I do not know about you, but I have only the thought of this summer juicy berry, there is an overwhelming desire to try it.
There are many different varieties of cherries: from pale red? to bright burgundy and yellow.
The sweet cherry, which is a guest of our topic today, is abbreviated as Valeria among the people.
The fruit is an appetizing-looking berry of rich red color, in some places, to blackness.
This variety can be attributed to the large, because. the mass of sweet cherry can reach eight grams. The flesh has the same dark color and pink veins, the bone is well separated. This variety of cherries fell in love with consumers and gardeners due to its juicy refreshing taste and its use for canning.
The tree reaches five meters in height and becomes more spreading and thick with age. The crown is well leafed. Stam rather thick and rough, brownish-gray color. The angle of the skeletal branches in relation to the trunk is 45-60 ?.
Shoots of the same color, slightly curved, about 5 mm in thickness. Vegetative buds are cone-shaped and brown in color.Broad oval leaves with serrations rapidly turning into the apex. The scape reaches forty five millimeters.
Talking about proscan be identified:
- Early ripening.
- Excellent taste.
- Yield can be defined as the average. From an adult tree, which is 10-15 years old, you can collect up to sixty kilograms of berries. This figure applies to the southern regions, and in the north? half as much.
- As for sweet cherries, the frost resistance is rather high (at a temperature of -24? One third of flower buds can survive).
A significant "disadvantage" is the low resistance to fungal diseases. Special the variety is susceptible to coccomycosis and gray rot.
About planting varieties
If we talk about the timing of planting, then the most favorable time for this is the early spring (before the buds swell).
Despite the fact that now there are more and more winter-hardy varieties, do not forget that this tree is still more southern and heat-loving. Based on this, and the place for him to choose on the south side, preferably behind some building, which will serve as an obstacle to strong winds.
Plus, the area should be well lit, becauseThis is also one of the favorite conditions of the tree.
It is worth emphasizing that sweet cherry loves elevated places. Therefore, it is better to create a small artificial unevenness in the form of a tubercle, but, in any case, not to allow a buried landing. The root neck should be 5 cm higher than the ground level, taking into account that the soil will gradually settle.
Do not forget also that this Cherry variety is self-infested and needs nearby pollinating trees. For this purpose, suitable varieties such as Skorospelka, June early. The distance between the trees should not be less than four meters.
And, if the idea to plant a sweet cherry came to you not spontaneously, but planned, then it is better to prepare the place and the pit in the fall. To do this, dig a hole the size of 80? 100 cm, fall asleep there two buckets of humus, mixed with a layer of fertile soil and leave until spring.
In no case should the soil be heavy. Suitable loamy and sandy loam. Also, it should have good moisture and breathable properties and eliminate the stagnation of water. In the spring, superphosphate and sodium sulfate are added to the planting pit.
The fact that the root neck should protrude above the surface, we mentioned above. It remains to add that you need make a small roller around the seedling and pour 2 buckets of water, then grind with peat.
Top Care Tips
Watering plants should be carried out in stages. The first ? before flowering. The second - after its termination (not earlier than in 20 days). The third is three weeks before harvest, but not during the ripening period itself. And the latest? in October. Of course, with all this we take into account the amount of precipitation and weather conditions.
Fertilizer. In the first year after planting, it is very important to monitor the weeds and prevent them from appearing in the near-stem circle. Like any plant, sweet cherry needs additional nutrition in the form of organic and mineral fertilizers. The main thing is not to forget that we introduce nitrogen-containing substances only in spring, while potash and phosphorus are desirable in autumn.
The first 5 years you need to very carefully monitor the formation of the crown and carry out frequent pruning. Then it can be done less often, but still this stage is an integral part of the care of cherries, because this tree is characterized by a rather intensive growth of shoots.
Winter is a difficult test for many trees, especially for the heat-loving and southern.At the present time, when the air temperature began to fluctuate sharply, one cannot count on the fact that there will not be severe frosts even where they are rare. Therefore, you need to be as prepared as possible for their attack and protect the trees.
Whitewashing and trimming - are all known ways to protect against frost, and therefore, do not need to reduce their values and forget about them. Pre-winter (late) watering and saturation with moisture? will also contribute to improving the frost resistance.
In addition to all of the above, we protect young saplings from frost with the help of various designs, we wrap with fir-wood, and we warm the trunk of an adult tree with sacking and thick paper. We resort to these methods in the case of other fruit trees.
Pests and diseases. Not only we love to feast on this juicy delicious berries. There are many pests that are not against eating the leaves of a tree or spoiling the appearance of the fruit. Among the most common? cherry sawfly, cherry elephant, cherry fly. Spraying with Bordeaux mixture or special chemicals is used to combat them.
A lot of grief bring and various diseases that often attack the beautiful cherry. Kokkomikoz - one of the most frequent. Initially, a lot of small specks of brown color appear, which gradually merge into one large spot.
The leaves fall, the tree weakens and may die. The causative agent of coccomycosis prefers to hide in the fall foliage for the winter and with the arrival of spring continue the attack and the destructive influence. That is why in the late fall you need to clean up all the garbage in the garden and burn it.
Bacterial cancer bone - also occurs quite often. It can occur both in the intensive form and in the sluggish one, but both lead to the inevitable death of the tree and its drying out.
Summing up, I must say that any type of sweet cherry is not the simplest tree to care for. You can not just plant and forget about it. But if you surround him with care and attention, then you will certainly be rewarded, and your efforts will not be in vain.
Every summer you can pamper yourself with homemade, tasty, and berries grown in your own garden, and this is worth a lot.
