Felt cherry is a fruit shrub that deserves the close attention of gardeners and breeders. This tree is of East Asian origin, and only in the middle of the 20th century was it recognized as a cultivated plant by gardeners in Europe and America. The popularity of felt cherry among gardeners is easily explained - the extraordinary taste of the fruit and the high decorative effect of the bush.
Characteristic
The natural habitat of the felted cherry is the mountain slopes of China, Korea and Mongolia. There is historical evidence that representatives of this species were previously found on the southern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. But they did not find recognition among gardeners and were not introduced into the culture. Presumably due to the poor quality of the fruit.
Felt cherry gained fame in Russia after it was described by IV Michurin. After experimental planting and evaluation of characteristics, he noted the importance of this cherry species for cultivation in fruit horticulture.
Felt cherry is a shrub with several trunks reaching a height of 1.5 to 2 m and a spreading crown. It is very rare to find tall plants up to 3 m or more. Perennial shoots - brown light, dense and thick. Annual shoots are greenish-brown light with three lateral fruit buds collected. Fruit formations are active for 3-4 years.
A characteristic feature of the shrub is the pubescence of trunks, leaves and fruits. This is the protective function of the plant against external factors. Hair (trichomes) reflect the sun's rays, preventing overheating of the shrub. Additionally, this makes the fruit resistant to transportation and storage. The soft light hairs collectively resemble felt, which explains the species name - felt cherry.
Small oval leaves with a corrugated surface. In summer they are colored in dark green light, in autumn they acquire an orange tint. Blossom simultaneously with flowers.
The flowers are pale pink, gradually becoming white. The flowering phase begins at the end of May and lasts 10 to 15 days. During this period, the decorative effect of the shrub reaches its maximum. The flowers, located on a very short stalk, tightly stick to the stems, and the shrub takes the form of a large blooming ball. Flowers tolerate temperatures as low as -3 ° C.
The fruits of the shrub are polymorphic - they differ greatly in different varieties and seedlings within a species. The average weight of one berry ranges from 1 g to 4.5 g. The color of the fruits is from pink to dark cherry, less often you can find shrubs with white berries. The pulp is juicy and tastes from sweet to sweet-sour. Inside there is an inseparable small bone.
The fruiting phase of different varieties is different, from mid-June to mid-August. On average, it lasts up to 10 days. Fruit stability on the branches is high. Depending on the variety, from one bush, you can collect from 5.5 kg to 14 kg of berries.
The frost resistance of felt cherry is high - the shrub can withstand temperatures as low as -40 ° C. Average winter hardiness, the weak point of the shrub is the root collar podoprevanie. Cherry has a short lifespan, from 8 to 10 years.
Description of varieties of felt cherry
For better pollination and a stable annual yield, several varieties of this species must be planted on the site. An interesting option: by combining varieties with different ripening periods, you can harvest a fresh crop within 40-45 days.
Popular varieties:
- Princess. Compact (1.2-1.5 m) and high-yielding shrub. The fruits ripen in the third decade of July. One bush can collect 10 kg of berries. Fruit weight 3-4 g, sweet taste with slight acidity. The fruits ripen after July 20. Advantages: no root growth, resistance to coccomycosis. Disadvantages: self-infertility and instability to moniliosis.
- Salute. Shrub, reaching a height of 1.6 m. Fruits in early July, berries from 2 to 4 g, sweet taste. Productivity 11 kg per bush. A characteristic feature of the berries is the transverse seam on the surface. Advantages: self-fertility and high decorativeness. Disadvantages: susceptibility to moniliosis.
- Fairy tale. Low shrub up to 1.3 m. Full ripening of fruits at the end of July. Berries from 3 to 3.5 g, yield up to 10 kg. The taste of berries is sweet and sour. Advantages: winter hardiness, semi-dry separation of fruits. Disadvantages: self-fertility, low resistance to moniliosis, crushing of fruits with a large harvest.
- Natalie. A vigorous shrub, reaching a height of up to 2 m. Fruits ripen from 10 to 15 July. The average weight of berries is 5 g, the pulp is dense, the taste is sweet and sour. The yield of an adult shrub is 6-7 kg. Life expectancy is 18 years. Advantages: the durability of the shrub relative to other varieties of this species. Disadvantages: crushing fruits with a high yield, sensitivity to high humidity.
