Felt cherry tree (Cerasus): varieties with photos, cultivation and care. Ampelous or curly strawberries: growing options, care, photo Varieties of felt cherries of the middle lane

It got its name due to the presence of felt-like pubescence of varying degrees of intensity, covering annual shoots, leaves, pedicels and even the skin of the fruits themselves.

This plant is native to northern and western China. Felt cherries have been cultivated since 1870 and became famous in Russia thanks to the work of I. V. Michurin, who, after testing, wrote about it: “Extremely plentiful yields and juiciness of sweet fruits suitable for confectionery ... gardeners should pay attention to this the new kind". As a fruit crop, today it is cultivated in the Far East, is widespread in central Russia.

Despite the outward similarity of the fruits, the common cherry and felt cherry are genetically very far from each other and cannot be crossed. Felt cherry crosses with plum, peach, cherry plum and apricot. It is not overgrafted or cross-pollinated with all varieties of cherries, it is used as a dwarf rootstock for felted cherries and some varieties of plums and peaches.

A small shrub or tree 1-3 m high with a dense spreading crown, usually oval, rarely flattened. The leaves are small, strongly wrinkled. The flowers are pink, whitening by the end of flowering, blooming in mid - late May at the same time as the leaves. Blooms profusely up to 10-15 days. Fruits with color from pale pink to almost black, with juicy pulp and pleasant taste - from subacid to sweet. In contrast to the common cherry, the fruits of V. felt sit on very short stalks and, with a plentiful harvest, literally stick around the branches. In addition, they contain significantly less acid than the fruits of the common cherry. The stone is small, does not separate from the pulp.

Its seedlings have a highly frost-resistant, powerful branched root system. Varieties can be propagated by grafting or green cuttings. It does not give root shoots, the roots do not go beyond the projection of the crown.

It is characterized by early and annual fruiting, high self-fertility. The fruits ripen in late June - early July. The average yield from one bush is 5-10 kg, depending on the variety and weather conditions. The life expectancy of a bush is no more than 10 years, but pruning and rejuvenation can extend the lifespan up to 20 years.

Fresh fruits contain sugars, acids, vitamin C and biologically active polyphenols.

V. felt increases appetite, improves digestion, strengthens capillaries.

The fruits are consumed both fresh and cooked from them jam, marmalade, jams, marshmallows, compotes, make wines and juices.

Has decorative properties. Felt cherry blossoms before common cherry. During flowering, its bushes are covered from base to top with unusual pale pink flowers. This plant is no less decorative during the ripening period, when the branches leaning towards the ground are literally doused with bright fruits.

Against the background of a huge number of varieties of garden strawberries, the ampelous variety stands out. This strawberry with uncharacteristic pink, very decorative flowers is easily recognizable by both fruit-bearing mother plants and rosettes extending from them. After reviewing the care of her, having studied the rules of cultivation and looking at the photo, you can safely proceed to planting this unusual berry crop.

Features of ampelous strawberries

If an ordinary strawberry bears fruit once a season, a remontant two, then it can be said about an ampelous strawberry that it is able to bear fruit throughout the year.

Thanks to the work of breeders, ampelous strawberries grow before flower stalks are formed, flower buds are laid on them and, accordingly, an additional crop ripens. Further, the mustache itself continues to form the following. As a result, one bush can be continuously harvested.

In addition, this variety has excellent decorative qualities and can serve as a wonderful decoration for a balcony, veranda, etc.

Advice. For growing in a room, it is better to select varieties of neutral daylight hours that have a very long fruiting period.

In some sources, you can find it under the name "curly", but this is not entirely correct. By nature, strawberries cannot wrap themselves around anything. Some gardeners, for decorative purposes, simply tie a mustache with rosettes to a support. At the same time, it seems that the strawberry itself “climbs” up.

Ampel strawberry continuously yields

If you plant several bushes in a flowerpot or hanging pot, the rosettes will fall very beautifully from the mother plant, creating cascades of leaves, flowers and berries.

When considering the fruiting of ampelous varieties, it can be unequivocally stated that this is a remontant variety. On the bush at the same time you can see buds, flowers and berries. Thanks to this, in appropriate conditions, it is possible to observe flowering and pick berries almost all year round. Popular varieties:

Homemade delicacy;
Temptation;
Tarpan;
Elan;
Novel;
balcony stream;
Balcony charm.

Almost all of them are hybrids that are adapted to growing in any conditions, resistant to some diseases and give a decent harvest. I would especially like to note the Tuscany variety. Despite its recent appearance, it has already gained worldwide recognition. It differs in rich pink flowers and rather large fragrant berries.

Growing options

If you show imagination and make very little effort, then bushes of ampelous strawberries can become a wonderful decoration for the site.

Ampel strawberries can be grown even in an apartment

Growing in pots and vases. In this case, any containers can be used for landing. For the normal development of the plant, their depth must be at least 30 cm. A mandatory requirement is holes for water drainage and a drainage layer. Seedlings intended for planting should be sprinkled with earth and kept for two weeks in a dark, cool place. Planting plants in a pot should not be too dense and not very deep.

Advice. A lush strawberry bush grown by hand in a hanging planter can be a wonderful gift for a novice gardener.

Grid growing. As a lattice, you can use a metal mesh, wicker fence, etc. Bushes are planted in the soil 30 cm apart. Growing mustaches are tied up along the lattice.

Advice. The height of the lattice should be selected no more than 1 m. So the plants will be able to completely cover it with fruit-bearing and flowering bushes at the same time.

