Useful information

Decorative nightshade

Melon pear is very decorative.

Genus nightshade (Solanum) - the largest in the Solanaceae family (Solanaceae) and one of the largest angiosperms with about 1,700 plant species. Known primarily for important crops such as potatoes (Solanum tuberosum), tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), eggplant, according to botanical classification - dark-fruited nightshade (Solanum melongena).

Recently, amateurs have begun to grow such exotic vegetables as soft-prickly nightshade, or pepino, melon pear (Solanum muricatum), naranjilla (Solanum guitoense), cocoon, or nightshade (Solanum sisymbriifolium), large-fruited nightshade, or African eggplant (Solanum macrocarpon) - a close relative of eggplant, with small, white, rounded fruits and edible leaves, tamarillo, or tomato tree (Solanum betaceum), more recently belonging to the genus Tsifomandra (Cyphomandra), with fruits resembling long-fruited tomatoes.

And among the inhabitants of southern Russia, the word nightshade is associated, of course, with an annual weed - black nightshade (Solanum nigrum)... Its grass and unripe fruits are poisonous, but ripe ones are sweet, edible not only raw, but also suitable for filling pies and dumplings, for jam and jelly.

The hybrid large-fruited Burbank nightshade close to black nightshade is much more yielding (Solanum x burbankii), obtained by the American breeder Luther Burbank in 1905 by crossing the African Guinea nightshade (Solanum quineense) with a European look Solanum villosum... It is named Sunberry (Sunberry) and is grown as an annual berry crop. Its berries are the size of a cherry in appearance and taste a bit like blueberries, they are used, like black nightshade - for jams, preserves, winemaking (see Cold apple jelly with sunberries, Carrot caviar with sunberries, Sunberry salad with avocado and spinach , Sunberry Muffins, Sunberry Ginger Jam, Sunberry Jam, Sunberry Liqueur, Sunberry Apple and Wine)

There are not so many decorative species among nightshades. And in the open ground of the middle zone, only one is able to winter at all, our local species is bittersweet nightshade. Most of the representatives of the genus comes from the tropics and subtropics of South and Central America, some from South Asia (India, Sri Lanka), although some species are widely spread throughout the planet.

For garden

Bittersweet nightshade

Bittersweet nightshade (Solanum dulcamara) distributed in Europe and North Africa, in central Russia it grows in meadows and in river floodplains. It is a deciduous climbing dwarf shrub up to 2.5-3 m tall, with woody stems at the base, bare or drooping sparse appressed hairs. The leaves are predominantly tripartite, 4-10 cm long and 2.5-6 cm wide, rarely pubescent or glabrous, on petioles 1-3 cm long. The flowers are purple, less often pink or white, similar to potato flowers, five-membered, 12-18 mm in diameter, with narrow lobes less than 1 cm long bent back, with green white-bordered spots at the base, collected in drooping panicles of 6-25 or more flowers. Fruits - bright red, less often - greenish-yellow ovoid, with a pointed tip, berries up to 1.5 cm long, with numerous seeds, poisonous. Blossoms in June-July; bears fruit in July-October. There is a variegated form Variegata, which has leaves with an uneven white border.

Until recently, it was not widespread in culture - few found beauty in "potato" leaves and flowers. The French Marquise de Pompadour, who loved to pin a boutonniere of potato flowers to her dress, would definitely not agree with this opinion, and greatly contributed to how the fate of this culture ultimately developed.

Bittersweet nightshade, flowers

A moisture-loving plant, bittersweet nightshade has become more widely used in culture with the spread of fashion for decorative reservoirs. In nature, it is most often small; on fertile garden soil, the plant reaches a height of 1.5 m or more. It grows well on the slopes of the banks and at the fences, twisting with leaf stalks around the support. It blooms for a long time, and from July to autumn, you can see both flowers and fruits on the plant at the same time. Looks most impressive when covered with many ripe, shiny red berries.In the winter, the aboveground part dies off, leaving a woody rhizome in the ground, from which new stems grow in spring.