- Damanka... Vigorous shrub up to 3.2 m in height. The fruits are shiny, almost black in color, weighing about 3 g. Average yield 8 kg per bush. The berries are fully ripe at the end of July at the beginning of August. Advantages: palatability of fruits, which are considered the best among the varieties of this species, relative resistance to moniliosis. Disadvantages: self-infertility, sensitivity to drought.
Growing
Despite the species, the felt cherry is genetically very different from the common cherry and the steppe cherry, by all indications it is much closer to other crops: plum, apricot and peach.
This feature must be taken into account during the cultivation of shrubs of this species.
Selection and preparation of a site for planting
Felt cherry loves intense and diffused light. In thickened plantings or in shaded areas, the shoots are stretched, and fruiting decreases.
When choosing a planting site, it is important to take into account the main disadvantage of felt cherries - supporting the root collar.
This damage often occurs in winter, when a dense cover of snow falls on the unfrozen soil. If the root collar is damaged, the development of root suckers stops, which leads to the death of the shrub.
Therefore, you need to choose a site on a hill where the snow cover is a thin layer. To minimize the risk of podoprevaniya in the fall, you need to shake the soil around the root collar to a depth of 7-10 cm and pour coarse sand into the hole.
The shrub develops well in loamy and sandy loam soils with a light texture and high aeration with a groundwater depth of no more than 3 m. The main roots of felt cherry are located at a depth of 35 cm, therefore this soil layer must be structured and rich in nutrients.
The selected area is dug up and at the same time fertilizers are applied for each 1m2:
- manure or compost 15 kg;
- potassium chloride 120 g;
- superphosphate 250g.
After that, a planting pit is formed with sheer walls 50 cm wide and 45 cm deep. The upper part of the soil is set aside for future filling of the pit. The plot and the planting pit for spring planting are prepared in the fall, for the autumn during the summer.
How to plant and care for a tree seedling in the Moscow region?
Felt cherries can be planted in spring and fall. Given the average winter hardiness of the shrub, experienced gardeners recommend doing this in the spring, when a stable temperature of + 15 ° C is established. In this case, the plant will maximally strengthen the root system and surface integuments. This gives more guarantees of survival than when planting in the fall.
For planting, choose a seedling up to two years old. High-quality planting material - a seedling up to 1 m in height, with a healthy root of at least 25 cm in length and with a mass of overgrown roots.
To fill the planting pit you will need:
- manure or compost 3 buckets;
- superphosphate 40 g;
- potassium chloride 20 g;
These components are mixed with the deposited soil. If the acidity level of the soil is high, add 300 g of lime to them. A good option is a drainage layer at the bottom of the pit made of crushed limestone, which will regulate the acidity of the substrate and ensure that water flows out of the pit. At the bottom of the pit, you need to stick a stake (1.5 m) to tie the seedling. The recommended scheme for planting shrubs is 2x1m.
In the center of the hole, you need to form a mound and spread the cherry roots over its surface. It is important that the root collar remains above the ground level by about 5 cm. This will prevent it from deepening after soil shrinkage. The roots of the seedling are covered with soil mixture and the surface is compacted.
The seedling needs to be watered with 2-3 buckets of warm water and, after the soil subsides, fill the voids with soil. After that, the near-stem circle is mulched with peat or sawdust.
The aerial part of one-year-old seedlings is shortened by 30 cm after planting. In two-year-old seedlings, up to 6 strong branches are left, shortening them by 1/4.
Seedling care
When caring for felt cherries, it is important to remember about the weak sides of the shrub: thickening of the crown, susceptibility to fungal diseases and supporting the root system. The rest of the cherry is unpretentious and does not require special work of the gardener.
Basic rules of care:
- Watering. Irrigation is done only in very dry weather, constantly controlling the level of humidity.
- Liming. Cherries are sensitive to soil acidity. With a strong deviation from the average alkaline reaction in the shrub, metabolism is disturbed. This immediately affects fruiting, therefore liming of the soil is carried out every 5 years.
- Disease prevention. Mandatory treatment with fungicides in autumn and spring. This procedure is carried out in September and before bud break in the spring. For this, the tree is sprayed with Bordeaux liquid.
- Top dressing. In the first two years, the seedling does not need to be fed. Adult shrubs are fed twice a season. In the autumn after harvesting in the trunk circle per 1 m2 bring in: superphosphate (15 g), potassium chloride (20 g), in the spring before bud break - ammonium nitrate (20 g).
- Preparing for the winter. Young seedlings are bent to the ground and covered with spruce branches or straw. The trunk circle is mulched with peat (30 cm).