Landing in the form of a pyramid. For such a landing, you will need 3-4 boxes 30 cm high, without a bottom, of different sizes. The largest is placed on the ground in the garden and covered with fertile soil. A second, smaller one is placed on top and is also filled with earth. The smallest of them is placed on top. Soil is also poured into it. It turns out a cascade of boxes in which seedlings are planted. After sprawling, this structure looks like a green pyramid covered with flowers and berries.
Vertical beds. This method is used for growing ampelous strawberries in greenhouses. They are made from wide plastic pipes (diameter about 110 cm). Holes are cut into them after a certain interval, into which, after filling the pipe with nutrient soil, seedlings are planted.

How to plant seedlings

Planting ampelous varieties does not differ much from planting other types of strawberries.

The bottom of the pot or groove in the bed is lined with drainage material.
From above it is covered with nutrient soil, consisting of soddy soil, humus, manure and peat.
Well watered. After the soil settles, the earth is filled up.
Landing holes are being made.
One plant is distributed in each well.
The roots are pressed with wet earth so that the core remains at the top.

Advice. In order for the seedlings to take root faster, it is advisable to dip each rhizome in a clay mash.

How to care

Planted seedlings need frequent moisture. It should be watered 2 times a day a little. After 2 weeks, watering is reduced - it will be enough 1 time in 3 days. The first flower stalks are removed. So the plant will give all its strength to the development of the root system, which will make the plant strong.

Strawberries need regular hydration

Mustaches on each bush should remain no more than 5 pcs. All excess is plucked off. Top dressing is carried out regularly with mineral fertilizers.

Ampelous strawberry transplantation must be carried out every 3-4 years. In the spring, the antennae are plucked from the strongest bushes and transplanted to a new bed or into a new container. In the case of a flower bed, you can completely replace the soil and plants.

For the winter, you can not leave containers with strawberries on the street. All of them need to be brought into a warm room. If this is not possible, the container is dug into the ground and covered with a covering material.

For beds protruding above ground level, special frames are constructed, the surface of which is covered with roofing material, lutrasil, etc., and then sprinkled with something insulating, for example, sawdust, straw or hay.

Felt cherry (lat. Cerasus tomentosa)- berry culture; representative of the genus Plum of the Rosaceae family. Natural range - Mongolia, China and Korea. Today, the cherry variety in question is widely cultivated in North America and some European countries. In Russia, it is grown mainly on personal plots.

Characteristics of culture

Felt cherry is a shrub or small tree up to 3 m high with several powerful trunks and a dense, broadly ovoid crown. The leaves are dark green, pointed at the end, oval, strongly corrugated, pubescent on the inside, sitting on short felt petioles of gray color. Foliage turns yellowish or reddish in autumn. The flowers are white, white-pink or pink, fragrant, up to 3 cm in diameter.

The fruits are oval or rounded drupes, when ripe they become red or scarlet-red, located on short stalks. Berries have a pleasant, sweet and delicate taste, sometimes with a slight sourness. Felt cherry blossoms in May, fruits ripen in June-July. Flowering, as well as fruiting, is plentiful. From one adult bush you can collect up to 15 kg of berries. The culture enters fruiting 3-4 years after planting. Often felt cherry is used as an ornamental plant. Plants are unpretentious, drought-resistant and winter-hardy.

Today, a huge number of varieties of felt cherries are presented on the garden market. Among them, the following are the most common: Alice, Altana, White, Delight, Eastern, Virovskaya, Children's, Beauty, Summer, Ocean, Fairy Tale and Princess. All of these varieties can boast of high yields and decent taste characteristics. Important: felt cherry is a self-fertile plant (not capable of pollination), therefore it is recommended to plant at least 2-3 varieties on the site.

Growing conditions

To soil conditions, felt cherry is unpretentious, but it develops more actively and bears fruit more abundantly on light, well-drained, moderately moist, sandy or loamy soils. Does not accept the culture of peat, waterlogged, heavy clayey, compacted, waterlogged and saline soils. It is undesirable to grow cherries in the lowlands with stagnant meltwater during the spring flood. Optimal southern slopes. Felt cherry, like many other berry crops, is photophilous. In dense shade, the fruits ripen slowly and are often affected by rot.

Landing

Felt cherry seedlings are planted in early spring (before bud break). Autumn planting is not forbidden, but in this case it is necessary to have time to plant a seedling before the onset of stable cold weather, otherwise the young plants will not have time to take root and die in the very first frosty winter. The landing hole is dug 50 cm deep, the width is similar. Then the pit is filled with 1/3 part of the soil mixture, composed of the upper fertile layer of the earth, humus or rotted manure with the addition of mineral fertilizers (potassium and phosphorus).

Before planting, the root system of the seedling is shortened, this procedure will contribute to the active development of the lateral roots, and then dipped in a clay mash. The seedling is lowered into the pit, the roots are straightened, covered with the remaining soil mixture and compacted. After planting, abundant watering and mulching of the near-stem circle are carried out. Mulch should be organic material such as peat moss, humus or sawdust. Mulching is not a mandatory procedure, but it will benefit the plants, or rather, protect the roots from overheating, reduce the need for moisture and leave the soil in the near-trunk area clean from weeds.

Care

You can get a good harvest of tasty and juicy berries only with careful care. It consists in operations that are standard for all berry crops, that is, watering, fertilizing with mineral and organic fertilizers, loosening, weed removal, pruning and pest and disease control. Felt cherries are fed immediately after flowering; complex mineral fertilizers are ideal for these purposes. The second top dressing is carried out in September, excluding nitrogen fertilizers, they can cause active growth of shoots.

As a result, they shoots do not have time to mature and are damaged by frost in winter. Watering for felt cherries should be moderate and systematic, waterlogging should not be allowed. Formative and sanitary pruning is carried out in the spring, the center of the crown is regularly thinned out, leaving up to 12 strong and healthy shoots. As a preventive measure for diseases, it is not forbidden to spray the bushes with 1% Bordeaux liquid.

