Description of the beanberry plant, tips for growing on a personal plot, recommendations for reproduction, possible diseases and pests, notes for flower growers, species. Bobovnik (Laburnum) can be found in the literature as a transliteration of the Latin term - Laburnum. Scientists include these highly decorative trees and bushes in the legume family (Fabaceae). In the wild, these plants are found in Asia Minor and in southern Europe. This genus contains only a couple of varieties, a single hybrid and several denominations of varietal variations.
| Family name | Legumes |
| Life cycle | Perennial |
| Growth features | Shrub or tree |
| Reproduction | Seed and vegetative (grafting, grafting or rooting of cuttings) |
| Landing period in open ground | Rooted cuttings, planted in July-August, seedlings in March |
| Substrate | Any nutritious, alkaline and loose soil |
| Illumination | Open area with bright lighting or partial shade |
| Moisture indicators | Moisture stagnation is harmful, watering is moderate, drainage is applied |
| Special Requirements | Unpretentious |
| Plant height | Up to 7 m |
| Color of flowers | Yellow |
| Type of flowers, inflorescences | Racemose |
| Flowering time | May June |
| Decorative time | Spring-summer |
| Place of application | Alleys, bersot and landscaping, as a tapeworm |
| USDA zone | 5–9 |
Until now, scientists have not clarified the etymology (origin) of the name of these representatives of the flora. There is a version that perhaps this is due to the Latin word "labrum", which translates as "lip", since the flowers have similar outlines, or a variant of the term "Lamiaceae" or "Labiatae", which refers to the word "labiate". Well, the name in Russian "bobovnik" will not be able to convey all the beauty of the flowering of this plant, but, apparently, everything resembles the name of the family - Legumes. People can often hear how the most popular variety of anagyroid bean (Laburnum anagyroides) is called "Golden rain" or "Golden rain" broom.
All bean plants are deciduous plants that can appear as a small tree or shrub with a spreading outline. At the same time, its height reaches 7 m. The shoots become lignified over time, they are covered with a bark of a light brown color, decorated with specks. If the legume grows in the form of a tree, then often it can form more than one trunk, but several. The crown of the plant is formed by branches of weeping outlines. On the shoots, buds of a brown color, oval in shape, are formed and with the arrival of April they give rise to young leaves. The surface of the kidneys has 2-3 scales located outside. The foliage has a regular arrangement. The shape of the leaves is trifoliate; both stipules and long erect petioles are present. The color of the leaf plate is light green, the leaf lobes grow almost sessile. On the reverse side, the leaves have a fleecy pubescence, which is distinguished by a silvery tone. With the arrival of July, the color of the foliage acquires a more saturated green hue. The leaflet lobes are oval, the edge is even, and there is a sharpening at the top. The length of the leaf varies between 15-25 cm.
In the middle of May days, you can already admire the first flowers of trees or ornamental bean shrubs, which abundantly begin to decorate their shoots. Peduncles reach 20-50 cm in length. They are crowned with racemose inflorescences with a large number of buds. Inflorescences are hanging or erect, leafless. The color of the flowers is rich, bright yellow. The shape of the bud is moth-shaped, at the calyx it looks like an irregular bell. Its length is 5 mm, the contours of the calyx are vaguely double-lipped, with a pair of denticles on the upper lip, and three of them on the lower lip. The length of the petals varies from 2-3 cm, they grow free. In flower, the flag (or sail) is much longer than the wings and boat. The surface of the latter is bare. The sail may have red streaks at the base. There are 10 stamens, they differ in splicing. When flowering near plantings of bean trees or bushes, a sweet honey aroma is carried. Because of this, the flowering bean is considered an excellent honey plant. The flowering process will take 2-3 weeks.
After pollination on the bean branches, fruits ripen in the form of beans, which crown a long leg. The shape of the fruit is linear and flattened. There is a thickening at the seams or the beans may have small wings. They open late, exposing one or more seeds. The surface of the beans has a silky pubescence. The length of the pod reaches 8 cm, the size of the seeds does not exceed 3 mm. The shape of the seeds is flattened.
Decorative alleys are formed from laburnum or used as a tapeworm plant. The berso, which is a covered gallery made of crossbeams and placed along the garden paths, is also being planted.
