2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Shrub cherry (lat. Cerasus fruticosa) - berry culture; a representative of the genus Plum, subgenus Cherry of the Rosaceae family. Another name is Steppe cherry. It occurs naturally in Central Europe, Central and Asia Minor, the Urals and Siberia. It grows mainly on dry open slopes, valleys of large rivers, steppe zones, less often in deciduous and pine forests. Plants often form dense thickets.
Characteristics of culture
Shrub cherry or steppe cherry is a low-growing deciduous shrub up to 2-2.5 m high with a dense spreading crown and light brown bark with yellowish lenticels. The stems are erect, branched. Leaves are dark green, shiny, glabrous, obovate or elongated-oval, short-petiolate, with obtuse toothed or crenate edges, lighter in color on the underside, equipped with linear serrated stipules. The flowers are regular, white, sometimes with a pinkish tint, single or collected in bunches or umbellate inflorescences, sit on short pedicels.
Fruits are spherical or ovoid drupes, slightly flattened at the bottom, red, dark red or burgundy. The fruit is juicy, with a sweet and sour taste, edible, widely used in cooking, suitable for making jams, preserves, wine, stewed fruit and juices. The average life span of one shrub is 18-20 years. Shrub cherry, unlike other representatives of the subgenus, is the most drought-resistant and winter-hardy. It is undemanding to soil conditions, rarely affected by diseases and pests.
Often shrubs are used in ornamental gardening, to fix the slopes of ravines, planting trees in rocky areas and forest parks. The culture has several garden forms, of which interest are: variegated shrub cherry and weeping shrub cherry. Popular varieties of shrubby cherries: Rubinovaya, Vuzovskaya, Transparent, Vole, Zmeinogorskaya, Altai swallow, Altai early, Maksimovskaya, Kurchatovskaya, Novoseletskaya, Bolotovskaya, Zhelannaya, Plamennaya, Irtyshskaya, Subbotinskaya, Sverdlovchanka, Mechta Trans-Urals and others, Shadrinskaya.
Seat selection and landing
The choice of a site for planting shrubby cherries plays an important role in the successful cultivation of crops. The site should be well lit, with rich, loose and neutral or slightly acidic soil. Compacted, heavy clayey and strongly acidic soils are not suitable for cherries. The groundwater level is no closer than 2 m. The southern slopes and plains are optimal for plants. In the lowlands, the culture should not be planted, on such sites the shrubs feel uncomfortable, moreover, they are often flooded by melt water, which can cause irreparable harm to the root system.
Shrub cherry seedlings are planted in the open ground in early spring. In autumn, planting is also possible, however, young plants do not always have time to take root before the onset of frost. Before planting, the seedlings are carefully examined, damaged shoots are removed, the roots are shortened and dipped in a clay mash. Planting pit dimensions: width - 70-80 cm, depth - 50-60 cm. The top layer of soil removed from the pit is mixed with rotted manure or humus, wood ash and lime (with increased soil acidity). Complex mineral fertilizers are also added to the soil mixture.
A small roller is formed at the bottom of the planting pit, then the seedling is lowered, the roots are straightened and covered with the prepared soil mixture. Important: the root collar of the seedling should be located 2-5 cm above the soil surface. In the process of work, the seedling is periodically shaken. After planting, a shallow hole is formed around the seedling, then 20 liters of water are poured into it and mulched with peat, sawdust or humus. Next to the shrub cherry seedling, a peg is driven in, to which a young plant is tied. The distance between plants should be at least 3 m. For the winter, cherries are covered with spruce branches or other non-woven material, especially this rule should be observed by gardeners of the northern regions.
Basic care
Caring for shrubby cherries does not differ from the principles of cultivation of other representatives of the subgenus. Care consists of regular loosening, enriching the soil and roots with oxygen; weeding of weeds that negatively affect the growth of cultivated plants; top dressing (2 dressings per season); systematic watering (especially during flowering and fruit formation), treatments against diseases and pests, sanitary and formative pruning. When forming pruning, it is necessary to take into account a number of nuances, including the biological characteristics of the considered cherry variety. As a rule, gardeners form a sparse-tiered crown, leaving 7-9 main branches. Shrub cherry forms a large amount of growth, which must also be removed.
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