I need a Kalinka (of the Russian song Kalinka, Malinka, Kalinka moya...) growing in the back 40. Memories-of-homeland scenario. Looks to me (amateur web search) like Viburnum Opulus, but I see there are "sterile" varieties (no berries = no point). Can anyone specify the real thing precisely? Is it available from nurseries in Vancouver area? The beast I'm after could be large or small, so long as it is white flowering with abundant clusters of round translucent red berries. If there's an evergreen/compact variety which looks authentic (abundant red berries, white flowers) I'd consider it too. ? Many thanks -
Just buy unselected seedlings or a named form known to fruit. 'Roseum' ('Sterile') is but a single cultivar. Species is naturalized down here, so likely to be a location with wild plants there also. You could try cuttings or fruits of these if for some reason you somehow do not find kinds other than 'Roseum' in nurseries. Look for accounts of local wetland preserves in particular mentioning the shrub growing there.
Viburnum opulus Roseum,common name Snowball tree. This is the one with white flowers that are sterile. http://images.google.com/images?q=v...1I7SUNA_en-GB&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi However, the Viburnum opulus, common name Guelder rose, has flowers that will give red berries. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viburnum_opulus
Russian berry, as per the song, according to this site is Highbush cranberry. http://www.geocities.com/agrafenas_children/berries.htm According to wikipedia it can mean a couple of different plants. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highbush_cranberry One was the Viburnum opulus. See other post.Another was Viburnum trilobum. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viburnum_trilobum Third was Viburnum edule. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Viburnum_edule
Ooops, sorry, I was going to make a suggestion (Lonicera caerulea) but if the word translates to highbush cranberry, then I am wrong.
On the other hand, here's a site that translates "kalinka" as juniper. http://www.kaikracht.de/balalaika/english/songs/kali_txt.htm
Relying on the traslations of songs may lead you to a wrong direction, -- translations they are made by poets, and "poets do not write to be understood" as Richard Feynman told. Kalinka, kalinon'ka -- these are the diminutive forms of "kalina", and what is usually called kalina in Russia is Viburnum opulus, very popular tree in Russia and Ukraine. Wilipedia: copy калина and paste it into the search string of russian Wikipedia (ru.wikipedia.org). Or from English Wikipedia page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viburnum_opulus switch to Russian by clicking on Русский in the language section on the left side.
Well - everything over there is a bit murky at best! I had done as you suggested, but there are deeper devolutions into regionalized patois than one might expect (babushka's village in Russified eastern UKR is in fact of substantially Ukrainian character, its own enigma-wrapped-in-a-riddle; beet-less borsch is made from tomatoes and "caviar" is made from squash). Photos convince me that my better half indeed pines for Viburnum opulus, and not a juniper. Coincidentally, a parallel ache for a "Jasmine" which magically survives UKR equivalent of Winnipeg winters was quickly resolved by inquiring of a 93-year-old Japanese gardner in Steveston, who instantly recognized it as a "Mock Orange" (Philadelphium something-or-other), and not a jasmine per se at all. Cpacibo bolshoi...
That would be Philadelphus. An outlet down here currently has a clone of the 'Compactum' cultivar of viburnum studded with fruit clusters.
That would be Philadelphus. P. lewisii is native to our region. P. coronarius and various garden hybrids are grown in gardens here. An outlet down here currently has specimens of Viburnum opulus 'Compactum' on display that are studded with (still green) fruit clusters. (There is also a V. trilobum 'Compactum' grown but I took these to be the V. opulus cultivar). Facciola, Cornucopia II (1998, Kampong Publicatons, Vista) mentions a 'Ukraine' cultivar of V. opulus being selected for fruit quality. Under V. trilobum he lists and describes 'Canber', 'Phillips' and 'Wentworth' as fruiting selections: Wentworth: An outstanding early cultivar selected and named by the United States Bureau of Plant Industry in the early 1900's after analyses of acid and pectin content of 3,000 accessions were made, and jelly tests were undertaken. Abundant, large red fruits with excellent flavor. Good for making preserves