Bittersweet nightshade, fruit

It reproduces very simply - by shoots, layering. If you need a lot of planting material - by sowing seeds washed from the pulp. The seeds are dormant and require stratification. Natural stratification is possible with podzimny sowing, or artificial stratification at + 1 + 5оС during the month - before sowing in March. Temperature fluctuations in the range from +10 to + 25 + 30оС have a positive effect on germination.

For windowsill and greenhouse

False Nightshade (Solanum pseudo-capsicum) comes, presumably, from the island of Madeira. In nature, it is an evergreen shrub up to 1 m tall. Shoots glabrous, leaves on short petioles, lanceolate or oblong, entire, often with slightly wavy edges, pointed or obtuse at the apex, wedge-shaped at the base, with distinct venation, light green above, shiny. The flowers are unattractive, stellate, small, white, single or collected in several. Fruits are very decorative spherical berries, 12-18 mm in diameter, bright red, rarely yellow, resembling small tomatoes, but poisonous. In English-speaking countries, the plant was named Jerusalem cherry, Christmas cherry, because it is densely strewn with fruits at Christmas.

A dwarf form is used for growing in pots. (Solanum pseudo-capsicum var.nanum) up to 30 cm tall, but more often - a hybrid form with orange fruits and wavy leaf veins.

The plant is most decorative during the fruiting period, which lasts several months and falls on the summer-autumn period. Usually, a fertile plant is replaced with a new one, that is, it is used as an annual. Renewed with seeds or cuttings.

False Nightshade. Photo from the GreenInfo.ru forumPepper nightshade Variegatum

Close view - nightshade pepper, or peppery(Solanum capsicastrum) is an evergreen species from southern Brazil. Differs in smaller plants (0.6-1 m in height) and fruits (up to 1.5 cm in diameter), grayish-pubescent young shoots. Leaves are oblong-lanceolate, glaucous, unequal in shape and size (2-7 cm), wavy along the edge. The flowers are single, white, star-shaped, the fruits are red, spherical, up to 2 cm in diameter, poisonous. There are white-fruited and variegated (white-bordered) forms of Variegatum.

Jasmine nightshade, or loose(Solanum jasminoides syn. S. laxum) native to the forests of Brazil. Evergreen climbing vine with stems 1.5-2 m long, with thin, green, bare shoots. The upper leaves are usually simple, elongated-ovate, the middle and lower ones are sometimes trifoliate, less often - pinnate, the upper leaf lobes are oblong-ovate, 5-7 cm long and 2-3 cm wide, the lateral ones are oblong-elliptical, all leaves are drawn towards the apex, naked. Flowers 15-20 mm in diameter, light blue or almost white, in multi-flowered terminal panicles. Blooms from early March to mid-autumn. Fruits are coral-red berries about 1.5 cm in diameter.

Jasmine nightshadeJasmine nightshade

The forms are: Album - with pure white flowers and Variegata - with an uneven cream-colored leaf border. Plants are grown as ampelous in hanging pots or in the form of pyramids on a support.

Nightshade Jasmine Album

Giant nightshade(Solanum giganteum) grows in the tropical forests of Africa and South India, Sri Lanka. Large (up to 6 m) branched evergreen shrub with thick thorny branches and long (up to 25 cm) oblong-elliptical leaves, green above, whitish below from pubescence. For the thorny branches in Australia, it was called the African holly. It blooms in July-August with small (up to 1.5 cm) flowers of white, blue or purple, hanging in multi-flowered apical plates. The flowers are weakly fragrant. The berries are small, red or purple-red, and remain hanging for six months. At the same time, flowers and fruits of varying degrees of maturity can be seen in the scutes. A beautiful plant, usually grown in greenhouses in a wall culture. It is medicinal, Africans use its healing properties, applying it to wounds, ulcers.

Nightshade Seafort, or Brazilian nightshade(Solanum seaforthianum) originally from Central and South America. Named after Lord Seaforth (Francis Mackenzie) (1754-1815), a prominent military leader and keen botanist, a member of the British Royal Society of Science.

