Felted cherry - cultivation and care, planting, pruning, photo

Maybe, you already have a felt cherry, cultivation and care of which will not be difficult even for a beginner gardener. And most probably for some time already at least heard this name - "felt cherry and maybe even tried its sweet berries. This fruit shrub is distinguished by a rather high yield, unpretentiousness, resistance to drought, cold. It grows great, it gives fruits even in the Urals or Siberia.

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Many gardeners, gardeners from different parts of our country appreciate this shrubbery for its economic, biological, taste. This is a distant relative of wild cherry, which is widespread in China, so its other name is "Chinese cherry" - quite justifiably, is practically synonymous. This shrub came to us around the end of the 19th century, but then it was used only as a landscaping culture. Over time, the efforts of breeders were derived different varieties, it began to grow not only for beauty, but also for fruit. Today, it is widely distributed in European countries, Japan, Korea, as well as in America, Canada.

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Cherry felt - description and photo

Felted cherry, photo:

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Felted cherry blossoms, photo:

The appearance of leaflets, berries, shoots, pedicels directly justifies its name - they are all covered with a gentle fluff.

She has short stems, and the flowers first have a pink hue, which then turns white.

Berries are often red, but individual varieties have pink, white, even black fruits. They are not at all sour, their sweetness is in everyone's liking. It is because of its tender sweet taste that it is sometimes called baby cherry. Berries quickly reach maturity (less than 2 weeks). The core of the fruit is mostly tender, soft, but some varieties can be quite dense (as, for example, cherry).

From it they cook jams, marmalades, jams, although a small bone is quite difficult to separate from the pulp. Compotes, juices, even home-made alcoholic beverages from this berry are simply excellent. In addition to pleasant taste, the fruit contains organic acids, vitamins (especially C, B), carbohydrates. It is noteworthy that in terms of iron content, these berries are far ahead of apples! As mentioned above, in addition to growing for the sake of harvest, you can safely use these low shrubs to create hedges, strengthen the slopes. It turns out, from which side you look - in all respects this is a useful, very nice culture.

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Everyone has a good felt cherry: it has an attractive appearance, compact dimensions (which is important for small areas), but there is one small "drawback" for it. It's about a short life span - about 10 years. If you surround her with care, competent care (in particular, rejuvenating cuttings of the crown), then, perhaps, you will be able to extend her life cycle to 18-20 years. As for the sizes, the adult shrub usually grows to 2 meters, but never exceeds 3. This feature optimizes the harvesting process, solves the problem of sites with a small territory. Forming pruning is much more convenient with these relatively small dimensions of the tree.

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Cherry felt - as it grows and where, growing conditions

She prefers light, fertile sandy loam or loam, it is best that the non-acidic, well drained soil predominates on the site of cultivation. On peat bogs or swampy soil, it will not grow. Excessive moisturizing negatively affects growth, the ability to give color, fruits, and resistance to cold. Also it should be placed in extremely sunny places, since it does not like shade or even partial shade. Returning to the pH of the soil index, it should be mentioned: if you have it sour, then it must be previously lime (in spring or autumn).

Felt cherry, shrubs with fruits, photo:

An important point - to get a generous harvest, you need to plant at least 3 bush of different varieties close to each other. This is necessary for better dusting! Self-fertile varieties are "Summer "Fairy Tale "Delight "Triana "Jubilee "Ogonyok "Eastern Smuglyanka "Princess "Beauty "Children's "Dream " Eastern. " Among the most self-fertilizing sorts, the most popular are the Autumn Virovskaya, Natali, Okeanskaya Virovskaya, and Alisa. Usually berries ripen to the very middle of summer, and in the southern regions - by mid-June. Despite significant genetic differences with ordinary cherries, the close proximity of these two representatives, namely - their simultaneous flowering, extremely positively affects the taste, the size of the berries Chinese cherry.

Flower buds and green berries of a cherry cherry, photo:

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This culture tolerates fairly low temperatures, sometimes up to -27 ° C ..- 30 ° C, but very negatively reacts to spring (or winter) thaw. It will be better if in the very beginning of spring you rake more snow under the bushes, tread it more tightly, and on top additionally lay the sawdust. So you protect the bush from the temperature drops.

