the support. Such an experiment again showed a strong dependence of plant productivity on the characteristics of the course and severity of winter. So, in the spring of 2011, there was almost 100% death of fruit buds, and the harvest of berries was completely absent, and in the spring of 2012, there was also a partial death of fruit buds, about 50 percent. this year.

ATTITUDE TO WINTER SUPPORT

The properties that characterize the insufficient winter hardiness of lemongrass in our conditions include the tendency of both young and adult plants to undergo growth.

Like most Far Eastern plants in warm, snowy winters, especially when the snow cover is established on the soil that is not frozen in autumn, lemongrass often podpoprevat in the area of ​​the root collar or slightly higher, and plants lowered to the ground from a removable support and covered with snow, and in other parts. It is especially a pity when adult plants are supported in the area of ​​the root collar, when the complete death of the entire aerial crown occurs. In my case, lemongrass podoprevaniya were observed repeatedly, and even when the entire plant was covered with snow, podoprevaniya was observed almost exclusively in the area of ​​the root collar (podoprevaniya other parts of the crown was observed only 2 times). In the winters of 1999-2000 and 2000-2001, the aerial parts of three 20-year-old plants were pummeled and died, and in two separate lianas died. Measures to combat podoprevanie - the same as I described in stone fruit plants.

ATTITUDE TO SPRING AND AUTUMN FREEZE

Flowers, ovaries and green parts of lemongrass are susceptible to spring and autumn frosts. Weak spring frosts cause the death of blossoming flowers, ovaries and shoot tips with young leaves. Plants in this case bear little fruit, but grow well and lay fruit buds. Severe spring frosts completely kill both open and unblown flowers, ovaries and, almost completely, new green shoots with all leaves. Secondary growth of shoots from dormant buds on plants after this begins with a lag from the first by a month or more. Lemongrass spends a lot of plastic substances on their growth, but they ripen only by the very end of the growing season or in bad years they do not have time to ripen at all. At the same time, plants overwinter worse, and if the shoots do not ripen, they can freeze even in a not very frosty winter, they have weakened or no bud budding. Autumn frosts in mid-August (before the harvest is ripe) usually destroy the ends of the shoots, thereby impairing the preparation of plants for winter and the development of fruit buds.

Based on the great sensitivity of lemongrass to spring and autumn frosts, it is advisable to choose elevated places for its cultivation. Areas of little use are located in depressions, in swamps, in the valleys of small rivers, on the shores of small lakes. To combat frost, in addition to the well-known measures (smoke, sprinkling, fogging, watering, air mixing, etc.), it is advisable to carry out the following:

1. To slow down the beginning of the growing season of plants, they are raised on a support from the soil immediately after the snow melts.

2. Plants are best grown on a high support (3-4 m and more), carrying out the bulk of the shoots with leaves, flowers and ovaries from the ground part most susceptible to frost to a height of more than 1-1.5 m.

3. The raised plants must be covered with a foil, throwing it over the upper crossbar so that they hang from both sides of the trellis to the soil level. The lower ends of the film are dropped in, the side ends are fastened with clothespins or in some other way. Even a simple throwing of the film over the crossbar without fixing it at the bottom and from the sides saves a significant part of the crop in case of frost.

4. Remove the vines from the support during frosts and cover with a film on the ground.

All of these activities have been used by me and have shown their effectiveness. Of course, special stationary shelters can be made for this purpose.

SOME OBSERVATIONS WHEN GROWING A LEMONICE

A number of authors recommend, in the event of a cold and rainy spring, in the absence of summer insects, to carry out artificial pollination of lemongrass flowers, picking off male flowers and placing them in female flowers for half an hour. It seems to me that these recommendations do not stand up to scrutiny. This can be done on 10-20 flowers, but imagine huge plants on a trellis or removed from it and located on the surface of the soil with many thousands of flowers. How can they be artificially pollinated? I can't imagine it at all.

Dear amateur gardeners, in this series of articles, on the basis of numerous literature data and almost 61 years of my own experience, I tried to tell you about the peculiarities of growing lemongrass in our rather harsh conditions. Some individual technological activities and techniques may seem too complex and time consuming. Although, it seems to me, on the contrary, everything is extremely simplified. But I want you to understand that the main benefit in growing lemongrass is still getting fruit. And it is possible to obtain significant yields of fruits only if all the requirements of the cultivation technology aimed at this are fulfilled and observed. Naturally, if lemongrass is grown for decorative purposes or gardeners agree to put up with partial or complete loss of yield within 1-3 years after severe winters, then many of the proposed technological methods can be excluded or significantly simplified. For example, to exclude the removal of creepers from a support on the ground for the winter and covering it with snow, instead of the proposed removable support, use stationary or growing on garden plot trees and shrubs, etc. The main goal of this series of articles, I believe, is that such a useful plant as Chinese magnolia vine grows on every garden plot and every gardener can use all parts of this plant for food and medicinal purposes, and berries, as I am, could imagine, say, on exhibition in KOSK "Russia".

Lemongrass will prolong your youth

This wondrous vine

With bright red fruits

And charms and invigorates,

Treats our sciatica.

I want to tell the readers how useful the seeds of Schisandra chinensis, a powerful natural adaptogen.

In this plant, all its parts are valuable, and fruits and seeds are considered medicinal raw materials.

Chinese lemongrass has long been used by humans as an adaptogen, like ginseng. He has the ability to provide a powerful restorative effect. When consumed, the body's resistance to all harmful environmental factors increases.

The term "adaptogen" is derived from the word "adaptation", which means "adaptation." Adaptogens are not drugs by themselves and are not intended to treat specific conditions. They simply strengthen the body to such an extent that it itself is able to cope with many diseases.