Evergreen liana up to 4-6 m tall. The stems are glabrous, the flowering shoots are slightly sticky due to the glandular hairs. Leaves up to 13 cm long and 11 cm wide, imparipinnate, from lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, entire, slightly wavy along the edge. The flowers are star-shaped, of a delicate light purple hue, collected in 10-50 hanging axillary panicles. The berries are spherical, up to 1.2 cm in diameter, scarlet. Flowering is very long (from March to October-November) and decorative. The fruits are toxic.

Curly nightshade(Solanum crispum) also called by origin (from Chile and Peru) Chilean nightshade, Chilean potato tree. Although this is not a tree, but a fast-growing semi-evergreen climbing plant, in nature it is up to 6 m tall, with an oval-shaped long (5-12 cm) foliage. It blooms with fragrant lilac star-shaped flowers (up to 2.5 cm in diameter), collected in the apical shields. In autumn, forms small (0.6 cm) berries, which, when ripe, change color from green to yellow-orange, and then purple. Grown in European gardens and containers as an annual, prized for its long (July to October) flowering period. In floriculture, the white-flowered form Album and the variety Glasnevin (syn. Autumnale) are widespread - with blue-violet flowers and creamy white berries. The fruits are toxic.

Curly nightshade Solanum crispum Glasnevin

Wendland nightshade(Solanum wendlandii) grows in the mountains of Central America. Named after Dr. Hermann Wendland (1825-1903), director of the Royal Gardens in Hanover, who first sent the plant to the English Botanical Gardens Kew, where it was described by Joseph Hooker in 1887. One of the most decorative nightshades.

Branched evergreen climbing plant 4-6 m tall. It rises along the support, leaning on hooked thorns scattered along the stem and below the midrib of the leaf. Leaves pinnately dissected, oblong-elliptical in the upper part of the shoot, up to 10 cm long, 3-lobed below the middle of the shoot, up to 25 cm long and 10 cm wide. Lush apical corymbose panicles (up to 20 cm in diameter) consist of large, 3-5 cm in diameter, fragrant flowers that change color from lilac to lavender and white. Flowering is profuse and long, from June to August. Fruits are ovoid or spherical, red-purple when ripe.

Wendland nightshade

Withstands temperatures up to -9 ° C. In temperate climates, it can be grown in a container, wintering in a cool room. In this case, it behaves like a semi-evergreen plant, partially shedding foliage. It grows up to 1-1.2 m, blooms profusely, but does not bear fruit. Before wintering, the plant is cut in half. Requires careful handling, pricks stronger than roses.

Nightshade Rantonnetta(Solanum rantonnetii) has already ceased to be nightshade and assigned to another family called Lycianthes rantonnetii.

This species comes from Paraguay and Argentina. It was brought to France in 1868. It bears the name of the French gardener Rantonnette, noted for his great work on the acclimatization of plants on the French Riviera. Its other names are Paraguayan nightshade, Blue potato tree, Gentian nightshade.

Nightshade RantonnetNightshade Rantonnet

It is an evergreen shrub up to 2 m tall, often formed in the form of a standard tree. Leaves are simple, ovate or elliptical, 2.5-10 cm long, often pointed and narrowed towards the petiole, entire, mostly pubescent. The flowers are collected in several in the axils of the leaves, wheel-shaped, about 2.5 cm in diameter, dark blue or purple, with a lighter center and 5 well-visible yellow anthers, odorless. It blooms for a long time and profusely from July to frost. Fruits are dangling, heart-shaped red berries, 1-2.5 cm long.