The felt cherry tree is actually a shrubby form of this stone fruit crop. It has unpretentiousness to growing conditions, does not require special care and bestows rich harvests. This article offers a description of felt cherries as a fruit crop, photos and characteristics of some varieties. You can learn about how cultivation is carried out in a zone of risky farming. Look at the felt cherries in the photo and in the description, this knowledge will help you decide on the advisability of growing on a personal plot.

Family: Rosaceae.

Homeland - China, Japan, the Himalayas, the Far East.

What a felt cherry shrub looks like: flowering and leaves, sizes and photos of the bush

Felt cherry shrub can feel great in different regions of our country.

Felt cherries are native to northern and western China. From there, more than a hundred years ago, it was brought to the Primorsky and Khabarovsk Territories, the Amur Region. Here it showed good winter hardiness and adaptability to local conditions and became widespread. The inhabitants of this region associate the concept of cherry with the felt cherry, since the European common cherry there does not withstand severe frosty snowless winters. Felt cherry varieties have been bred by breeders: Ogonyok, Khabarovchanka, Pionerka, Amurka, Leto, Alisa, Okeanskaya, Chereshnevaya, Virovskaya, etc. They are distinguished by larger fruits, high yields, and good taste. However, the bulk of the bushes in the gardens of the Far East are ungrafted seedlings. See what felt cherry looks like with properly organized care for it.

Felt cherries were brought to the European part of the country from the Far East in the early twenties of the current century. It was first described by I.V. Michurin called Ando. I. V. Michurin characterizes felt cherries in the following way: “a completely new type of stone fruit, unprecedented in European gardens, is being introduced into culture. Yields are amazingly generous... Extremely abundant yields and juiciness of sweet fruits should draw the attention of gardeners to this new species, suitable for extensive cultivation. It has gained particular popularity here in recent decades, when a dangerous fungal disease - coccomycosis killed many common cherry trees. Felt cherries are completely resistant to this disease.

Felt cherry leaves deserve attention, since it got its name because of their peculiar corrugation and pubescence.

Felt cherries tend to be sweeter than regular cherries. The amount of sugars in them reaches 10%. Jams, juices, compotes are prepared from fruits, candied. They are delicious fresh, straight from the bush. Children love them very much.

For amateur gardeners, it is also valuable because it does not give root shoots at all and there is no need to fight it endlessly. Many gardeners take advantage of this property of felt cherries and use it as a stock for grafting their favorite varieties of ordinary cherries. It turns out an ordinary cherry, but not giving root shoots.

Despite the similarity of felt cherries and common cherries in terms of fruits, in fact they are distant relatives. Scientists-fruit growers attribute felt cherries to a special genus microcherry, which in related terms is much closer to plum, apricot and peach than cherry. Therefore, sometimes felt cherry is used as a dwarf rootstock for plums, large-fruited cherry plums, apricots and peaches. Look at the photo of the felt cherry bush, which shows adult plants with the correct crown formation:

Felt cherry (C. tomentosa) is an ornamental winter-hardy deciduous shrub 2–3 m high, with a spreading crown. Felt cherry sizes may vary depending on the selected variety.

Annual shoots are strongly pubescent. The leaves are simple, obovate or oval, pointed, grayish-green above, pubescent, woolly below, brown-gray, up to 5 cm long. In autumn, the leaves turn yellow and red, becoming a decoration of the garden. The flowering of felt cherry is interesting, which can decorate any landscape design. Cherry flowers are white or slightly pink, up to 2.5 cm in diameter, collected in umbrella inflorescences. Blooms in May. Cherry fruits are drupes with a short stalk, bright red in color, up to 1.8 cm in diameter, the flesh is juicy, sour-sweet. In central Russia, the growing season begins in May, the fruits ripen in late July - early August.

V. felt winter-hardy, characterized by early maturity, high productivity and decorative effect.

When the felt cherry begins to bear fruit

Felt cherry is a durable culture: in one place it can bear fruit up to 15–18 years. Many are concerned about the question of when the felt cherry begins to bear fruit after planting. This usually starts after 2 years.

V. felt looks great on the lawn, as well as in single and group plantings, it is interesting in borders and hedges. The plant can also be used to fix ravines. In spring, beautiful flowers, in autumn, bright red fruits and yellow-red leaves make the cherry an indispensable plant in the garden. The fruits contain a large amount of vitamin C.

How to trim and shape felt cherries (with video)

Cherries really need regular pruning. The formation of the crown of the plant provides for uniform growth and development of growing and skeletal branches and prevents the thickening of the crown. Before forming a felt cherry, you should leave a small trunk (25 - 40 cm) and 3 - 5 skeletal branches, and with a good development of the bush, it is best to leave 7 branches. When forming, all branches capable of thickening the crown are removed, and the skeletal branches are shortened so that the central conductor is 15–20 cm higher than the ends of all skeletal branches.

When pruning cherries, it should be remembered that the main task is to maintain a good annual growth and a high level of illumination of the entire crown. Heavily thickened plants require the removal of several large branches. Watch how to cut a felt cherry in the video, which shows all the basic operations:

In addition, when pruning cherries, broken and rubbing branches are removed. By the age of 8 - 10 years, the branches of the cherry are bare, annual growths weaken and shorten, reaching no more than 15 - 20 cm instead of the prescribed 30 - 40 cm. Such bushes require rejuvenation. In this case, shoots are shortened by 2 - 3-year-old wood.

Felt cherry bears fruit abundantly. The fruits sit on very short (3–5 mm) stalks and literally stick around the branches like sea buckthorn. For better pollination in the garden, you need to plant 2-3 bushes. Varietal differences for full-fledged pollination do not matter. It quickly begins to bear fruit: already in the second or third year after planting, and by 6–7 years, yields increase to 7–12 kg per bush. Therefore, you need to try to immediately form a correct and easy-to-care bush. It branches directly from the base of the bole, however, these shoots are removed up to a height of 35–50 cm, leaving only the central one - they form a bole 30–50 cm high, and above at different heights 6–7 branches are left, directed evenly in different directions, the extra ones are cut out. Felt cherries tend to thicken the bush, so every year early in the spring they lighten the bush: they cut out the branches growing inside the bush, broken and growing very densely in one place. Thus, in 2-3 years a beautiful, rounded bush is formed. A well-formed bush is easy to care for and is more productive.

The best varieties of felt cherries and their photos

A high and fairly stable yield is a great advantage of felt cherries, which distinguishes it favorably from common cherries, whose trees often bloom profusely, but bear little fruit. The average yield from a bush is 5–10 kg, the maximum is up to 20 kg of fruit. Like most other fruit crops, felt cherry is self-fertile, and for normal pollination it is necessary to plant 3-4 plants of different varieties that will pollinate each other. The same requirement applies to ungrafted plants grown from seeds.

Breeders are working on breeding large-fruited varieties of this valuable crop. To date, scientists have obtained more than two dozen large-fruited varieties. These are the best varieties of felt cherries: Alice, Vostochnaya, Detskaya, Beauty, Ogonyok, Skazka, Kharkivchanka, Tsarevna, etc. All of them are large and sweet-fruited and are of great interest to amateur gardeners. Look further at the varieties of felt cherries in the photo, which illustrate brief characteristics:

Alice. Bush of medium vigor, 1.5 m in height, oval, dense. Grafted seedlings begin to bear fruit in the 2nd year, own-rooted in the 3rd-4th year. The longevity of plants is 17 years. The variety is self-infertile. Blooms in the second half of May. The fruits ripen in the second half of July at the same time. The color of the fruit is maroon, the flesh is red, dense, juicy. The fruits are universal: they are consumed fresh and processed into juice, jam, jam, marshmallow, marmalade, jam, wine, etc. The yield is high - 8.5 kg per bush.

Delight. The bush is medium tall, 1.5 m in height, wide, dense. Grafted seedlings begin to bear fruit in the 2nd year, own-rooted in the 3rd-4th year. The longevity of plants is 18 years. The variety is self-infertile. Blossoms in mid-May, fruits ripen in mid-July at the same time. The fruit is large, the average weight is 3.2 g. The color of the skin is bright red, the flesh is red, fibrous, dense, juicy. The taste is sweet and sour. The economic purpose is universal: both fresh and canned.

Eastern. Bush of medium vigor, 1.5 m in height, compact. Grafted seedlings begin to bear fruit in the 2nd year, own-rooted in the 3rd-4th year. The longevity of plants is 17 years. The variety is self-infertile. Blooms in the second half of May. The fruits ripen in the second half of July at the same time. The fruit is large, the average weight is 3.3 g. The pulp is juicy, dense. The taste is sweet and sour. The economic purpose is universal: both fresh and processed. Productivity is high - 8.7 kg per bush.

Bush, annual and perennial branches are resistant to winter frosts, flowers - to spring frosts. The variety is drought-resistant, does not tolerate waterlogging. Resistant to coccomycosis, relatively resistant to clasterosporiosis. When waterlogged, flowers and fruits are affected by moniliosis.

Children's. Bush 1.8 m in height, broadly oval, medium density. Grafted seedlings begin to bear fruit in the 2nd year, own-rooted in the 3rd-4th year. The longevity of plants is 18 years. The variety is self-infertile. Blooms in the second half of May. The fruits ripen in the second half of July at the same time. The fruit is large, the average weight is 3.5 g. The taste is sweet and sour. The economic purpose is universal: both fresh and for canning. Productivity is high, 10 kg per bush.

Gorgeous. Bush up to 1.6 m in height, broadly oval, dense. Grafted seedlings begin to bear fruit in the 2nd year, own-rooted in the 3rd-4th year. The longevity of plants is 17 years. The variety is self-infertile. Blooms in the second half of May. The fruits ripen at the end of July at the same time. The fruit is large, the average weight is 3.0 g. The economic purpose is universal: both fresh and processed. The pulp is juicy, dense, the taste is sweet and sour. Productivity is high - 10.7 kg per bush.

Natalie. The bush is vigorous, 1.8 m in height, broadly oval in shape, medium density. Grafted seedlings begin to bear fruit in the 2nd year, own-rooted in the 3rd-4th year. The longevity of plants is 18 years. The variety is self-infertile. Blooms in the second half of May. The fruits ripen in mid-July at the same time. The fruit is large, the average weight is 4.0 g. The color of the fruit is dark red, the flesh is red, dense, juicy, the taste is sweet and sour. The economic purpose is universal: both fresh and processed. Productivity is high - 9 kg per bush.

Twinkle. Bush of medium height, rounded, rather compact. The life span of a bush is 14 years. Blossoms in the second half of May, fruits ripen in the second half of July. The fruits are large, the average weight is 2.5 g. The pulp is quite thick, red, sweetish-sour taste. The fruits are good for fresh consumption and making juice, jam, wine.

The winter hardiness of the bush is satisfactory. Fruit buds are preserved, do not freeze slightly. The variety is relatively drought tolerant. In the period of a sharp lack of moisture, the fruit ovaries do not lose and the fruits do not noticeably shrink. The variety is relatively resistant to clasterosporiosis. Damaged by aphids and codling moth.

Ocean virovskaya. The bush is vigorous, 1.8 m in height, compact, medium density. Grafted seedlings begin to bear fruit in the 2nd year, own-rooted in the 3rd-4th year. The longevity of plants is 17 years. The variety is self-infertile. Blossoms in the second half of May, the fruits ripen in the second half of July at the same time. The average weight of the fruit is 3.0 g. The pulp is red, dense, juicy, slightly aromatic, sweet and sour. The economic purpose is universal: both fresh and processed. Productivity is high - 9 kg per bush.