Pros of growing cherry cherry:

1. It can be eaten already when other ovaries only form ovaries.
2. Because of the low acid content, berries are endowed with excellent taste qualities, which allows them to be consumed any (raw, in the form of jam or juice, as raw materials for sauces, marinades or pickles).
3. Good adaptability of culture to the conditions of the region where it grows. Drought resistance and frost resistance are also a plus.
4. The seedling begins to bear fruit already in the second year of life in the open field (most varieties). The berries mature quite early, they last long on the branches.
5. It is distinguished by high yield, with normal care the fruits literally stuck branches.
6. The lack of root canopy - this culture does not appear at all.
7. A wonderful element of landscape design (hedge, decoration of curbs, the main detail in mixed plantings).

This unpretentious culture, its cultivation does not require you to have subtle agrotechnical knowledge, even a novice can successfully plant shrubs, take care of him. Well, finally, - felt cherry is very beautiful as a flowering tree or with stuck branches. Like a deciduous shrub, it is also good.

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Cherry felt - planting and care

The most acceptable time for planting seedlings is autumn or early spring, when the buds have not yet blossomed. If you plant bushes in autumn, then no later than September. For these purposes, usually take seedlings, which have already turned a year or two. A little earlier it was said that the place for planting should be sunny. Also it should be as much as possible protected from strong winds, drafts. Ensure that there is no stagnation of water in the site expected for planting, the presence of close-lying groundwater. This factor should also be considered during the melting of the snow in the spring. That is why a small hill is the most acceptable option for planting this crop.

Felted cherry has a very sensitive to excessive moisture root system. Therefore, this moment is one of the most important when planting, even on the elevation it should not be too deep, so as not to ban the root neck. It (the root neck) should be located above the soil level, because its deepening will subsequently lead to the death of the bush. On the requirements for soil, too, mentioned above, but if the nuance with the soil is of secondary importance, the absence of excessive moisture, the location of the root collar during planting is one of the prerequisites.

Landing conditions:

1. The width of the fovea should be not less than 60-70 cm, and the depth - no more than 50 cm. If you are trying to do everything according to the rules, then mix well the manure (3 buckets), phosphorus (50 d), lime (500-700 g), potassium (25-30 g) - the number of additives is calculated approximately for 1 square meter of the earth. Fill the landing pit with this soil mixture.
2. The roots of the seedlings should be carefully trimmed - approximately 20 cm, dipped in a pre-prepared clay solution (clay + water).
3. We put the seedling in the hole (do not forget about the root neck) and fall asleep with the same earth mixture, slightly compact, lavishly watered. In general, it is recommended to bury the bush no more than it grew earlier in the nursery - this is if you take the planting material from there.
4. The place around the bush can be covered, for example, with peat.

As mentioned above, for a positive result you need to plant at least three cherries in one area. Take care that they do not grow too close to each other, but not too far (optimally - 2-3 meters). Of course, it is very convenient to use the seedlings already grown. But also it is necessary to know that this culture multiplies by layers, cuttings, even seeding of bones. With proper care in a good place from one bush, you can expect from 7 to 10 kg of delicious sweet fruit.

As for the autumn planting - if September has already passed, and only a seedling has come to you, then the planting can be carried out next spring. Saplings should be placed in a suitable container, sprinkled with earth, carried to the basement. There they will safely hibernate, and in the spring you plant them, only first carry out a thorough revision of the roots, remove the damaged or withered fragments. Further "on-call" care consists in loosening the land, watering, removing weeds.

As for feeding, the bushes can be fertilized immediately after flowering, adding nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and organic additives to the soil of the near-barrel circle (at the rate of 40 g: 80 g: 30 g: 7 kg). Once in five to six years, liming is carried out.

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Felted cherry - reproduction

If you are interested in the whole process from scratch, then you can try the method of reproduction by planting pits. Collect the bones from the ripe fruits, wash, and dry them. By the end of the summer, take a container with wet vermiculite or clean river sand (also wet), place bones there, leave them until October. At the appointed time, form shallow beds (3-4 cm), lay the seed. With the advent of spring in this place you will see a young growth, which in the same year will already reach about 50 cm height. From young seedlings you will choose the best representatives, arrange them less often (at a distance, -3 m from each other), already as it is supposed to bushes. This method does not guarantee 100% preservation of the original varietal characteristics, but it opens wide horizons for selection experiments.

