General description of pawpaw, tips for the care and propagation of a banana tree, tips on pest and disease control, interesting facts, types of annona. There are many interesting and exotic fruits that do not grow in our area, but which can be found on the shelves of our stores. It is no longer surprising to surprise anyone with papaya, passionfruit and mango, but the conversation will be about the "banana tree", the name that is usually called Asimina, or as they say Annona.
The plant belongs to the Annonaceae family and it belongs to the genus of dicotyledonous flowering representatives of the flora. This specimen of the green world is the only non-tropical plant in its family. In total, there are about a dozen species of pawpaw and only 6 of them grow in the US states - Florida, Georgia and Texas. Even in Russia, there is a small amount of annona in the southern lands of the Krasnodar Territory, this variety is quite resistant to frost. To date, azimina has already been successfully grown in France, Spain and Italy.
The plant got its scientific name from the name by which it was called in the Indian tribes - "assimin". Other well-known names include “banana tree”, “Mexican banana” or as the azimina is called in America “papaw”, derived from the Spanish word “papaya”. Also on the lands of the United States you can often hear how the azimina is called the "banana of Nebraska", and in India the plant has the name "pau-pau".
Azimina has a shrub or tree-like growth. Plant height can be up to 6 meters. At the very top, the bark on the trunk is a rich green color, which takes on a grayish-brown tone to the base. On the entire surface of the trunk, traces of old fallen off branches or petioles may be noticeable.
Her leaf plates have a solid edge, a grassy shade. Their surface is almost leathery, wrinkled, shining with gloss. The shape of the leaves is oblong-ovate. Basically, the leaves are arranged in a regular order on the branches. Their length can be up to 30 cm.
Bell-shaped flowers sit on pedicels, they are drooping and have sepals under the pistils. Sepals are ovoid or elongate-ovate in shape, they are sessile. The petals in the bud are shorter than the sepals themselves. The stamens in the flower are linear-wedge-shaped, they sit in large numbers on the receptacle, the columns are short in size, they are apical. The stigma in the bud is sessile. The number of ovules ranges from 4 to 12 units; their arrangement is usually two-row, anatropic (when the ovule is in a bent state). The color of the flowers is brown, purple or violet.
The fruits are for the most part sessile, but sometimes they have short legs. In shape, they can take on ovoid or oblong-elongated outlines. The seeds in the fruit are arranged in two rows. The peel of the fruit is leathery, gristly, thick or thin. The pulp of the fruit is edible and tender in consistency, beige tint, juicy enough and can be used to make fresh juices. The length of the fruits is 12 cm, and their width reaches 5 cm. The taste of the flesh of annona is sweet, resembles the aroma of strawberries and pineapple.
Agrotechnology for growing azimines at home
- Location and lighting. Annona loves light, and is grown in a sunny location in the garden or on the south, southwest or southeast window sill. However, in youth, the plant is shaded from the scorching direct rays of the sun at noon. You will also need protection from wind and draft. After each watering, it is worth waiting a little until the soil is slightly dry, and shallowly and gently loosen it. In order for the soil to retain moisture, it is mulched. When the plant begins to shed its foliage in mid-autumn, preparations are underway for the dormant period.
- Watering during the growing season, pimps are carried out regularly and abundantly, but it is important to prevent stagnation of moisture in the pot. It is necessary to develop a balance of hydration. Since the beginning of autumn days, watering has been reduced.
- Fertilizers for annona, they are introduced only in the second year after planting. They begin to feed from April, after a dormant period. Mineral complex preparations are used, in which there is enough nitrogen and phosphorus. They can be added to irrigation water. Can be fed with organic matter (for example, manure or river silt). Regular feeding during the growing season once a week, and in the winter months, only once every 30 days.
- Transplantation and selection of a substrate. When grown in a room for a pawpaw, take a small tub. Holes are made in its bottom for water drainage and first of all, a drainage layer is poured. Then a little sand is laid on it, and only after that the substrate is added. Immediately after planting, the plant should be watered with warm, soft water. After that, you need to wait until the soil dries out a little and loosen it slightly. The transplant should be carried out by transshipment without destroying the earthen coma. The substrate is taken from the usual garden, rather loose and permeable to air and water, the acidity is weak. However, azimine can grow in heavy and dense soil. The optimum distance in the garden for planting should be at least 3 meters between plants.