Fruitful pink. The bush is medium, sprawling. It enters fruiting in the 2nd year of the growth of the scion. The fruits ripen in the second half of July, large, average weight 3 g. The flesh is pink and dense, sweet-sour taste. Suitable for both fresh consumption and processing. Productivity up to 9.5 kg.

The variety is immune to "cherry pockets". Winter hardiness is satisfactory.

Fairy tale. Bush 1.3 m in height, oval, medium density. Grafted seedlings begin to bear fruit in the 2nd year, own-rooted in the 3rd-4th year. The longevity of plants is 17 years. The variety is self-infertile. Blossoms in the second half of May, the fruits ripen in mid-July at the same time. The fruits are large, the average weight is 3.3 g. The color of the fruit is maroon, the flesh is red, dense, juicy. The economic purpose is universal: both fresh and processed. Productivity is high - 10 kg per bush.

The bush, annual and perennial branches are resistant to winter and spring frosts. The variety is drought-resistant, does not tolerate waterlogging. Resistant to coccomycosis, relatively resistant to clasterosporiosis. When waterlogged, flowers and fruits are affected by moniliosis.

Dark-skinned oriental. The bush is undersized, 1.2 m in height, wide-spread, dense. Grafted seedlings begin to bear fruit in the 2nd year, own-rooted in the 3rd-4th year. The longevity of plants is 18 years. The variety is self-infertile. Blossoms in mid-May, fruits ripen in the second half of July. The average yield is 7 kg from an adult bush. The average fruit weight is 2.5 g, the pulp is red, tender, juicy. The economic purpose is universal.

Winter-hardy variety. In particularly severe winters, annual shoots undergo winter desiccation. Flower buds are winter hardy. The variety is drought-resistant, does not tolerate waterlogging. Resistant to coccomycosis, relatively resistant to clasterosporiosis. In the rainy period, it undergoes moniliosis.

Princess. The bush is undersized, 1.2 m, wide-oval, medium density. Grafted seedlings begin to bear fruit in the 2nd year, own-rooted in the 3rd-4th year. The longevity of plants is 17 years. The variety is self-infertile. Blossoms in mid-May, the fruits ripen in the second half of July at the same time. The fruits are large, the average weight is 3.6 g. The pulp is light red, dense, juicy. The economic purpose is universal. Productivity is high - 9.5 kg per bush.

Anniversary. The bush is vigorous, 1.7 m in height, oval, medium density. Grafted seedlings begin to bear fruit in the 2nd year, own-rooted in the 3rd-4th year. The longevity of plants is 16–18 years. The variety is self-infertile. Blossoms in late May, ripens in the second half of July. The fruits are large, the average weight is 3.5 g, the pulp is red, juicy. The economic purpose is universal. Productivity is high - 9 kg per bush.

Buds are resistant to winter frosts, flowers - to spring frosts. The variety is drought-resistant, does not tolerate waterlogging.

Altana. Resistant to fungal diseases. The fruits are small, 2 g, rounded, dark red. Contain: solids 13%, sugar 9%, acid 1%, vitamin C 12.8 mg%. The pulp is red, tender, juicy, sour-sweet. Tasting score 5 points. Productivity of 7 kg from a tree. Bush with a spherical dense crown. It enters fruiting in the 4th year.

White. Winter-hardy, relatively resistant to clasterosporia and moniliosis. Fruits are medium in size, weighing 1.6 g, broadly oval, white. Peel of medium coarseness, pubescence is weak, felt. The pulp is white, juicy, fibrous. The juice is colorless, the taste is sweet and sour, pleasant. Tasting score 3.6 points. The stone is not separated from the pulp, oval-wide, smooth. The fruits contain: dry matter 12.0%, sugar 7.6%, acid 0.8%, vitamin C 22.5 mg%. The average yield is 106.3 q/ha.

Favorite. The variety is winter-hardy. Relatively resistant to clasterosporia. The fruits are large, with an average weight of 3.3 g, wide-round, dark pink. The separation of fruits is semi-dry. The skin is medium coarse, medium pubescent. The flesh is pink, cartilaginous. The taste is sweet and sour, pleasant, harmonious. Tasting score 4 points. The stone is medium, wide-round, smooth, does not separate from the pulp. The fruits contain: dry matter 14.6%, sugar 8.16%, acid 0.74%, vitamin C 37.4 mg%. The average yield is 143.7 q/ha.

Felt cherry: cultivation and care

Felt cherry during cultivation and care does not tolerate shading, while protecting plants from winter cold winds is necessary.

It develops a superficial root system located in a layer of 10-30 cm, which does not tolerate excessive moisture at all and can rot.

To plant felt cherries, you need a site with light fertile soils, low standing groundwater, in no case flooded, provided with good drainage and runoff of melt water. In areas with winter thaws, it is necessary to plant plants in the beds, break through the grooves to ensure the flow of water from the base of the trunk. You should not try to grow it on heavy clay soils and cold peat bogs. When planting, if the soils are viscous, clayey, sand must be added to the planting pit simultaneously with fertilizers and humus in a ratio of one to one. If possible, expanded clay should also be added to the prepared soil mixture. This will prevent the root collar from early spring maturation.

Planting, care and feeding of felt cherries: at what distance to plant (with video)

In the middle lane, the best time for planting microcherries is early spring (April - early May), when the soil warms up well, but before the buds open. Soil preparation and planting are not much different from those of ordinary cherries, only planting pits can be made smaller - 45 cm deep, 50 cm in diameter. At what distance to plant felt cherries depends on the purpose of plantings. Microcherry can be planted compactly - in rows 1-2 m apart. For good mutual pollination, seedlings of various shapes or varieties are placed alternately on the site, alternating.