Bobovnik: growing in the garden, planting and care
- Choosing a landing site. The plant is thermophilic, so you need to choose a sunny place or with a light shade. It is important to provide protection from cold winds and drafts. If there is not enough light, then the foliage will begin to crumble, and the flowering will be very weak. In areas of central Russia, several bean shrubs should be planted together or next to other garden trees or tall shrubs.
- Soil for growing bean must be of good water permeability and looseness. It is important that moisture does not accumulate in it. Any garden soil with a dash of sand will usually work. The horticultural bean form shows excellent growth on poor and calcareous substrates.
- Planting laburnum. The best time to plant bean shrubs or trees is early spring. A hole for planting is dug twice as large as the size of the earthen coma of the plant. All excavated soil should be mixed with compost. A support (stick or pole) is first placed in the hole and then a layer of drainage and a little soil is placed, then the plant is placed there, straightening its roots. Planting depth should correspond to the size of the earth clod. Then the hole needs to be filled with prepared soil mixed with compost. Slightly press down on it and form a circle for watering. After that, a generous moistening of the substrate is carried out, the seedling is tied to a support, the trunk circle is mulched with peat or compost.
- Watering. Legume trees or shrubs easily tolerate drought, but soil flooding is harmful to them, therefore, when planting, a drainage layer is placed in the hole. Only if the drought is long enough can the plants be watered moderately. During the flowering period, more moisture will be required. In order not to water often, it is better to mulch the tree trunk circle.
- Fertilizers. For ornamental trees and bean shrubs, top dressing should be applied twice a year. In the spring, nitrogen agents are used (ammonium nitrate or urea), with the arrival of autumn, fertilizers are recommended that contain potassium and phosphorus (nitrophoska or nitroammophoska). The latter will help a successful wintering. Also, the trunk circle should be mulched annually with the arrival of spring, and during the growing season several times a mullein diluted in water is poured under the root.
Legume breeding recommendations
All types of laburnum reproduce both vegetatively and with the help of seeds.
After harvest, the seeds are used for a three-year period, but it is better to sow them immediately. Pre-planting stratification or preparation is not needed, they are immediately sown into the ground. The soil for planting should be fertile and loose enough. Sowing is carried out both in autumn and in early spring, when the thaw comes. Seed embedding is carried out to a depth of 0.5–1 cm. Seedlings develop amicably and do not require special care. When young legumes grow up, they are dug up, trying to keep a larger earthen ball at the roots and move to a permanent place of growth. Seedlings will bloom after 4–5 years from the moment of sowing.
Many people use vegetative propagation methods, which are recommended for varietal laburnums, so that parental traits are preserved. With seed reproduction, they can be lost. These breeding methods include:
- Cuttings. In the period July-August, it is necessary to cut blanks from young green branches. The length of the cuttings should be at least 15–20 cm. The branches are planted in a prepared place with a loose fertile substrate in partial shade. Then they are watered and covered with cut plastic bottles. Caring for such bean seedlings consists in careful watering, and with the arrival of autumn for winter, it is recommended to provide shelter using agrofibre material. This method is good for hybrid varieties.
- Graft. Grafting is carried out on cuttings cut from varietal plants on a species stock. It is recommended that the vaccination site be located almost at the very ground.
- Layers. A healthy and long shoot in the lower part is selected on a bean shrub and bent to the soil. Before that, you need to make several circular cuts in the bark. Then you need to fix the shoot, you can use a stiff wire and sprinkle the layers with soil. After a month, root shoots will appear on the layer. After that, the layers are separated from the mother plant and planted in a prepared place.
Diseases and pests in legume cultivation
Usually, harmful insects do not show their interest in laburnum, apparently, its toxicity affects. But if the weather is warm, but humid, bean trees and bushes can be affected by powdery mildew. This disease is manifested by the fact that the leaf plates on both sides begin to cover with a whitish coating that resembles lime. For treatment, it is recommended to use biofungicides. Among such drugs, Ridomil Gold is considered popular, as well as Mikosana and Pentofag-S. Usually, such agents penetrate the cells of the affected plant and stimulate the formation of enzymes that help to cope with the disease.
