Embroidery Hanger Clichessince 1870, when this beautiful plant was first brought from China to the British Isles, and then to the New World. Culture immediately interested gardeners versatility, rapid growth and the fact that planting, growing, pruning and care for felt cherries were easy and not burdensome. The natural range of fruit crops covers many areas of China, including Tibet, as well as Mongolia, the Korean Peninsula and part of the provinces of India. Therefore, an unusual cherry, which according to the modern classification is still classified as a plum, is called a dwarf or mountainous Chinese, Korean, Manchurian, Shanghai or Nanking.
Description and characteristics of the cultivation of felt cherries
Felt cherries are named for the pile, especially thickly covering the back side of the foliage, and in the form of individual hairs found on its front surface, on young shoots, petioles, and even on berries.
Fruit shrubs with brown-copper, sometimes darker, almost black bark in height does not exceed 1-3 meters. The branches are covered with oval, with a pointed tip, toothed green leaves with a length of 2 to 7 m, depending on the variety and age of the plant. They are very corrugated and sit on short, barely noticeable petioles. In the spring, felt cherries are covered with a cloud of white or pink flowers that unfold even before the mass appearance of foliage.
The resulting fruits resemble traditional cherries, but a bit smaller.
Today's interest in culture is quite understandable:
- Fruiting cherry felling in the first half of summer, when the ovaries are only formed on the other stone fruit cultures.
- The fruits of this Asian culture, because of the lower acid content, are sweeter than the berries of common varieties of ordinary cherries and are successfully used fresh as a raw material for jam, juice and homemade wine, added to pickles and pickles.
- Planting felt cherries with appropriate care and pruning becomes an excellent hedge.
- Plants easily adapt to the conditions of the middle band, they are drought-resistant, cold-resistant.
Therefore, growing and caring for felt cherries does not require much time and knowledge, even for beginner gardeners.
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Planting and care for felt cherries
Felt cherries are not demanding on the composition and fertility of the soil, but it feels better on light, good moisture and air soils with a neutral reaction. If it is planned to plant this crop on the site, it is necessary to pick up a sunny, protected from the wind place, where the close ground waters or stagnation of rain and thawed moisture will not threaten the root system of the plant. It is especially important that the planting ground of felt cherries is not at risk in the spring during a massive melting of snow.
Felt cherry is considered to be self-productive, therefore several plants of different varieties are planted on the site.
With good care and pollination, an adult shrub or miniature tree of this crop can produce up to 8–12 kg of sweet berries, all covered with branches. The best yields are observed on plants planted at some distance from each other. Overcrowding interferes with the work of pollinating insects, leading to excessive density and risk of developing diseases.
Felt cherries are planted in the fall, choosing the time so that the plants have time to acclimatize. If felted cherry seedlings are purchased too late, they can winter and wait for spring in a cool basement. In this case, it is better to mix the roots in a container and sprinkle with soil. In the spring, saplings of felt cherries are transferred to the ground until the buds swell. Before planting, the root system carefully inspect, remove dry or damaged parts.
Annual or biennial plants are planted at a distance of 1.5–3 meters from each other. Planting pits with a depth of at least 50 and a width of 60 cm equip in advance. If necessary, the soil is deoxidized, mineral and organic fertilizers are applied to the soil. Per cubic meter of soil mixture should be:
- 25-30 grams of potash fertilizers;
- 55–60 grams of phosphorus;
- from 6 to 10 kg of humus or well-rotted manure.
It is important not to deepen the root collar, otherwise the sensitive area that is sensitive to excess moisture will inevitably rot, the shrub grows poorly, or it may completely die.
When the landing pits are filled up, the soil should be carefully compacted, the bushes should be watered, and then the surface of the soil under them should be covered with mulch.
Cultivating felted cherries when growing on the backyard
Fruit bushes, especially in the first years of their life, need attention and proper care. Therefore, the soil under the saplings of felt cherries is necessary:
- in a timely manner free from weeds, pulling on nutrients and moisture;
- to loosen, providing soil aeration and access to the root system of water and air;
- moisturize, especially during the active growing season.
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With good care, soon after planting, the felted cherry begins to bear fruit, increasing the long-awaited yields every year:
- The grafted cuttings form the ovary next year
- Seedlings are covered with flowers for the fourth year of life.
The skin of the berries is rather thin, and although the ripe fruits can stay on the branches for a long time, you should not abuse them. After some time, the berries quickly wither, and in wet weather they can rot.
At home, felt cherry is used for making jam and jams, juice and jelly, wine and liqueurs. The berry, rich in vitamins and other beneficial substances, has a wonderful dessert taste and is loved by adults and children.
When growing felt cherries, care for it includes plant protection from pests and diseases of fruit crops. It requires caution, because more gentle than those of related crops, foliage and young shoots are easy to burn. The berries on the branches ripen almost simultaneously, therefore, when they are mass-produced, the plants spend a lot of energy and need regular feeding. It is carried out by analogy with ordinary cherry fertilizer.
Another mandatory measure of care when growing felt cherries, in the photo, pruning quickly growing and prone to excessive density of the crown of bushes or small trees.
Pruning felt cherries
Felt cherries more than the rest of fruit crops need regular crown formation and sanitary pruning. Otherwise, the expanding side shoots block access to the crown of air, light and insects that produce pollination. But in such conditions pests, pathogenic flexible, lichens, feel great. Productivity falls, and the shrub may eventually die.
Pruning felt cherries, as in the photo, is best done in early spring, when the plants have not yet awakened buds and the movement of juices has not started. In this case, all the forces of the plant are directed to its growth, active flowering and the formation of large healthy berries.
The formation of a bush begins from the first year of life, which allows obtaining a balanced, strong crown in 2-3 years, ready to produce significant yields.
The procedure involves cutting:
- side branches, directed deep into the crown;
- weak, frozen or dried out shoots during wintering;
- of old branches that are no longer involved in fruiting and do not have a one-year increase;
- excessive number of branches, the fruiting of which the cherry will be difficult.
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The pruning of an adult shrub of felt cherries is carried out in such a way as to leave no more than 12 strong shoots. Since the main crop is on one-year-old branches, in order to rejuvenate plants older than 8–10 years old, they are subjected to stronger pruning, gradually cutting and replacing old skeletal branches with new shoots.
If the harvesting of felt cherries was not done in the spring, it is carried out in the fall. At the same time pay attention to the new growth. Warm autumn provokes enhanced growth of new shoots that are not ready for winter and freeze. Therefore, one-year-old branches with a length of more than 60 cm should be cut by a third. In addition, the fall is necessary sanitization of fruit bushes. From under the crown remove fallen leaves, remove dried and damaged pests shoots. Plant residues and cut branches are burned, large sections more than 2 cm in diameter are treated with garden pitch.
Reproduction of felt cherries
New plants of felt cherries in the backyard can be obtained in several ways. The easiest and fastest to get seedlings from rooted green cuttings. The only drawback is the risk of root decay of such plants after wintering.
Lignified branches form roots much worse, and viable saplings of felt cherries can be obtained from them only in a greenhouse with constantly high humidity.
Culture is also propagated by layering, rooting a young shoots inclined to the soil, and enthusiasts can start growing and caring for felt cherries obtained from seeds. In this case, the original varietal characteristics are not always possible to be preserved, but the method opens up wide possibilities for experiments with selection. Felt cherries can be crossed with cherry plum, apricot and some varieties of plums. However, cherry seedlings can be grafted onto the seedlings with a cutting or peephole.
Felt cherry in the garden - video