Adaptogens help to better assimilate information, improve memory, overcome fatigue, eliminate minor ailments and prevent infections, activate energy in athletes, and restore strength and health after illnesses. The use of adaptogens allows the body to more easily endure such unfavorable environmental factors as cold, heat, ionizing radiation, lack of oxygen (hypoxia), and heavy physical activity.

In many countries, a whole branch of medicine is now rapidly developing, aimed at creating drugs for healthy people, drugs that do not cure anything, but create the prerequisites for maintaining health and increasing efficiency. After all, preventing the development of diseases is much easier than treating diseases that have already developed.

Since all adaptogens are of plant origin, they are completely harmless in medical dosages. In medicine, lemongrass was used and is used mainly as a means of toning the central nervous system. It is used for reduced physical and mental performance, for asthenic conditions, impotence, for sluggish granulating wounds and trophic ulcers, for various heart diseases associated with hypotension, for diseases of the kidneys and skin.

The fruits of Schisandra chinensis contain sugars, tanning and coloring compounds, fatty (containing glycerides of linoleic, linolenic, oleic and other acids) and organic (malic, citric and tartaric) acids, macro- (K, Ca, Mg, Fe) and microelements (Ba, Se, Ni, Pb, J, B). The same macro- and microelements are found in the leaves of lemongrass. In addition, essential oils, sesquiterpene substances, ascorbic acid, vitamin E, as well as schizandrol and schizandrin, compounds that determine the main biological properties of the plant, have been isolated from the fruits.

The seeds contain the tonic substances schizandrin and schizandrol, vitamin E and fatty oil.

Scientists have found a direct link between stimulating substances (schizandrin, schizandrol), which are found in large quantities in seeds, with an improvement in liver function, that is, it cleans the blood of various poisons better. For this, the drug limolecithin is used as directed by a doctor. It has been established that lemongrass tincture has a pronounced choleretic effect. This indicates the advisability of using it for cholecystitis and other dysfunctions of the gallbladder (Fruentov, 1974).

With vascular insufficiency, low blood pressure, lemongrass causes an improvement in well-being, increases blood pressure. I was personally convinced of this by taking lemongrass preparations. Now I do not have spring fatigue syndrome, the pressure is 120/80, but it was 100/60. The headaches, which were especially painful when the weather changed, stopped.

With menopause in men and women, to relieve nervous tension, irritability, bad mood, which may be accompanied by evening and night palpitations, pain in the chest region, take tea or tincture of lemongrass fruit. Drink constantly until the desired effect is achieved.

Lemongrass preparations are taken on an empty stomach or 4 hours after a meal. During the period of taking lemongrass tincture, there is a significant decrease in the incidence of influenza and colds.

In Chinese folk medicine, fruits and seeds are taken for a variety of diseases: general loss of strength, sexual weakness, anemia, tuberculosis, diseases of the stomach, liver, kidneys, respiratory diseases (bronchitis, bronchial asthma), for colds, gonorrhea, dysentery, nervous and mental illness. With their help, anemia caused by gastric ulcer and ulcerative colitis with bleeding is successfully treated.

Tibetan medicine with the fruits and seeds of lemongrass suggests treating tuberculosis not only of the lungs, but also of the eyes; reproductive system; bronchial asthma, especially during the autumn exacerbation; old bronchitis, lasting for years. Traditional healers recommend using lemongrass seeds for the treatment of gastritis (take no more than 2 g of powder for 4 doses 20 minutes before meals) and even diabetes mellitus.

Lemongrass preparations have a beneficial effect on eyesight, so they are recommended to be taken by transport drivers, especially truckers, and people who need to travel at night. But, if a night's sleep is provided, then you can not take lemongrass seeds after 17-18 hours. Otherwise, a sleepless night is guaranteed.

Lemongrass tincture is prepared with 70% alcohol (1: 3) or vodka. Crushed fruits are poured with alcohol or vodka, insisted for 14 days in dark place shaking occasionally. Take 20-30 drops with water before meals or 4 hours after meals 3 times a day. If the tincture is made with vodka, then it is taken 20-30 minutes in the morning before meals, a teaspoon (40-50 drops). Lemongrass seed powder is taken 0.5 g before meals 2 times a day. When taking lemongrass, the stimulating effect occurs in 30-40 minutes, and its effect lasts 5-6 hours.

Lemongrass does not cause unwanted side effects on the human body. In the Far East, lemongrass seeds have been consumed almost since childhood, and no poisoning or deterioration of health has ever been found.

The dosage of lemongrass is strictly individual, you should not get carried away with large doses. However, a lasting effect of treatment is observed only with prolonged use of a small (medical) amount of lemongrass for at least one month. With nervous excitement, insomnia, cardiac dysfunction and hypertension, epilepsy, increased intracranial pressure, lemongrass is contraindicated during a period of strong arousal.

Practice has confirmed the high efficiency of the use of Schisandra seeds in chronic gastritis - the secretory function of the stomach is quickly normalized. Even a single intake of 2 g of seed powder led to an increase in low acidity and decreased increased acidity of gastric juice. According to L. Ya. Sklyarevsky, I. A. Gubanov, taking 1 g of Schisandra seeds powder 3 times a day before meals quickly relieved pain and normalized the acidity of gastric juice.

Schisandra chinensis seeds can be taken by sick people, as well as those who have had an illness to stimulate the body until complete recovery. It is useful to take lemongrass and completely healthy people to improve their well-being. Official medicine has proven that in healthy people lemongrass prevents the onset of fatigue and helps to successfully cope with the ever-increasing pressures of modern life. Schisandra relieves drowsiness and lethargy, improves mood, and most importantly, is a powerful agent in the fight against aging. It helps the body to mobilize and work for a long time in its usual rhythm.

V. N. Shalamov