Reproduction by cuttings - this option will require special conditions, more time, unlike all other methods. Plus, in this way you can get varietal representatives of a particular species. This venture is carried out in July. The stalk is taken from a branch of the second or third order, it must be at least 15 cm in length, and for these purposes the last year's wood should be preserved on the branches themselves. On already separated cuttings should be at least 2 cm of this wood. Then the shank is kept in water for about 15-18 hours with the addition of a growth regulator (for example, "Heteroauxin"), and then vertically buried into the ground according to the "scheme" - 2 cm with bark and 1 cm of green part Cuttings! After planting, the beds should be covered with a film (create a "greenhouse"), regularly irrigate seedlings, protect from bright sunlight for the first 4 weeks. After a couple of weeks the cuttings will have subordinate roots, and after 4 weeks - hard-to-root.

Reproduction by layers is not difficult. In early spring, in an adult bush, a good one-year shoot should be looked after. Near the escape it is necessary to arrange a groove, with a depth of up to 8 cm, lay the shoot, pin it with a wire brace to the ground. Next, the shoot is covered with fertile soil, generously watered all summer. With the advent of autumn, on such a layer, there will already be formed the lobed roots, new shoots. It is divided into parts or left without division, as a result we get a new planting material.

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Pruning of felt cherry in spring

This is the fruit bush, which most of all need regular pruning. Pruning should be both forming the crown, and sanitary. If this is not done, the felt cherry will quickly turn into a thick bush, inside the crown of which can not penetrate air, insect pollinators, sunlight. But all sorts of different diseases, parasites, on the contrary, will feel excellent in such conditions. Yields will decrease, over time, shrubs may simply die.

Pruning cherry cherries is carried out in early spring - this is the best time for this procedure. It is important that the buds have not yet blossomed, the sap flow has not started, then all the forces of the plant will focus on flowering, ovary fruit.

Shrub is prone to pruning from the first year of life. Side branches that grow inside the crown, as well as withered, damaged or frozen during the winter are subject to removal. The old branches, which no longer bear fruit, must also be removed. Multiple branches, which, given the fastened fruit, will overload the tree too, should also be removed.

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On average, you should have approximately 12 powerful healthy, productive shoots. Taking into account the fact that the entire crop "concentrates" on those branches that turned a year old, the old shrubs (9-10 years old) undergo radical pruning. This method allows you to completely replace the old skeletal branches with new young ones.

Pruning can also be carried out in the autumn, but only in this case it is necessary to take into account the new growth of branches. If the weather is warm, then the shoots continue to grow actively, and then freeze with the onset of frost. Those branches that turned 1 year old, which reached 70 cm in length, should be shortened by about one third. With the advent of autumn, the so-called sanitary procedures are more relevant - harvesting foliage, removing branches damaged by pests (if there is such a thing). All the remote is to be burned, and the wounded places are covered with garden varnish.

Pruning in spring is also a thinning of the crown, a lightening of its center, for better penetration of air currents, rays of the sun.

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Felt cherry varieties

In general, all varieties of this culture in terms of maturation can be divided into three subgroups: early, middle, late. Berries of cherries of different varieties can have different colors. Of course, it is unrealistic to describe all sorts, but the most popular ones, often planted, I would like to mention.

Varieties:

• Natalie - a fairly common variety, loved by our gardeners. The bush is low (-2 m), with a luxuriant sprouting crown, blooms in large flowers (in the second half of May), gives the same large dark red berries (on average 4 g). From one bush it is possible to remove 8-9 kg of fruit with dense pulp. If you try to break the berry from the branch, it will be relatively easy to separate from the stalk. The time of harvest is about the 20th of July.
• The fairy tale is probably one of the lowest bushes, since its maximum height is 1- meter. Shrub has not too thickened crown, which greatly facilitates the process of pruning, collecting fruits. Flowering towards the end of May, you can collect berries at the end of July. The fruits themselves are not small, roughly, g, slightly elongated, very dark in color. The berries from the branch are slightly more difficult to take off than, for example, the variety of Natalie, because of the deep sitting stalk. From an adult bush, you can get about 10 kg of fruit.
• Salute - the bush can boast an oval spreading crown, which is about the same width as its height (, m). Blooms by the end of May, yields after 2 months. Oval berries are not dense to each other, by weight, medium-large (3, d), bright pink, closer to alom. Increased pubescence is distinguished by berries, foliage, bush shoots. The yield is high - about 10 kg of fruit can be harvested from an adult bush.
• Delight is a variety that is best suited for growing in the central strip of Russia. The shrub often grows to, m height, has a thick, spreading crown. The flowers are quite close to each other. Each fruit weighs approximately, g, has a bright scarlet color, a funny shape - a deepened bed for the stalk, a slightly sloping upper, a pronounced stitch-seam. The flesh of the berries is dense, slightly fibrous. The bush blooms in mid-May, the harvest can be collected by the end of July. From the bush, you can remove 8-9 kg of fruit.
• Ocean Virovskaya - shrub height, -2 meters, the branches of which are literally plastered with bright burgundy fruits (-3 g). This variety has a very short stalk (approximately, cm), the flowers bloom in the second half of May, the fruits ripen by the end of July. One adult bush can give 8-9 kg of berries, which are sweet enough, pleasant to taste, but practically do not have the usual cherry flavor.
• Alice - a low bush, about, m height with an oval shape of the crown. This variety is characterized by good resistance to cold, as well as to drought. Such diseases as coccomicosis, klyasterosporiosis do not touch it. Berries (weight approximately, g) have a dark-burgundy color, ripen by the end of July. From one bush it is possible to collect 8-9 kg of sweet juicy berries. The pedicel (, cm) allows more or less comfortable to remove fruits from the branches.
• Summer - this variety has morphological features of a felt and sand cherry. The first couple of years the bush grows inactive, has high resistance to puff disease, wintering grounds. The berries (weight 3-4 g) are light red, have an average resistance to transportation. Ripens by the 20th of July, after which the fruit can hold on for a long time on the branches (about a month). From the bush, you can collect 7-8 kg of fruit.
• Damanka - a shrub of this variety can reach 2 m height, the crown spreading, rounded. Berry weight approximately, -3 g. The variety is late maturing (late July / early August), the fruits have a rich dark maroon (almost black) color. The berries themselves are very sweet, according to their taste, are considered among the best among the other varieties of felt cherries. One adult bush gives approximately 8-10 kg of fruit. Winter-hardy appearance.
• Children - a relatively low grade m height, the crown is medium thickened. Berries on short stems are very tightly arranged (like a sea-buckthorn). The weight of the fruit is 2-4 g, juicy, sweet with light acidity. Very winter-hardy appearance, can withstand frost to -25 ..- 27ºС. Gives color to the beginning of May, and in July it is already possible to harvest. One adult can take up to 10 kg of fruit.

If you set the goal, correctly calculate the timing of flowering, fruiting of individual varieties, then you can plant different varieties. The difference between maturation dates is about 20-30 days, so if you like this berry, you can provide yourself with fresh fruit portions for quite some time. Plus, the fact that almost all the fruits after maturation for a long time keep on the branches.

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Felted cherry - diseases and pests

Sometimes it happens that the appearance of the bush indicates problems: withering, twisting foliage, falling or wrinkling the fruit just begun. Alas, this culture is also prone to disease, like all green inhabitants of our sites.

Very often, cherry-cherry diseases have similar symptoms. It is important to establish the correct diagnosis, as soon as possible apply the appropriate treatment. The "first aid kit" of each of us includes a Bordeaux mixture, a garden var, damp lime, copper vitriol. Also mandatory is the presence of fungicides, insecticides, because these drugs, formulations are most often used to treat plants, trees, shrubs.

Consider the most common diseases.

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Moniliasis or moniliasis burn

It is manifested by the appearance of small cracks on the bark of the bush, from which the gum is secreted. Foliage withers, turns yellow, branches gradually dry out, from the side it looks really as if the bush was burned by a strong heat. This process is responsible for the fungus Monilia, it spreads very quickly over the plant, it affects healthy shoots. If the time is not taken, the felt cherry will die. First you need to delete all the affected fragments (and burn them).

But it is better not to wait for the first signs of illness. The best control measures are prevention. For prevention, before the beginning of flowering, the whole shrub is treated with one of the means - Horus, Fundazol, Topaz, Topsin. They are diluted with water (10-15 g + 10 liters of water), if there are rains, then the irrigation procedure should be repeated after the end of the flowering phase.

If the shrubbery was saved, then in the fall, next spring (before bud blossoming), similar treatments will need to be repeated. For these subsequent irrigations, a Bordeaux mixture or copper sulfate (3% solutions) can also be used.

