- Authors: L. Shpet (Germany)
- Year of approval: 1947
- Growth type: vigorous
- Crown: wide pyramidal, dense
- Fruit size: very large
- Fruit weight, g: 45
- Fruit shape: oval and broadly ovate, isosceles
- Fruit color: main - light yellow, integumentary - red-violet, solid
- Skin : thin, dense, easily removable, with a thick waxy coating, without pubescence
- Pulp (consistency): juicy, transparent, tender, melting
Plum Anna Shpet boasts large tasty fruits, it is widespread in Russia. The crop begins to yield in the third year from the moment it is planted in the garden. The variety is characterized by high productivity.
Description of the variety
Since 1947, this variety has been approved for use. Its fruits are consumed both fresh and can be used for processing.
The plant is vigorous, the crown is always dense and has a wide pyramidal shape.
Fruit characteristics
The fruits of Anna Shpet are very large, sometimes up to 45 grams. The main color is yellow, there is a cover color, it is a red-violet hue.
The fruit of this variety has a thin skin, and the pulp is tender and juicy.
Taste qualities
The fruit of Anna Shpet tastes sweet and has a pleasant sourness.
Ripening and fruiting
Plum belongs to late, blooms only in April, fruits ripen by September. The tree bears fruit regularly.
Yield
The yield is high.
Growing regions
Anna Shpet is grown mainly in the North Caucasus and in the Lower Volga region.
Self-fertility and the need for pollinators
The plant is partially self-fertile.
Growing and care
Planting on calcareous soils is not recommended, since the tree suffers from chlorosis.
The richest crops are usually harvested in well-ventilated, warm areas with high-quality irrigation, where the pH is 5.5-6.5. Black soil or not very heavy soils are well suited for growing plums. Additional irrigation is not required in places where the annual rainfall is at least 600 mm per year, while the groundwater should not go higher than 1 meter to the root system of the plant. Plums Anna Shpet tolerate frosts down to -25 degrees.
Before planting seedlings, it is recommended to scatter compost over the area, which should then be dug up from the ground to the height of a shovel. It improves the structure of the soil, both heavy and too light. A good way to prepare the base for the plum of this variety is to plant siderates. Mustard and beans are suitable, which are then crushed and dug up with soil. This is a good nitrogen fertilizer, which makes it possible to obtain a high-quality site for planting young seedlings.
Plums Anna Shpet are best planted in autumn, since specimens planted in the soil in spring require abundant watering. The planting pit should have a diameter of about 40 cm and a depth of 30 cm.It should be remembered that the grafting site is always located above the ground surface. Before placing a seedling in open ground, it is worth cutting off its roots and soaking them in water. If several specimens are planted, care must be taken that the distance between them is 2-3 by 4 m. After planting, the young tree is watered abundantly. Before the onset of frost, it is worth mulching the trunk circle with straw.
In the first spring after planting, Anna Shpet plums are fed with saltpeter, which is used in a dose of 30 g per tree. In the second half of June, we spread the second dose of fertilizers and mulch the ground around with bark, sawdust or manure. The advantage of wet manure is that it helps reduce water evaporation. To prevent nitrogen leakage, cover all fertilizers with a layer of earth.
Young Anna Shpet plums require regular watering. It is especially important to monitor the condition of the soil during a drought.
When growing plums of this variety, pruning begins in the first year after planting. At the beginning, the trunk is removed if it has grown strongly. Its length should be 70-90 cm. During the first two years, the crown does not require formation, with the exception of harvesting diseased, dry, overlapping shoots.
Pruning plums for 4 years and then done in the spring. The best result can be achieved if the procedure is carried out twice a year - both in spring and autumn. In the spring, it is better to engage in the formation of the crown of Anna Shpet, and in the summer to reduce the strongly growing annual shoots. The trunk is reduced every year by 50-60 cm above the upper ring, and young shoots are also removed.
If the tree is rejuvenated, then, on the contrary, young strong branches are left, and the old ones are cut off, but not immediately, but the procedure is stretched for several years.
Disease and pest resistance
Anna Shpet has low resistance to moniliosis, therefore, mandatory treatment with fungicides is required. Neem oil, garlic infusion, or insecticidal soap, from which a spray solution is prepared, can help against insect attacks.
The brown rot of stone fruit trees infects Anna Shpet through flowers that turn brown and dry. Similar changes can be seen on the shoots. During wet spring we use Topsin M 500 SC as a spray before flowering. If necessary, we repeat the procedure at the turn of May and June, together with Troy 250.
If a tree is affected by a mosaic, it means that preventive treatment for aphids, which is the main carrier of the virus, has not been carried out.
As for bacterial cancer, there is no defense against it. We only remove the infected shoots and cover the wounds with garden pitch.
Calypso 480 helps a lot against aphids and many other insects that infect Anna Shpet in different growing seasons.
Despite the fact that plum is considered more hardy than many fruit trees, it is not immune from diseases. It is attacked by viral, fungal and bacterial infections, and parasitic insects harm it. It is necessary to notice and recognize the signs of plum disease in time. They are easier to deal with and defeat early on. Well, in order to protect the garden tree from such a misfortune in the future, preventive procedures can be carried out.
Resistance to soil and climatic conditions
Winter hardiness and heat resistance of the described variety are average.
