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Cherry Besseya refers to the subspecies dwarf sand cherry, which grows in South and North America. Sand cherry is not suitable for eating because of the unpleasant taste of berries, which are also very small. At home, most often it is used as feed in a farm or as an ornamental shrub in a flower bed. However, thanks to the scientist Ch. E. Bessie, this variety was improved, and as a result, Bessey's cherry appeared, which is named after him. Tastes have undergone positive changes, and the variety has become widely known.
Cherry Bessey - description of the variety
Cherry Bessey is a small shrub, the limiting size of an adult cherry rarely exceeds 1.5 meters. Young branches of red-brown color are located horizontally in relation to the ground. Upon reaching the age of 7, they acquire a dark gray tint, go into a horizontal position and creep.
Bessei’s reputation as an ornamental shrub is well deserved, because during flowering the bush is completely covered with small white flowers with red stamens. And in the presence of flowers of both sexes - both male and female.
The leaves of this variety are more like willow leaves than cherry leaves - the shape of the leaf is elongated, flattened-oval, the green color slightly gives off silver. By the fall, they blush, which draws attention to the bush even more. Besseu belongs to partially self-fertile varieties, but to increase the amount of the crop, she still needs additional pollination. It is better if it is a neighbor with a different form.
The variety itself does not yet have a good enough subspecies, but work in this direction is underway. So, today we managed to derive an experimental subspecies with darkish and yellow berries and capable of producing up to 10 kg of berries from one bush.
Cherry Bessey is fairly high-yielding, begins to bear fruit every year from the second year of life. Yield decline occurs after 14 years. The berries may have a slightly round or elongated shape, large( 2.5 g), saturated with almost dark brown color. But there are varieties with yellow or green fruits. There is no characteristic sour cherry in taste, the berry is rather tart-sweet, a bit like a bird cherry or mountain ash. 
Bessey’s flowering period begins two weeks after the flowering of the common cherry( usually the end of May) and lasts 3 weeks.
Cherry fully ripen by mid-August, but do not crumble themselves. Berries left on a branch, under the action of sunlight, lose their tart taste and dry. But this is more the advantage of the variety, because the taste of such cherries only improves.
Planting seedlings
Planting and caring for Bessey's cherry is akin to a simple cherry. The most optimal period for planting seedlings is spring. Seedlings that have a closed root system for sale( in a container) can be planted in early autumn with .
When buying a sapling in late autumn, it is better to prikopat it until spring.
Planting cherries better on a sunny stretch of land. When planting a garden between seedlings leave a distance of not less than 2 meters. Although Bessei is not demanding on the soil, it has been observed that it develops better in sandy soil. On heavy soil, pebbles or crushed stones should be used for drainage, and sour should be used for limestone dolomite flour. Sand is introduced into the clay soil for its loosening.
Fertilizers should be applied to the prepared landing pit:
- superphosphate;
- ash;
- compost.
In order to avoid rotting of the root system from stagnation of moisture in the pit, make a mound and put a seedling on it and cover it with soil. After pouring warm water. Although, of course, it would be better to prepare the planting hole in advance - so the soil will have enough time to settle.
A hybrid of the Bessey cherry and plum variety
Bessey's cherry is good to use as a stock for plums. As a result of crossing, a rather fruitful variety with a height of about 2 meters is obtained. Fruiting begins in the second year, the yield increases annually. The fruits of the hybrid taste like plum, but not so large( up to 25 g).
When planting hybrid seedlings, the distance should be increased to 2.5-3 meters, and several varieties should be planted at the same time, since hybrids need pollinators. You can use for these purposes and the very cherry Besse. The hybrid of cherry and plum is propagated by horizontal layers from the lower branches. In the case of planting through a seedling, the seedling will have signs of only one of the varieties used( either cherry or plum).
Breeders are also working on creating a hybrid variety with apricots and cherry plum.
Besseya's cherry care features
Besseya's cherry is unpretentious in care, has increased frost resistance and vitality, is not afraid of drought, and is resistant to diseases.
In order for the bush not to be too thick, in spring it must be cleared and the unwanted shoots cut out. It is also recommended to cut branches older than 7 years, because with age they almost fall to the ground and give a poor harvest. Place cutoff do not forget to handle garden pitch.
Do not despair, and if the bush is very dry. In this case, cut off the dead branches to a stump, and soon new shoots will appear together.
To activate growth, if necessary, fertilize cherries with nitrogen fertilizers, but healthy bushes do not need it. It is better to use potash supplements for them. Cherries also need complex fertilization by leaf spraying, which is carried out at least three times per season.
A special feature of the Bessey variety is the complete absence of basal shoots inherent in simple cherries, which makes it much easier to care for.
In the event that the cherry branches fall on the ground under the weight of the crop, a support should be made around the bush.
In the winter, branches should be bent and covered. With a large amount of precipitation, the snow around the bush is carefully cleaned, but it is impossible to completely strip the branches, otherwise they will die.
Bessei's cherry is propagated in horizontal layers. For this, the lower branches are bent to the ground and fixed for their further rooting. After forming their own root system at the elbows, they can be dug out and transplanted as separate seedlings.