Moniliosis, photo:

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Klyasterosporiosis or perforated mottling

The cause of this disease is the fungus Clasterosporium carpophilum, which is activated at high humidity, dampness. This fungus is so tenacious that it tolerates the winter calmly, it is actively accepted for dealing with the arrival of spring. Initially, the leaves appear dark spots, which then turn into holes. The dark fringing of the edges of the hole signals us that it is precisely the lobsterospory, and not some other disease. Wind, insects carry fungal spores from infected plants to healthy ones.

The bark of the bush also suffers - cracks appear that dribble with the gum, as a result the disease covers the bush, growth slows down, leaves are discarded, shoots dry out. Prophylactic measures can be considered the timely thinning of the crown, the introduction of fertilizers, giving vitality to the bush, cleaning the leaves, all sorts of extra-growth.

With the advent of spring, it is recommended to carry out triple treatment of bushes: irrigation with a Bordeaux mixture, until the buds are blooming, irrigation with Kuproksat with slightly opened buds, repeated spraying with Kuproksat 2 weeks after the first processing. If the bush is already sick, then a radical cutting of all the affected fragments is made.

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Cockcomicosis

The causative agent of this disease is the fungus-parasite living in the foliage. In the diseased shrub, the leaves turn yellow at first, then dark dots appear on them, as a result, the plant dumps the leaves completely. Spring treatment with fungicides helps to fight this scourge, although most varieties of felt cherries are very resistant to this disease. In time carried out pruning, treatment with "Fundazol" is a kind of shield from the coccomicosis.

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Puff disease

And again the fungus, this Taphrina, is very noticeable - after the flowering phase there are fruits without pits, wrinkled, flat (in appearance as a blown air ball). Inside the fruit are disease-causing spores, where they ripen. Once you notice this, you should immediately remove all infected shoots with fruits, burn them. The plant itself must be treated with fungicides. Prophylactic spring treatments with preparations "Fundazol "Fitosporin-M "Abiga Peak "Albit "Skor" will help you. They also process the plant after removal of diseased fragments.

Puff disease, photo:

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Pests

As for the pests, the scabbard, aphid, plum moth, and lamella also do not ignore felt cherry.

From the aphids helps sol-soap solution (1 piece of laundry soap + a glass of ash + 10 liters of water), and if this is a particularly neglected case - drugs "Commander "Spark "Avant "Agravertin "Admiral" (insecticides).

From the leaflet, spring preventive irrigation is helped with the use of the Prophylactin (half a liter of preparation + 1 bucket of water). If the matter has already taken a serious turn, then pyrethroid drugs such as Accord, Alfahans, Fatrin, Alfacin will help you. The treatment should be carried out on a cool day (not higher than + 23 ° C), as with heat, these drugs become ineffective.

From the plum moth helps set traps with sweet sticky contents (berry compote + glue or a thick sugar syrup), butterflies flock together and perish, perished in a sticky mass. Such traps should be regularly cleaned, add fresh bait mixture.

With regard to chemical procedures, immediately after the flowering phase, the shrub should be treated with "Decis" or "Alatar" - this will destroy the first fuseliers. The second time, at the end of July, the plant is again processed by "Carbophos" - this is the method of combating the second invasion of the pest.

With the shield, the struggle is quite difficult, if only because insects are protected by a strong chitinous shell. To get rid of the pest, mechanical scraping of harmful "shields" is applied + subsequent processing of the plant with the drug "Actellik". If the problem has taken a serious scale, then absolutely all the affected parts of the bush are cut out, burned. The cherry itself is treated with "Drug 30-D" (insectoctacaricide). The same preparation is recommended to conduct spring preventive spraying (500 g + 10 l of water).

Shield on a felt cherry, photo:

As for the hot fans of Chinese cherry-mice, a metal grid with small cells is often used against them, which is several times wrapped around the trunk of a bush. Thus, the rodents will not reach the bark, they will not be able to eat it. Do this in autumn, as the mice can even wade to the cherry even in winter (under snow).

Summarizing, we can say that an integrated approach to prevention, protection will help to keep your plantings from pests and diseases. Do not forget about the rules of planting (root neck), about regular spring or autumn pruning. About spring preventive spraying, appropriate care during the entire season (and also after it) should also be remembered. With the advent of autumn, you must dig in the trunks. If you follow these simple truths, the felt cherry, growing and caring for it, as well as collecting a generous harvest will give you only positive emotions.

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