Homestead yellow cherry: variety description, planting and care, reviews with photos

Yellow cherry is a favorite delicacy and already mastered fruit crop. But the Homestead yellow cherry is of particular admiration. This variety is young, early, early and productive. And if he has flaws, then they are literally a continuation of his virtues.

History of occurrence and region of growth

Specialists all over the world are actively engaged in the selection of fruit plants. The work of domestic geneticists and breeders has been marked by remarkable successes. The sweet cherry variety Homestead yellow was created in Russia by crossing varieties of Leningradskaya red and Golden Loshitskaya with subsequent neuron irradiation.And together with other new stone fruits, it confidently took pride of place in household plots of the Central Black Earth Region.

In recent years, our climate has been softening. In the reviews there are comments about a successful sample of growing sweet cherries in more northern territories. But there they give the plant a slate shape, gradually tilting the seedling closer to the ground from year to year, while pruning giving the crown the necessary shape. An extremely time-consuming and interesting experience.

Description of the sweet cherry variety Homestead yellow

Tree height and crown branching

Household yellow cherry grows very fast. If the gardener does not control growth in a timely manner, by the time of fruiting, the height of the tree can reach 4-5 m. This will create many problems when harvesting and protecting it from birds. Although, according to some reviews, yellow-fruited cherries do not seem to tempt them.That would be an extra fat plus.

The massive trunk and tiered arrangement of cherry shoots are a sprawling spherical, well-leafed crown with a radius of up to 4 m.

Pollinators, blooms and yields

Home garden yellow's great advantage is its self-pollination. It is noticed that the yield could be increased by the proximity to other pollinators. But where is there to increase with its productivity! She, in turn, is a good pollinator and a valuable honey plant.

Cherry blossoms early: early May. Elegant inflorescences-bouquets of 3-5 wonderful white flowers are resistant to frosty May mornings. Homestead yellow cherry begins to bear fruit at the age of 6. But then every year it rewards envy with a high harvest.

Knowing gardeners immediately remove up to 50% of the ovaries. Then the rest give larger fruits. In previous years, in general, they try to cut off all the color so that the root system grows better .

The size of the berries in good weather conditions reaches 2 cm, weight - up to 6 g. They are round, skin and yellow flesh. The sour-sweet taste and juiciness are wonderful. Professionals rate it at 4.7 on a five-point scale. The bones are large, but the plus is that they are easily separated from the pulp. The stem is long, dry.

This cherry doesn't crack in the rain. Ripens at the same time already in June. With controlled stem height and crown diameter, the harvest from year to year is at least 20-30 kg.

Transportability and use of berries

The impressive annual yield for some turns into a lack of varieties: large juicy cherries can not stand crossings and therefore are not transportable. It would not have been possible to grow Homestead yellow in commercial volumes. That's why it's named like that.

This variety is table. Berries are consumed mostly fresh. They retain their original freshness for a long time in the refrigerator. Many are harvested in the form of juices, jams, preserves and compotes, remarkable in that the berries remain dense and do not boil soft. Sometimes, in order to have time to use the harvest in full, cherries are frozen.

Not only are sweet cherries a source of many essential trace elements, they also support blood vessels and counteract anemia. Like all yellow fruits, Homestead yellow does not provoke allergic reactions.

Culture characteristic

Drought Tolerant

The variety tolerates drought well on average. It also bears fruit well in Central Asia. All that is needed is control over soil moisture and mandatory watering at the decisive time for the harvest. Still, for the ripening of such a significant amount of juicy sweet cherry fruits, water is one of the most necessary conditions.

Frost resistance

Homestead yellow cherry with a margin endures May frosts. Wood without losses hibernates at frosts of about 30˚. But, in order to avoid sunburn and frost, in late autumn at an air temperature of + 5˚, but not lower, trunks and skeletal branches are whitewashed with lime. Repeat whitewashing in early spring.

When zoning in the Central Chernozem region, this cherry begins to develop frost resistance in the North-West and, with the help of enthusiasts, with certain cultivation methods, moves to more northern latitudes.

Insect and disease susceptibility

Because of the early flowering and fruiting, the home garden yellow cherry has time to ripen before the appearance of pests. Not even a cherry fly can keep up with her.

The variety is resistant to common diseases. But in rain and cold, and with an unthinned crown, cherries can be in a very difficult position. Therefore, in dry cloudy weather, trees are sprayed with Bordeaux mixture or copper sulfate just in case.

The treatment of sweet cherries with preparations is stopped 3 weeks before harvesting. You can not ignore a certain category of pests: these are birds. If they get into the habit, you will have to cover the tree with a special net.

Planting cherries in the area

Recommended dates and disembarkation scheme

When is the right time to plant? Gardeners have different opinions: some insist on autumn, others prefer spring. In both cases, risks for a fragile plant are possible. This is either an unexpectedly frosty snowless winter, or too little time from frost to bud break to have time to purchase a seedling and plant it. And Homestead yellow cherry blossoms early.

Therefore, experienced specialists select seedlings in the fall and plant them in the spring. In order for the tree to survive over the winter, it is dug in a semi-horizontal position on a high, flat area with loose soil.In winter, you need to cover it well with snow, and if it is not there yet, but the frost is getting stronger, cover it with straw, rags or peat, you can use an old blanket.

In winter, it will be time to think about where is the best place to plant, so as not to replant later. Cherries don't like it.

By the way: you can’t transplant trees with blossoming leaves.

