Cherry: varieties for central Russia with a description, planting and care with a photo

Looking into the State Register, you can find many varieties of cherries, but not all are suitable for cultivation in central Russia. How to choose a cherry tree that can produce a good harvest, endure temperature changes and resist adverse conditions?

Criteria for variety selection

When choosing a crop variety for these regions, it is necessary to focus on the main criteria: yield, resistance to low temperatures, ripening time, susceptibility to diseases and pests.

Winter hardiness

The most stringent requirements for this quality should be made when selecting cherries for cultivation in the northern regions of the middle lane. In the southern regions, winters are not so severe.

Cherry is sensitive to temperature extremes, but due to selection it was possible to obtain varieties that can withstand late spring and return June frosts, which can kill buds, flowers, leaves and shoots.

For this climate, you should not choose varieties that bloom too early, even the most frost-resistant trees can lose their flowers during sudden frosts. You can delay the flowering process with the help of a shelter near the trunk, for this, light material or hay is used.

Ripening dates

All crops are divided into three types depending on when their fruits ripen:

• early ripening - the fruits ripen by the end of the first summer month;
• medium - ripe berries can be harvested after July 15-20;
• late - aging occurs at the end of July and August.

In the northern regions of the middle lane, planting early varieties of fruit trees and bushes is associated with a number of risks - they can bloom when the air temperature temporarily drops - at night or in the morning. But late-maturing species are also problematic - they do not always have enough short summer for their fruits to ripen.

Yields

Most often, cherry trees begin to bear fruit in the 5-6th year after planting. There are early-growing varieties and hybrid species that can produce crops already in the 2-4th year. Bush cherry, for example, felt, is more early-growing than standard varieties.In early crops, yields increase more intensively, and this positive quality is highly valued in the conditions of risky gardening in the middle zone.

There is a sure way to speed up the start of cherry fruiting by 2-3 years - grafting.

Cherry varieties for central Russia

Breeders have bred more than a dozen varieties and hybrids of cherries with different characteristics, including productivity and adaptive properties. It is worth considering the most popular species suitable for planting in mid-latitudes.

Chocolate Girl

Fruits ripen at the beginning of summer, the culture has a high resistance to low temperatures. Berries of a burgundy hue, with a sour taste, small in size, with juicy, dense pulp. On average, one tree produces 15-17 kg of berries, the height of the plant reaches 2.5 m. The fruiting process occurs at the end of June.

Spanka

Early maturing variety that does not require cross-pollination. Spanka berries are sweet and sour, juicy, small in size, flattened.

The culture is distinguished by increased productivity - 50-60 kg of berries from one tree per season. The height of the tree often reaches 5.5-6 m.

Zhukovskaya

The height of the tree with a spreading but sparse crown does not exceed 2.5 m. Cherries bear fruit with juicy berries, which are great for various desserts. They are heart-shaped and medium in size. The crop has moderate disease resistance.

robin

A popular late maturing cherry variety that does well in temperate continental climates. Fruits in small, round, dark red berries, with a sweet and sour taste.

Robin's harvest is plentiful, reaches 0.5 centners from one tree, which ripens on average at the beginning of the last summer month. The culture needs “neighbors” that act as pollinators, that is, it is necessary to plant cherries such as Shubinka, Black Consumer Goods, Lyubskaya nearby.

Volochaevka

When choosing large-fruited self-fertile crops for your backyard, you should pay attention to Volochaevka - a winter-hardy cherry that can withstand frosts down to -30 degrees. But if the temperature drops below this mark, then her kidneys can be seriously affected. Cherry of this variety grows in the form of a medium-sized tree with a not too dense crown.

The first time it bears fruit in the 4th year after planting, 10-14 kg of berries can be harvested from one tree, which is considered a high yield.

Many cherry bushes and trees need pollinators, but if the size of the plot does not allow for multiple crops, self-fertile varieties should be chosen.

As a rule, bush crops enter the fruiting process faster, they also produce more berries than trees. Most experienced gardeners prefer low-growing varieties of cherries and for good reason. They are more suitable for growing in windy areas, they are not so dangerous to be washed away by groundwater, since their root system does not go deep.

Growing Principles

Cherry is not the most whimsical fruit plant, however, when planting a crop in a certain region and subsequent care, it is worth considering some features, including climatic ones.

Planting a seedling

There are two periods suitable for planting seedlings - in spring this can be done before the buds open, and in autumn - no later than mid-October. The best time is considered to be the middle of spring, but in the fall a larger assortment of varieties is provided, there is plenty to choose from.If the seedlings were purchased at the end of autumn, they can be dug into an open hole in the ground and covered, and moved to a permanent place in the spring.

In the middle lane in different areas, the soil can vary significantly - this applies not only to composition, but also to the level of acidity and fertility. You can find both highly fertile areas with soddy soil, and poor, podzolic soil, where acidity is greatly increased.

In heavy, acidic soil, crops grow poorly, develop slowly and bear fruit later. Therefore, before planting seedlings, it should be deoxidized with ash, lime or dolomite powder. A bucket of sand and a kilogram of ash are added to the ground from one hole. The amount of other additives is determined based on the acidity of the soil.

Ground water should not be higher than one and a half meters deep, if it is high, then it is better to plant sprouts on an elevated site.The size of the planting hole for cherries is as follows: depth - 0.5 m with a width of 0.6 m. Plants of bushy varieties should be located at a distance of at least 2 meters from each other, the minimum distance between tall trees is 3 meters.

Irrigation

Cherry tolerates dry periods well. In the middle lane, it is watered during flowering and fruit ripening, if there is no precipitation, at the rate of 5 buckets of water for one plant. The last watering occurs in October, when the leaves fall.

Feeding

In autumn, the soil for cherries is fed with fertilizers with phosphorus and calcium. In the spring, experienced gardeners advise fertilizing the land with nitrogenous top dressings - bird droppings, azophos. A solution with a weak concentration is prepared from them.

Cutting

It is necessary to take care of the crown regularly - remove dried branches and shorten shoots whose length exceeds 40 cm.In autumn, it is better to do this in October, until frost sets in, and in spring - in March, until the juices begin to move. Branches that are frozen are pruned after bud break.

Disease prevention

Cherry trees and shrubs are often affected by fungal diseases, and even the most highly resistant of them can suffer, there are adverse weather conditions. To reduce risks, it is recommended to clean the soil under the tree from fallen leaves in autumn and burn it.

For prevention, it is useful to spray the plant with compositions containing copper - a solution of sulfate or copper oxychloride, a mixture of copper sulphate and lime. The procedure is preferably carried out before the flowering of the crop and after harvesting. At the first manifestations of a fungal infection, it is recommended to use the Chorus preparation.

Today, there are many cultures and hybrids of cherries that feel great in the climatic conditions of central Russia.And if not so long ago trees were grown here that give fruits with medium and low taste, then modern gardeners have the opportunity to get a crop of juicy, large, sweet berries. The main thing is to choose the right variety and properly care for the ward.

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