Since the "golden rain" is still a "resident" of the southern regions, it is often when cultivated on the territory of central Russia and even on the lands of Ukraine, it can freeze over in especially harsh winters, so it can be sheltered.
Notes for flower growers about bean, photo of a plant
Important to remember! Bean bushes and trees, although they look very decorative during the flowering period, all parts of the plant are poisonous. In particular, there are many such substances in seeds. Therefore, when carrying out any work with laburnum, it is recommended to thoroughly wash your hands with soap. It should also be taken into account, since the fruits of the plant can attract small children or pets, it is better for such plantings to find a place in the distance and where kids and pets cannot get. Otherwise, you will have to give up the possession of such a colorful exotic in order to avoid trouble.
All this is due to the fact that the legume contains in large quantities such alkaloids as labourine and cytisine. And if a person eats just a couple of seeds, it will be fatal. However, in essence, cytisine is very similar in its action to nicotine. Therefore, there is information that during the First World War, soldiers for rolling cigarettes (homemade cigarettes), without even using tobacco, used bean leaves with might and main. To date, this feature has also found application, since this substance is a raw material for the preparation of drugs for smoking, and it is also used by homeopaths.
It is curious that these toxic substances do not act on all living organisms in the same way. For example, goats are simply delighted with eating branches, leaves and flowers of trees or bean bushes. For this feature, the plant is popularly called "goat clover". Well, since during the flowering period there are many insect-collecting nectar hovering over the laburnum plantings, it is used as a honey plant.
The wood of the bean trees can also "boast". This material is beautiful, hard and highly polished. Therefore, it is used to create sculptures, musical instruments, as well as inlaid items. According to information that has come down to us from time immemorial, it is argued that such wood was used for the manufacture of small arms (bows, crossbows, etc.), which in their qualities were not inferior to devices made of yew.
In addition to their native habitats, legume trees and bushes from the middle of the 16th century, namely from the 1560s, began to spread beyond the Mediterranean.
Types of bean
Anagyroid bean (Laburnum anagyroides) is also called anagirolisny bean or Golden rain. The plant can be like a tree with multiple trunks or a shrub, the height of which reaches 6 m. It is often planted as a single plant or picturesque alleys are formed with its help. Through hanging branches, a funnel-shaped crown is formed, which makes it possible to plant colorful bersos, since the branches are somewhat similar to a liana. The flowering process occurs in May and stretches for almost 30 days, while being accompanied by a sweet pleasant aroma. Inflorescences are collected from a large number of butterfly flowers, yellow color. The length of the racemose drooping inflorescences can reach 30 cm. The variety is frost-resistant, since it may not freeze even in 20-degree frosts.
Alpine bean (Laburnum alschingeri). Basically it has a tree-like shape, with a spreading crown of an oblong shape. Plant height reaches 12 m. The position of the trunk and branches is straight, but the tops of the shoots take on drooping contours. Inflorescences vary in length from 30–45 cm. They resemble elongated yellow garlands. The flowers are smaller in comparison with the previous species, and also devoid of aroma. Flowering begins at the end of May. In the process of fruiting, the resulting fruits have a bare surface.
The southern regions of Europe are considered native lands of natural habitat, therefore, when grown in our latitudes, frosting of the tops of the branches is possible, although the plant itself can survive winter with frosts up to 25 degrees.
Among the decorative varieties are:
- Pendula, which is famous for its elongated drooping shoots;
- Aurea young unfolding leaves have golden hues, which over time are replaced by a bright green color scheme;
- Quercifolia differs in incised outlines of leaves, which is similar to oak;
- Automnale the usual spring bloom can be repeated on September days.
Bobovnik Vaterera (hybrid) (Laburnum watereri). This plant is obtained by crossing the above varieties. May be found under the name Bobovnik intermediate. It is either a low tree or a large shrub. The height of this species does not exceed 1-3 m. Old shoots grow erect and only the top has a drooping part. The branches are covered with petiolate foliage. Its length can be 50 cm. During the flowering period, racemose inflorescences surround themselves with a strong, pleasant aroma. Ripening fruits are covered with silky hairs. However, the plants are not frost-resistant, so they are used for cultivation in the southern regions or as a container crop.
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