In the spring (as soon as the soil allows) seedlings are planted with bare roots. Those bought in a container can be planted any time from April to October.

Usually homestead yellow cherries are planted according to the scheme 3 m x 3 m. So that the north winds do not pester. Then it will be easier for her to survive the winter.

Recommendations for choosing a seedling

It is better to select seedlings in well-known nurseries, which guarantee both quality and precisely the Homestead yellow sweet cherry.

If it is not possible to contact the nursery, be more careful: it happens that unscrupulous sellers slip low-quality goods, and sometimes even “instead of an apple tree, a plum”. So it is worth critically evaluating the purchase. Should be:

• presence of a passport;
• one-year-old or two-year-old seedling;
• minimum 3 roots about 20 cm long;
• grafted;
• without blossoming leaves;
• the roots are not frozen;
• no damage, mold, rot.

Dry roots are immersed in water for several hours when planting, but it would be better if they were immediately more alive.

Planting pit preparation and planting technology

The place is chosen carefully: safe from northern winds, with a distance from the surface to groundwater of at least 1.5-2 m.

If cherries are planted in autumn, the pit is prepared in a month or two. If in the spring - the pit is dug in October. A soil of suitable composition is formed: coarse-grained sand is poured into the clay, and peat and clay are added to the sandy one. The natural acidity index for Homestead yellow cherries is 6.5-7.

Usually Homestead yellow is planted according to the common technology for sweet cherries:

• dig a hole with a diameter of 90 cm, with a depth of up to 60 cm;
• pour a mixture of humus into it with a small amount of garden soil;
• add 1 kg of furnace ash and about 0.5 kg of superphosphate there, mix everything, form a mound;
• drive a peg-support into the mound;
• before planting, the roots are soaked for 10 hours;
• then dip them in a 5 liter mullein solution with half the amount of clay;
• maintaining the position of the root collar 5-6 cm above the surface, the seedling is lowered into the hole next to the peg, the roots are straightened along the mound and covered with garden soil;
• tread down the soil around the tree;
• tie him to a support;
• Generously water and mulch the landing site with humus.

How to care for a tree

Feeding and watering

Spring Homestead yellow needs nitrogen fertilizers. Before fruiting, cherries are watered with diluted manure or a solution of urea. Then they switch to potassium and phosphorus supplements. In October-November, digging, they are introduced into the soil in a complex way:

• humus - 10 kg;
• superphosphate - 100 g;
• potassium s alt - 60g

During the season it is good to nourish with 5-6 days of weeded nettle infusion.

For the full development and fruiting of sweet cherries, an optimal irrigation regime is necessary. Abundant watering is required for cherries in three periods:

• blooming buds;
• fruit set;
• in autumn after harvest and before going into winter around the end of October.

In the first two, at least 2-3 buckets are poured under a tree for one watering. During a normal summer, sweet cherries are well watered monthly, and during a drought - weekly.

In early spring, the tree is watered just before flowering: otherwise the ovary may crumble.

Weeding and loosening the trunk circle

Homestead yellow, like other types of cherries, does not tolerate waterlogging. In order for the roots to “breathe” and better absorb top dressing, after rains and watering, the near-stem circle is weeded, loosened with pitchforks, rakes and mulched with mowed grass.

Form cutting

To normalize the harvest of sweet cherries and maintain the low growth of the tree, the first time it is necessary to form a crown.

1. After planting a seedling, to stimulate lateral shoots, the central trunk is cut to about 60 cm.
2. Growth is shortened by a third every year.
3. Cut out the shoots directed inside the crown, and leave rare strong ones growing at an angle of 45-50˚ to the trunk.
4. Until the cherries reach the age of five, they annually form a tiered crown, creating 3 or 4 levels, and limit the height of the tree.
5. Cut dried or broken branches.

Engaged in pruning in the spring before, and in the fall after active sap flow. Slices are covered with garden pitch. Cut branches must be burned.

Preventive treatment

Even taking into account the high immunity of the home garden yellow cherries to diseases, some gardeners, just in case, secure themselves by spraying it in the spring before the leaves appear with a 7% solution of urea or 1% copper sulfate.

Gardeners who do not like "chemistry" spray the tree with infusions of onion and garlic husks, dandelions, wood ash, tobacco dust.

Also:

• spring cut and burn frost-beaten shoots;
• at the end of October, fallen leaves are collected and burned.

Preparing cherries for winter

Given the natural frost resistance of Homestead yellow, it remains to create the most comfortable conditions for it, protecting it from other troubles:

1. It's good to dig up the ground around the trunk.
2. To prevent damage to the trunk by rodents, tie it with burlap, rags, spruce branches, wrap it with roofing material.
3. In September, water a tree or treat foliage with a solution of superphosphate to strengthen the cherry and help it during frosts.
4. For sunburn, whitewash trees with lime and clay, and young trees with clay and chalk, as lime can damage their bark.

Reviews about Cherry Homestead yellow

Lyudmila Kanatova, Kursk:

Fruits are not stored for a long time, I distribute them to relatives or immediately preserve them. An important plus is that birds do not peck at yellow cherries.

Tatiana Gribanovskaya, Krasnodar:

The higher the tree - the more fruits it has, however! On my yard, she shows off in season like a huge yellow corn!

Larisa Ivanovna, Chernihiv:

There are advantages to growing Homestead yellow cherries. For example, they are rarely pecked by birds, and during the period of prolonged rains, the fruits practically do not crack.

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