Few shrubs are as beautiful and productive at the same time as our protagonist, who has many common names, among them Ciruelo Borde, Espino negro, or Sloe, although as a scientist he only has one, which is prunus spinosa. It grows to a height of 4 meters, so it can not only be kept in the garden, but also you can also choose to have it in a pot.
This is a plant that decorates the room most of the year: in spring it is completely covered with white flowers, and in summer and autumn its bluish-lilac fruits sprout and ripen.
The prunus spinosa it is a deciduous shrub native to Europe and Western Asia. It has small leaves, about 3cm long, green with a slightly serrated edge. The flowers are white, with 5 petals, and have the peculiarity that they appear before the leaves. The fruit is a globose drupe of lilac-bluish or dark blue color. edible.
This is a plant that must be handled with care, as it has thorns on its branches. So, every time you want to prune it, or if you need to change the pot or want to move it to the garden, it is very important that you wear gloves to protect your hands.
In cultivation it is a species that is not demanding at all. In fact, it grows on all types of soils, including limestone, and it resists well the cold (down to -15ºC). The only thing to keep in mind is that it must be placed in an area where it is in direct sunlight, and that it must be pruned in autumn or before its flowers bloom in spring (In the Northern Hemisphere it would be more or less in March).
If we talk about the uses, with the fermentation of sloes alcoholic beverages are made in some countries, and in Spain it is used to make pacharán, which is a liquor typical of the Navarra region.
Have you heard of sloes?