Top dressing of felt cherries: in the 2nd-3rd year, plants are fertilized with urea in the spring - 20 g per 1 sq. m near the trunk circle. Then, as they begin to bear fruit, 20-30 g of urea, 15 g of superphosphate and 20 g of potassium sulfate per 1 sq. m near the trunk circle. Nitrogen fertilizers are applied only in early spring, superphosphate, potash fertilizers and lime - in autumn. Annually, dry and broken branches are cut out, frozen ones are shortened to healthy tissue, and they try to thin out the center of the bush for better illumination. Sections after trimming are carefully treated with garden putty. See planting and caring for felt cherries in this video, which shows everything a beginner gardener needs to know:

How to care for felt cherries in the garden: how to cover for the winter (with photo)

Let's continue the story of how to care for felt cherries in order to get guaranteed high yields. Trees hibernate more reliably under snow cover, therefore, in winters with little snow, snow retention measures should be taken. In severe winters, it is useful to provide for light shelter of the branches, for which they are tied with burlap or film and twine. Before you cover felt cherries for the winter, you need to carefully inspect the plants and remove all diseased parts.

Felt cherry usually blooms in early May, still in a leafless state. At this time, she is amazingly beautiful. Therefore, in the garden it can be grown not only as a fruit crop, but also as an ornamental. Frosts occur during its flowering, so gardeners help cherries (not only felt, but also other varieties) to somewhat delay the start of flowering. To do this, before the snow melts under the bushes, cherries are collected and the snow is well trampled down, and mulched with straw or sawdust from above. In this case, under the cherry bushes, the soil remains frozen for a long time, the roots begin to feed the plant later. And, as a rule, the bush wakes up later from hibernation and blooms after the passage of frost.

If there is a lot of snow in the garden in winter, the bark of the cherry trunk at the root neck under a thick snow cover can dry up. Therefore, in late February - early March, when the snow begins to settle under the influence of the bright sun, the trunk must be dug up and freed from snow to the ground. The following shows a felt cherry in the photo in the garden, where all agrotechnical measures were carried out in a timely manner:

How to propagate and grow felt cherries from seeds (seeds): how and when to plant

Before propagating felt cherries, you need to learn about the available methods for this process:

seeds, sowing them in the summer immediately after ripening, in autumn or spring (when sown in spring, seeds require a preliminary 3-month stratification in wet sand);
grafting (compatible with cherry plum, plum, peach, apricot);
layering;
green and woody cuttings, which take root relatively well.

The main method of propagation of felt cherries is sowing seeds. Felt cherry from seeds completely retains the properties of the mother plant. Before growing felt cherries from the stone, they are harvested from bushes with the best yield and quality fruits, washed and slightly dried in the shade. At the end of August, the seeds are mixed with wet sand and stored until sowing in a cool room. In October, the seeds are sown in the garden in grooves 3-4 cm deep. Friendly seedlings appear the following year in the spring. With good care, seedlings grow quickly and reach 40–50 cm in height in the first year. In the fall or spring of the following year, they are seated in a permanent place. Fruiting occurs in the 3-4th year. If there is a desire to speed up the start of fruiting for a year, seeds are sown immediately in the fall in a permanent place, 4–5 seeds each in a hole prepared for planting a seedling at a distance of 15–20 cm from each other. A year later, the best plant is chosen, and the rest are removed. Without a transplant, the bush will develop much faster and will bear fruit a year earlier. It is important to know how and when to plant the seeds of felt cherries, strictly follow the above recommendations.

When sowing seeds, unfortunately, all the positive properties of the mother variety are not fully preserved, therefore, if you want to preserve or propagate the plant you like, you will have to resort to budding (it is done in the same way as with ordinary cherries). Do it in August on annual seedlings.

Seeds can be sown in spring, but then stratification is required in winter for 90–100 days. For spring sowing, seeds are stratified in calcined sand or sawdust. The seeds are mixed in the ratio: one part of the seeds (pits), three to five parts of one of the components. The mixture is moistened so that water does not drain, and when compressed into a lump, it does not crumble. The mixture is placed in a half-liter jar and placed in a refrigerator or any other place with a temperature of 0 ... + 5 degrees. 1-2 times a month, check the moisture content of the mixture, if it is dry, add water and mix so that the stratification of all seeds takes place evenly. If the seeds hatched before the sowing time, then the jar is transferred to a cooler place. You can also sow the hatched seeds in a seedling box, and plant them in the garden in the spring. In this case, the young seedling has some run in growth and development. It is planted in the garden after the passage of frost.

You can plant 1-2-year-old seedlings as follows. In a planting pit or trench with a width of at least 60 cm and a depth of not more than 50 cm, you need to add a soil mixture (per 1 sq. M): organic fertilizers at least 3 buckets, lime - 400-800 g, phosphorus - 40-60, potassium - 20-30 g of active ingredient. Everything is mixed evenly. The root system must be cut to 20–25 cm, treated with a clay mash and planted bushes at the same depth as in the nursery. After planting, the soil is compacted, watered abundantly and mulched with peat or organic fertilizers.

It is enough to plant 2-3 felt cherry plants on the site. Compared to common cherry, a more sparse planting scheme is used: 3–3.5 × 1–1.5 m. It is carried out with 1–2-year-old seedlings to the same depth at which they grew before.

Care for young bushes consists in thinning the crown and removing broken branches. When the annual growth begins to fade, a rejuvenating pruning should be carried out, removing the upper part of the branches up to the last strong growth.

Felt cherry trees withstand frosts down to -40°C. Flower buds are more sensitive to cold and in the European part of Russia they freeze in very severe winters with temperature fluctuations from thaws to severe frosts below -30°C.

For a long time felt cherry in the conditions of the European part was practically not affected. However, in recent years, in the gardens of the middle lane, there has been an outbreak of a new dangerous fungal disease of stone fruit crops - monilial burn, from which felted cherries also suffer greatly. This disease manifests itself in early summer, when leaves suddenly wither and dry on individual shoots. With mass development, the bush looks like it has been burned by fire, which is why the disease is called monilial burn. To combat this disease, it is necessary to cut them out immediately after the shoots have dried, capturing the upper part of healthy wood. In autumn after leaf fall and in spring before bud break, eradicating spraying with 2% nitrofen should be carried out. Before flowering and a week after the end of flowering, especially if it happened in rainy, damp weather, felted cherry bushes should be sprayed with 0.7% cineb.

Gradually felt cherry begins to be affected by other diseases characteristic of cherries and plums.

Selection of seedlings

For good fruiting on the site, it is necessary to have at least two felt cherry plants (for mutual pollination), since it does not cross with common cherry varieties.

Felt microcherry seedlings are branched one- or two-year-old root plants.

For annual seedlings of the first grade, the height of the trunk should be at least 90 cm, the trunk diameter should be at least 11 mm (for the second grade, 80 cm and 10 mm, respectively).

In biennial plants, the height of the stem of the first grade should be at least 40–60 cm, the diameter of the stem should be at least 1.8 cm, the length of the main side branches should be at least 30 cm (for the second grade, the height is 40–60 cm, the trunk diameter is 1.6 cm, the length of the main side branches is 30 cm).

Nutritional value of felt cherry fruit

Felt cherries contain a large amount of sugars, mainly glucose and fructose, organic acids - malic and citric, rich in vitamin C, and also contain pectins and tannins.

Cherry fruits quickly deteriorate, so they are harvested and immediately consumed and processed and consumed fresh and processed. At home, they are dried, used to make jam, compotes, juice, syrup, jam, fruit drink, tincture. The leaves are added to pickles and marinades.

It has been established that felt cherries improve appetite, regulate bowel activity, promote better absorption of fats and proteins. It has a capillary-strengthening property, and linoleic acid in the fatty oil of the seeds can have an anti-sclerotic effect.

Felt cherry contains iron, copper, cobalt, which allows it to be used for anemia. Pectins contribute to the removal of nitrogenous toxins from the body.

By its nature and biological characteristics, felt cherries are closer to plums and cross with plums, peaches, cherry plums and even apricots, but with "real" cherries - ordinary and steppe - it is incompatible.

Botanists even identified it as a special genus - microcherries. The plant comes from Central China, hence another name - Chinese cherry.

Felt cherry (lat. Prunus tomentosa, less often Cerasus tomentosa) - a species of cherry, now attributed to the genus Plum (Prunus).

From China, the culture spread around the world, and at the end of the 19th century it reached the Russian borders. In the Far East, until now, the concept of "cherry" is associated precisely with felt cherries, and mostly ungrafted seedlings grow in gardens. It owes its appearance in the European part of our country to Ivan Michurin, who brought out a large-fruited form and described it under the name ‘Ando’. Felt is also called it because of the pubescence that covers the shoots, leaves and even fruits.

This shrub has a lot of advantages: decorative, unusually high frost resistance, stable yield, early fruiting. Fruits that ripen a week and a half earlier than ordinary cherries are convenient to collect (the maximum height of plants is 2.5–3 m), they practically do not crumble.

Felt cherry fruits are rich in carbohydrates, organic acids, vitamins of group B and PP. They contain 1.5–2 times more vitamin C than ordinary cherries, and they surpass apples in the amount of iron.

In addition, felt cherry not only decorates the garden in early spring and bears fruit in summer, its bushes with a dense spreading crown are suitable for creating hedges, borders, they can strengthen the slopes.

The main disadvantage is the low life expectancy, only about 10 years. But with anti-aging pruning, it can be extended up to 20 years.

Felt cherry (Prunus tomentosa)

Requirements

Felt cherry grows best in fertile and light, well-drained soil with a neutral reaction. Excess moisture adversely affects growth, fruiting and overwintering, which leads to the death of the bushes. Liming is desirable for acidic soil.

The felt cherry needs a sunny place, it does not tolerate shading at all. For better cross-pollination, it is necessary to plant either several seedlings or several varieties (at least three) on the site.

Landing

You can plant seedlings of 1-2 years of age in autumn and spring. In a planting pit or trench with a width of at least 60 cm and a depth of not more than 50 cm, you need to add a soil mixture (per 1 m2): organic fertilizers - at least 3 buckets, lime - 400-800 g, phosphorus - 40-60, potassium - 20 -30 g. Everything must be mixed evenly. The root system must be cut to 20-25 cm, treated with a clay mash and planted bushes at the same depth as in the nursery. After planting, the soil should be compacted, watered abundantly and mulched with peat or organic fertilizers.

It is enough to plant 2-3 felt cherry plants on the site. Of the specific features of growing felt cherries, the following can be noted. A more sparse planting scheme is used: 3-3.5 x 1 - 1.5 m. It is carried out with seedlings of 1-2 years of age to the same depth at which they grew before.

Felt cherry (Prunus tomentosa)

Care

Felt cherry is a self-fertile plant (that is, not capable of self-pollination), therefore, in order to get a crop, you need to plant several varieties in one place.

The best planting time is early spring, before bud break. You can plant cherries in the fall - in September, but no later. Seedlings purchased in the middle - the end of October, it is more reliable to dig in until spring.

This culture prefers light loamy, sandy loamy soils. Heavy waterlogged and peat bogs are not suitable for her. The place is sunny, elevated, without stagnant spring waters. Plants are fertilized immediately after flowering, adding 5–7 kg of organic fertilizers, 20 g of potash, 30 g of nitrogen, 70 g of phosphorus along the edges of the trunk circles. The soil is limed once every five years.

The center of the crown is thinned out annually, leaving 10-12 strong shoots.

Felt cherry bears fruit abundantly, usually already in the third year, and annually. With proper planting and proper care, the yield can reach 4 kg per plant. The fruits ripen almost simultaneously, they are juicy, fragrant and sweet. Color depending on the variety - from light pink to dark red.

When fresh, the fruits of felt cherries are poorly transported and stored (that's why they are not found on sale). If you plan to transport it, then it is better not to wait for full ripening, but to collect it as soon as the fruits reach their maximum size and are almost completely colored.

The main method of propagation of a species (but not varieties!) Is a simple sowing of seeds. The bones are collected, washed and slightly dried in the shade. At the end of August, they are mixed with wet sand and stored in a cool room until October, and then sown in a garden bed in grooves 2–3 cm deep.

In the spring, friendly shoots appear. With good care, seedlings grow quickly and already in the first year of life reach a height of 40-50 cm. In the fall or spring of the next year, they are seated.

Propagation by green cuttings makes it possible to obtain varietal planting material, but this is possible only in a greenhouse equipped with a fogging installation.

Felt cherry varieties can be grafted onto thorns, cherry plums and ‘Vladimirskaya’ cherries.

Felt cherry (Prunus tomentosa)

Diseases and pests

Half a century ago, in central Russia, cherry, along with the apple tree, was the main fruit tree. The popularity of cherries was due to its unpretentiousness and ease of reproduction. The best and most popular varieties in those years were Vladimirskaya and Lyubskaya. The first is quite vigorous with dark tasty fruits, but small-fruited and low-yielding. The second is undersized, very productive with large fruits, from which excellent compotes, jams and juices were obtained.

Breeders have bred new varieties that are much more resistant to coccomycosis, although they cannot be called completely immune. But their defeat by coccomycosis begins much later than in susceptible varieties, and the development of the disease proceeds much more slowly. However, in years favorable for the mass development of coccomycosis, they also need to be sprayed with fungicides.

Another dangerous disease came to our gardens in the mid-90s of the last century. This is moniliosis or monilial burn, a fungal disease that affects cherries during flowering. Its spores fall on the pistil of the flower and germinate there. Then the mycelium penetrates the branch through the pedicel, developing further inside the wood and destroying it. As a result, by the end of May - beginning of June, there is a massive drying of the branches on the tree. Outwardly, such branches look like burnt ones, hence the name of the disease - monilial burn.

Infection occurs especially intensively in wet rainy weather during flowering and in summer during the ripening of fruits, when they crack due to an excess of moisture. Therefore, moniliosis poses a particular threat to regions with wet, rainy springs and summers. First of all, this is the North-West, the Non-Chernozem region, the northern and western regions of the Chernozem zone, as well as the south-western regions of the North Caucasus. With the mass development of moniliosis, the crop completely dies and the tree is greatly weakened. If this happens for several years in a row, the tree dries up.

The current massive spread of coccomycosis and moniliosis, the accumulation of infection in gardens has led to the fact that it is impossible to grow cherries as a fruit crop without fungicide treatment.

Felt cherry (Prunus tomentosa)

Varieties

Varieties of felt cherries can be divided into three groups: early, medium and late ripening. Cherry varieties also differ in color. Their color is so diverse that it is impossible to distinguish the characteristic color for felt cherries: from white to red-black. Below are the most promising varieties.

Early varieties

Natalie. Bush with a wide crown, vigorous, medium density. The flowers are large pink. The fruits are dark red in color, sweet and sour in taste, weighing 4-4.5 g. The flesh of the fruits is dense, cartilaginous. Peduncle 0.5 cm long, semi-dry separation from the branch. It is stored at room temperature for up to three, and in the refrigerator for up to six days without loss of quality. The yield from an adult bush is about 7 kg.

Children's. The shape of the bush is wide-oval, with medium thickening. The fruits are bright red in color with dense, cartilaginous pulp, weighing 3.5-4.0 g. The taste is sweet and sour. The length of the stem is 0.5 cm, with a semi-dry separation. It is characterized by high productivity - up to 15 kg.

Fabulous. The bush is wide, sprawling. The color of the fruit is maroon with a glossy sheen. Fruit weight 3.0-4.0 g. The pulp is fibrous, dense. Sweet and sour taste. The length of the stem is 0.5 cm, with a semi-dry separation. Average yield - up to 12 kg.

Fairy tale. The shape of the bush is oval, medium density. Fruits are maroon in color, weighing 3.0-4.0 g with dense, cartilaginous pulp. The taste is sweet and sour. The length of the stem is 0.5 cm with a semi-dry separation. The average yield is up to 10 kg.

Harvest. The bush is spreading, wide. Fruits are dark pink in color, weighing 2.6-2.7 g with dense, cartilaginous pulp. The taste is sweet and sour. The length of the peduncle is 0.4 cm with a semi-dry separation. Average yield - up to 12 kg.

Medium varieties

Dark-skinned oriental. The bush is wide-spread, undersized. The fruits are maroon in color, weighing 2.7-2.9 g with tender pulp. The taste is sweet and sour. The length of the stem is 0.7 cm. The yield is below average - up to 7 kg.

Anniversary. Bush oval, vigorous, medium density. Fruits are dark red in color, weighing 3.5-4.3 g with juicy, fibrous pulp. Productivity up to 8.5 kg.

White. Bush of medium height, spreading crown. Fruit weight - 1.6-1.9 g. The color is dull white, the flesh is white, very juicy. The taste is sweet and sour. The stalk is short - 0.3 cm. The average yield is up to 10 kg.

late variety

Ocean virovskaya. The bush is compact, vigorous, medium density. Fruits are maroon in color, weighing 3.0-3.6 g with dense, cartilaginous pulp. The taste is sweet and sour. The length of the peduncle is 0.4 cm with a semi-dry separation. Average yield - up to 9 kg.