During planting, compost, river sand and wood ash are added to the hole. When planting a plant, the roots are carefully straightened. After the transplant is completed, you will need to water the annona and mulch with a peat substrate.
Recommendations for breeding pawns with your own hands
You can get a new annona plant by root parts, sowing seeds or grafting.
In order for the seed to germinate well, cold stratification will need to be carried out for 3-4 months. Then the seeds are sown in a peat-sandy substrate, where they germinate for 7 weeks. If you plant them in the ground in the autumn, then seedlings may appear only next summer in July. Optimally, you will need to maintain a temperature of about 20 degrees during germination. As soon as a pair of young true leaves appears on the shoots, you can dive into separate containers with soil. If the vaccination is performed, then such a tree will bloom in 2-3 years, but you will have to wait for the fruits only after 5 years.
When propagating with a piece of root, you will need to break off pieces of the root from the mother pawpaw tree (from the very foot). Then you need to plant them in separate holes. The first shoots will already appear in a month. As young plants grow, they need to be transplanted into larger pots when grown indoors. To plant annona, you need to pick up the time in mid-spring. A lignified stalk is inserted into the split. The stock must be cut and split along the axis. After that, the scion is sharpened and inserted into the already completed rootstock splitting. It is important to ensure that the cambial layers (layers with active cells) coincide. Then the vaccine will need to be wrapped tightly; for this, plastic wrap is often used. It must be protected from moisture by covering it with a cap on top.
The vaccine will take about 14 days to take root. Subsequently, buds will begin to appear in the scion. At this time, the "protection" can be removed, and the place of fusion should not be opened immediately. It is necessary to wait until the vaccine has taken root completely.
Difficulties in cultivating azimines
The plant is quite resistant to diseases and pests. However, if watering is disturbed, root rot may appear, then the leaves of the annona turn brown, and growth generally stops. In this case, you will need to get the azimine out of the pot. Gently rinse the root system and remove all affected parts of the roots with a sharpened knife. Then they are sprinkled with crushed activated charcoal or charcoal for disinfection. Can be treated with a fungicide. Then you need to plant the plant in a new pot with disinfected soil. For prophylactic purposes, it is recommended to periodically water the pests with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
Interesting facts about the banana tree
Due to the large number of useful properties, annona is used in the pharmaceutical industry and on its basis preparations are made that are used to treat cancer. Also, the pulp contains potassium, which normalizes the work of the cardiovascular system.
A species such as Asimina tetramera is listed as an endangered species in the International Red Book. Paw-paw extract, called paw-paw, is used to remove bad substances from the body, and is useful in case of poisoning. If you regularly consume the fruits of annona, then a general rejuvenation of the body occurs. It also stimulates the extract of the immune system and increases the protective functions of the body, reduces the effects of stress, and is used to cure nervous disorders and psychosis.
Often, due to its properties, it is customary to use azimine for cosmetic purposes. The pulp is used to make masks that tighten and rejuvenate the skin.
Annona views
Three-lobed azimina (Asimina triloba) is the most famous and widespread variety. This variety is in the form of a small shrub or tree with deciduous properties. Its dimensions reach 15 meters, but most often it does not exceed four or five. When the shoots are young, they have a dense shaggy pubescence. Already at the age of one year, the branches become bare, their bark has an olive-brown tint, the surface is glossy. By the second year of life, the shoots become a gray clair with well-visible lenticels. The crown of the plant is pyramidal, the leaf plates are large. The buds on the branches are colored brownish-red with a woolly surface. The leaf plates have an obverse-oblong-ovoid shape, reaching 12–30 cm in length and 4, 5–12 cm in width. The leaf apex has a short sharpening, the leaf blade itself gradually tapers towards the petiole. The edge is solid, the surface is leathery, often located point glands are visible on it. The color of the leaves is dense green. When the leaf is still young, its underside has a reddish-brown pubescence, over time it becomes bare and acquires a light and gray-green color. The leaf stalks reach a length of 0.8–1.2 cm. By October, they become yellow and fall off. New young leaves appear only in late spring, when the plant is in full bloom.