- Pests. The shrub is rarely affected by pests. Danger to cherries is only a massive defeat of the site by aphids and scale insects. In this case, chemical insecticides are used.
An important procedure in growing shrubs is pruning. It must be carried out annually in order to thin out the crown.
Pruning
Shrubs of all cherry varieties of this species are prone to crown thickening. This significantly reduces their productivity, so it is imperative to form a crown and maintain an optimal degree of density in the following years.
The formation of the crown of the bush is carried out in the third year after planting. To do this, you need to choose a sunny day in mid-March, prepare a sharp pruner and garden var.
Pruning is carried out before the onset of sap flow, which is activated at the beginning of the kidney awakening phase. If these deadlines are missed, it is better to wait until autumn, when the tree goes into a state of relative dormancy. Otherwise, the bush will waste energy on the recovery of injuries, and slow down the development processes. Often, the cherry is sick.
Pruning steps:
- select 10-12 of the strongest branches;
- diseased, damaged and dry branches are completely removed;
- growths over 50 cm are shortened by 1/4.
In subsequent years, you must always adhere to these parameters, controlling the growth of increments. The task of the annual pruning is the maximum access of light to the crown.
As the bush ages, rejuvenating pruning is performed. Several side shoots are removed during this procedure. As a result, annual shoots will appear near the cut. After that, it is necessary to cut off all the old shoots located above them. A similar pruning is carried out to enhance growth and restore frozen bushes.
Sections are made only over developed kidneys at a slight slope. Thus, water will not accumulate on the cut surface. When removing whole branches, a cut is made along the surface of the annular bead, violation of this rule leads to excessive formation of tops. Large wounds must be covered with a thin layer of garden varnish.
Reproduction
Felt cherry is propagated by seeds, cuttings and layering. Each method has its own characteristics, based on which it is necessary to choose the most acceptable option. Seed propagation
When choosing planting material, it is important to pay attention to the condition of the bush. The best seed qualities are possessed by seeds of fully ripe fruits, compact bushes without drooping painful branches with shiny healthy bark.
The seeds are separated from the pulp, washed with water and dried on a dry surface in a shaded room. After that, they are placed in layers of wet sand and removed to a cool room.
Bones are sown before winter. For this, a ridge of air-permeable and well-cultivated soil is prepared in advance. The seeds are sown in the ground 15 days before frost.
Planting stages:
- a furrow with a depth of 2 cm and a row spacing of 30 cm is formed on the surface of the ridge;
- the bones are planted together with sand at a distance of 50 cm from each other;
- the crop surface is mulched with sawdust or peat;
- after the appearance of the fourth leaf, the plants are thinned out, leaving only strong shoots;
- when the seedlings grow to 30 cm, pinch 1/3 of the main root;
- until the end of the growing season, three fertilizing with nitrogenous fertilizers is carried out;
- watering only in dry weather, twice a week.
The seedling is transplanted to a permanent place after two years. Shrubs planted in this way begin to bear fruit after 4 years.
The peculiarity of the felt cherry is the maximum preservation of the characteristics of the mother plant when propagated by seeds. This property is quite rare and in many cultures it is manifested only during vegetative reproduction.
Propagation by cuttings in autumn and spring
The main vegetative way of propagation of felt cherries is by green cuttings. Planting material is harvested in the first decade of June from young growths, when they reach 15-20 cm.
Breeding method stages:
- a stalk with 3-4 buds is cut from the growth;
- the lower cut is made under the kidney, observing the slope angle of 45 °, the upper one above the kidney - horizontally;
- cuttings are placed for 12 hours in a growth stimulator - a solution of heteroauxin (30 ml) and water (1 l);
- in the greenhouse, calcined sand (4-5 cm) is poured onto a layer of rich soil;
- cuttings are planted in the substrate at a distance of 15 cm at an angle of 60 °, leaving two buds on the surface.
The cuttings will take root in 25-30 days. During this period, the greenhouse needs to maintain high humidity and regularly moisten the substrate. Before planting in a permanent place, the shrub is grown for one year in a greenhouse or on a ridge. With this method of reproduction, the shrub begins to bear fruit after three years.
Growing felt cherries is of interest not only to lovers of high-quality culinary preparations. The shrub fruits have high dietary qualities and are successfully used in the treatment of atherosclerosis and hypertension. Shrub and landscape designers are valued, often used in hedging or as a specimen plant.
And finally, a short video on how to care for felt cherries (including burgundy ones) in the Moscow region: