Correct planting and care for the colon cherry

Giving priority in the gardens of apple, cherry, plum and pear, cherry does not lag behind in the selection of new varieties. A special place is occupied by colonial trees.

They allow you to get a good harvest in the cramped conditions of a small garden. On an industrial scale, the columnar cherries show high results in intensive farming conditions.

Characteristics and features of the column cherry

Colon cherry is a tree in the form of a cylinder, which grows only upwards. The crown is formed by short side branches and does not exceed one meter in diameter. The peculiarity of lateral branches in a large number of fruiting processes and the absence of strong branching.

Advantages and disadvantages of Colon cherry

Colon cherry gives a lot of advantages in growing on the site, namely:

1. Decorativity.Trees will preserve the integrity of any landscape direction in the design of the site. Being a novelty in breeding, the varieties do not leave indifferent among the garden enthusiasts.
2. Compactness. Cherries, thanks to the small diameter of the crown allow you to use less space under the fruit trees. They are easy to process, cut and harvest.
3. Fertility and taste.Varieties were removed with preservation of the basic taste characteristics of classical cherries. Technical ripeness in different varieties comes from the beginning to the end of June and allows you to enjoy vitamins in early summer.

Planting a Colon cherry

Saplings are available for sale in garden centers, in nurseries, through online stores. The choice is better to stop on the seller with a good reputation, which ensures that the tree meets the varietal characteristics. A personal inspection will avoid disappointment. A good seedling has such characteristics:

1. The bud of the apical shoot is alive, with no signs of damage.
2. The trunk is flat, without curvature. The bark is smooth.
3. On the roots there is no rot and dead tissue. The roots are alive.
4. Leaves (if any) without damage and pests.

Buying a few cherries, choose for the garden plants of the same age.

The landing itself depends on the region.In the northern areas, the autumn planting is not recommended: the seedlings will not have time to take root and become frozen. In the southern regions and the middle belt of Russia, you can plant in autumn and spring. Autumn planting is productive in the south: the tree takes roots, goes through a period of adaptation and in the spring no longer suffers.

When choosing a place, note that the Colon cherry:

• afraid of the wind;
• loves light, loose and nutritious soil;
• prefers the southern slopes with a deep bed of groundwater.

Landing:

1. Two or three weeks before the purchase of seedlings, prepare a landing pit in a permanent place. The diameter is 80 cm. The depth is 70 cm. For several trees, row spacing is 3 m. The distance between the seedlings of the columnar cherry in the row is 1 m.
2. Prepare and pour a nutritious soil mixture into the planting pit. This will require humus and chernozem, respectively 1 and 3 buckets mixed with potash (16 g.) And phosphorus (12 g.) Fertilizers.
3. The roots of the seedlings are moistened and spread on a slide from the nutrient mixture. They put a prop alongside. From above, not reaching 2 cm to the root neck, fall asleep with earth. Slightly tamped.

Care and trimming

The package of care includes irrigation, fertilizing and pruning.

Colon cherry abundantly fructifies, so in the dry summer and the first two years after planting, it needs regular watering. In the first year, it is necessary to remove all ovaries to increase survival rates.

In the spring, the trees are fertilized with nitrogen-containing top dressing, if possible of organic origin. In autumn, potassium-phosphorus complexes are laid. The consumption should not exceed the recommendations of a specific manufacturer.

Agrotechnics involves the absence of weeds and complete harvesting of plant residues in the fall.

Pruning of the columnar cherries has its own nuances:

1. Classical schemes.Instead of increasing the number of shoots, it leads to their intensive growth. Summer bending is unproductive, since it reduces winter hardiness of plants. To pinch the side shoots is also pointless. This does not ensure their transformation into fertile branches.
2. Hedge.Productive only in the first few years of cultivation. Then there is a deterioration in taste and a decrease in yield due to thickening of the crown.
3. Cup-shaped form.Permanent pruning of the upper branches and shaping the crown by lateral shoots. The genetic tallness of the cherry makes such manipulations meaningless and labor-intensive.

Simplify the task of molding a columned cherry can scheme:

1 st year. Prischipka side shoots at a distance of 10 cm from the main trunk. Removal of the tip.

2 nd year. The top is pricked when it grows to 30 centimeters. Lateral shoots - at a level of 20 cm from the trunk.

3rd year. Upper shoot pricked. Side branches are cut at a distance of 30 cm from the main trunk.

4th year. Slice thin, shadowing trunk, twigs.

5-th year and the subsequent. Stop the growth of the tree up: constantly pruning the tip at a level of -3 meters, depending on the variety.

The 6th and every three years after it cut off the side shoots along the diameter of the molded crown.

How does the sweet cherry grow?

At home, the colonial cherry varieties multiply by:

1. Inoculation.As a rootstock, choose biennial cherry seedlings. Privovo must be left to grow with several branches of the stock.
2. Bones.The probability of maintaining varietal characteristics is only 50%. Bones are sown in pots in a loose, nutritious mixture with sand (:). Sprouts are left in a warm place until May. Then they are planted in the open ground. On a permanent place, the sweet cherry can be transplanted in a year, when the plant will grow stronger.
3. Cuttings.The cut branches are treated with stimulants of root formation and are rooted in loose ground.

Popular varieties of Colon cherry

Superiority among the colonial cherries belongs to the varieties Helena and Sylvia. A little behind Sem, Little Sylvia, Queen Mary and Black. As one of the last generations in breeding, the columnar cherries have an average winter hardiness and high rate of fertility. The yields of one tree are 12-15 kg.

Helena

Ruby-red fruits of the column-shaped cherry Helena on the average weigh 12-14 g. The variety is characterized as dessert. Juicy, semi-bodily flesh is colored in a dark red color with pink veins.

Silvia

To taste, weight and appearance, the fruits of the colonial cherry Sylvia do not differ from the variety of Helena. Dimensional features are similar. However, maturation dates are June 12-18. The tree preserves yields of 12-15 years.

Sem

The earliest of the varieties is Sem. Fruits, outwardly and taste similar to cherries Sylvia and Helena, ripen on June 10-12, but have smaller sizes: 10-12 g. Trees do not differ in size. Fruit about 15 years. With respect to agricultural technology - more.

Little Silvia

Reduced version of the Sylvia variety: the height of the trees does not exceed 2 m. The crown does not grow beyond half a meter in diameter. The maturity period is the end of June. The fruits in all respects correspond to the Helen variety.

Other varieties

Among gardeners, the Quinn Mary variety and the Black Colon cherry are gaining popularity. Trees do not exceed 2 m in height and 50 cm in width.

The cherry in the column form in the selection process acquired good self-pollination. Harvest can be increased by planting a number of trees of several varieties. A universal pollinator is Sem.

Exposure to diseases and pests

The average winter hardiness of the columnar cherry will allow obtaining the maximum result in the southern regions of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. The middle belt and the northern regions will require warming before the cold.

Selection has made it possible to obtain resistant to disease varieties, but the columnar cherry is still susceptible:

• brown and perforated spots;
• scab;
• sulfur yellow and false tinder;
• fungal and viral infections.

Like any fruit tree, the columnar cherry is vulnerable to pests:

• caterpillars;
• weevils;
• Fruit flies;
• aphids.

Colon cherry is an excellent option for saving space and an unusual arrangement of the garden plot. In addition to juicy dessert fruits in early summer, you with proper care will receive a decorative tree in shape.