Flowering begins in mid to late spring and lasts almost 21 days. Flowers occur singly in the leaf axils of the previous year, their color is purple with brown tint. In diameter, they reach 4.5 cm. The pedicel has shaggy pubescence and grows to a length of 1-3 cm. Each of the buds has several pistils, which explains the ability of flowers to form several fruitlets. Flowers are dioecious and cross-pollinated. When the plant grows in a natural environment, it is pollinated by carrion flies and dead-eating beetles, since the smell that the buds emit is similar to the slight stench of rotten meat.
Fruits ripen closer to the autumn months (September or October). Annona fruits ripen within 4 weeks. Their pulp contains ascorbic acid. Most often, it is customary to preserve them or eat them fresh. The length of the fruit reaches 5-16 cm with a width of 3-7 cm, and their weight is measured 20-500 grams. The shape of the fruits is oblong, rounded or cylindrical, they are always slightly crooked. The seeds in the fruits are colored brown, they reach 2–2.5 cm in length. The number of seeds in each fruit is about 10–12 units, they have a two-row arrangement. The skin of the fruit is thin, almost transparent and easy to peel. The color, depending on the degree of ripeness of the pawpaw fruit, changes from a green tone to a lemon-yellowish. If frost hits, it will turn brown or black. The pulp inside the fruit is soft, it can have a whitish-yellow or yellow-orange tint. The pulp tastes sweet, the smell is strawberry-pineapple, although the ripened pulp tastes like banana and mango.
Long-leaved Azimina (Asimina longifolia) or Papaya thin-leaved grows in the southeastern United States. The plant has a shrub shape and reaches a height of 1–1, 75 meters. Shoots are upright, can bend towards the soil or are spread out. Their surface is bare, colored in brownish-red or yellow-brown tones. The leaves have a petiole of 2–4 mm. The shape of the leaf plate is linear-elliptical, narrow-spatulate or linearly inverse lanceolate. The length of the leaf reaches 5–20 cm, its surface is leathery. Inflorescences are located in the axils of young leaves, the flowers are single. The peduncle is thin, hairy. Fragrant buds. The sepals are elliptical to obovate (3–8 cm in length). The flower petals are maroon. The seeds in the fruit are shiny, their color is dark brown, reaching 1–2 cm in length.
Asimina incana is a plant reaching a height of 1.5 m, growing in the form of a bush. Shoots are well branched, colored red-brown or golden brown. There is a whitish tomentose pubescence. The leaf plates are attached to the branches with petioles 2–6 mm in length. The shape of the leaf is oblong to obovate. The length of the leaf can reach 5–8 cm. The surface is leathery, there is a rounding at the base, the tops are obtuse, the edge is notched. The surface has a covering of tomentose pubescence with light and brown hairs. Inflorescences are located in the axils of last year's foliage. Pedicel is 2-3, 5 cm long, pale pubescent. The flowers are large, fragrant, the sepals are triangular in shape, up to 8–12 mm long. The outer petals are white or cream in color, while the inner ones are whitish yellow. There are 3 to 11 pistils in a bud. The fruits are shaded with a yellowish-green color, reaching 8 cm in length. The seeds are colored from light brown to deep brown. The length is up to 1–2 cm.
Siberian Azimina (Asimina obovata). It can grow in the form of a shrub or a small tree with 2–4, 5 meter indicators. Strong branching. Young shoots have strong pubescence, their hairs are bright red, and when ripe, the surface becomes bare. The leaves have a petiole of 2–6 mm, also with bright red hairy pubescence. The shape of the leaf blade is from obovate to oblong; obovate or ovoid outlines are also found. The length of the leaf reaches 4–10 cm, the surface is also leathery. At the base, they are rounded and broadly wedge-shaped. The edge is often notched, the apex is blunt. On the surface along the veins there is a dense hairiness of a bright red color, subsequently it changes to a naked appearance. Inflorescences usually grow from the axils of young leaves, but sometimes they can appear in the axils of last year. The peduncle reaches a length of 0.5 cm and has bright red pubescence. The flower petals are yellow-white and have a lemon scent. Sepals are ovoid to elliptical in shape, with a length of 5–15 mm. Fruits are greenish-yellow with a length of 5-9 cm. Inside the seeds are from brown to chestnut tint, with a length of 1-2 cm.
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