Papillary nightshade(Solanum mammosum) comes from South America, naturalized in Central America and the Caribbean.A perennial plant 0.6-1.0 (1.8) m tall, grown in an annual culture for the sake of original yellow fruits with outgrowths-papillae, resembling a female breast on one side and a cow's udder on the other. Also has the names Titty fruit or Nipple fruit, Apple of Sodom. In China it is known as the Five-Toed Eggplant, in Japan - Fox Face. The thick stems are studded with hard thorns. The leaves are large, very similar to eggplant, velvety from soft pubescence, with purple veins and thorns sticking out from below along the veins. It blooms in spring (3-4 months after sowing) with pink-purple "potato" flowers, and a few months later, yellow fleshy waxy fruits about 3-5 (7) cm long ripen - unlike eggplant, they are poisonous. The juice of the fruit has the properties of a detergent, it can serve as a detergent, and the juice of the leaves is used by Trinidad hunters to treat foot fungus.

Nightshade papillary in compositionNightshade papillary in an exotic bouquet

The plant is an industrial greenhouse crop, the stems with fruits are cut and serve as an excellent floristic material for exotic bouquets. The largest importer of cut are China and Taiwan, where the fruit stems are used in religious ceremonies and as a symbol of the New Year. In China, the fruits of the plant are considered the personification of the longevity of the family and future success.

Propagated by seeds, which are first germinated (1-2 weeks) in a damp cloth at + 25 ° C, and then sown on seedlings in pots in neutral soil. Grown as an annual in open ground or a greenhouse almost until frost (the plant tolerates a drop in temperature to -5 ° C). In greenhouse conditions, the bases of the stems become woody and become bare over time, a thorny bush that is slightly leafy in the lower part is formed, which requires renewal from seeds or cuttings to preserve decorativeness.

Maintenance and care

Natives of warm sunny regions, nightshade are demanding on lighting, but cannot stand direct sunlight (leaves dry out from sunburn). The best place for them is the western or eastern window sill, and in the summer - the open air of the balcony, terrace or patio in the garden, with shading at midday and protection from heavy precipitation.

During the period of active growth, from May to September, the plant is fed every 2 weeks with a complex mineral fertilizer with trace elements for tomatoes. Maintain air humidity by daily spraying the plants with water. Water regularly, in the heat - morning and evening. Drying nightshade categorically do not tolerate.

The optimum temperature for the development of nightshades is from +18 to + 25 ° C. In the fall, before the onset of frost, nightshade is brought into a cool room with a temperature of + 12 + 15 ° C, good lighting and ventilation. In a warmer room, the leaves turn yellow and fall off, the fruiting period is shortened.

Watering is limited, to increase the humidity of the air, the pot is placed on a pallet with wet expanded clay and regular spraying is continued. The period of forced dormancy associated with insufficient illumination in the room lasts from October to February.

Shoots without flowers and fruits are pinched in the fall. Fruit-bearing specimens are usually discarded and replaced with young ones grown from stem cuttings. Cuttings are taken from late February to early April, suitable for rooting and shoots left over from pruning plants. They are cut into 5 cm lengths with 2-3 internodes and rooted. Cuttings are carried out with gloves - all parts of the nightshade are poisonous.

Read more about grafting technology - in the article Cutting indoor plants at home.

Young plants grown over the summer are also placed in the cool in the fall, and the flowering shoots that appear in winter are removed. The plants will bloom the following spring.

However, mother plants can also be preserved. To do this, in February, the plant is cut by a third, transplanted, supplemented with lighting and top dressing begin.Drying and shriveled, but quite decorative fruits in some nightshades are preserved until a new flowering.

Nightshade (Solanum sp.) In greenhouse soil (May)

For transplantation, use a rich land mixture of sod land, peat, humus or compost, sand (2: 2: 2: 1). The transplant is carried out annually.

Read more about the transplant - in the article Transplanting indoor plants.

Seed propagation is acceptable only for species plants, but does not preserve the decorative characteristics of the varieties. The seeds of these species of nightshade do not have a dormant period and germinate without preliminary preparation. They are grown, like tomatoes or eggplants, through seedlings. Presowing treatment with gibberellin at a concentration of 300 mg / l increases seed germination and the energy of their germination.

Of the pests of nightshades, the most likely are aphids, whiteflies, and ticks.

About pest control - in the article Houseplant pests and control measures.

 

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