According to the ideas of botanists, cherry plum (Prunus cerasifera) and plum are included in the same biological genus. However, these are different plants and, in fact, it was from cherry plum, by crossing it with some species of wild closely related species, that homemade plum was obtained.
Cherry plum, however, with the advent of a larger-fruited and tasty competitor, was not forgotten. Possessing less attractive fruits with a significant share of sour taste, it is a more unpretentious and hardy plant - it can do without watering for a long time, survives winters well in harsh conditions (tolerates frosts down to -20 ° C and below).
In addition, cherry plum is less susceptible to attack by pathogens and pests.
Content:
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plant description
Over the past 50-70 years, the situation with cherry plum has improved significantly thanks to the work of breeders.
More large-fruited and early-ripening varieties were obtained, in many varieties, it was possible to achieve a significant decrease in sourness in taste, the fruiting time also changed - many early-ripening varieties appeared (wild cherry plum, like blackthorn, have late ripening dates).
The varietal variety of cherry plum is huge. There is an opinion that from no less than apple trees. Among the varieties there are trees of any shape, size, pollination methods and ripening dates. Large selection and properties of fruits: from bitter-sour to sugary-sweet; from the size of a pea, to giants resembling a medium-sized apple.
Caring for cherry plums is much easier and less expensive than caring for plums. At all stages of life, the plant gives the owner minimal trouble, although there are special issues that can take more than one day to solve.
cherry plum flowers
Cherry plum is a plant of the Rosaceae family. It has multi-stemmed trees, in rare cases it is a bush or trunk. The shoots are relatively thin, their colors are brown-green. The height of the trees can vary from 1.5 to 10 m.
Cherry plum leaves have an elongated oval shape, at the top they are equipped with a slight point. The size of the leaves depends on the plant variety, but rarely they exceed 10 cm in length and 8 cm in width.
The flowers of the plant are white, but some hybrids often have pinkish or yellowish hues. Flowering time earlier: the earliest ripe varieties begin to bloom in the third decade of March. Despite the fact that the plant is mainly wind-pollinated, late-flowering varieties can act as honey plants. The ovaries are moderately frost tolerant.
Cherry plum fruits are round or slightly elongated berries (drupes); sometimes there are species with flattened fruits. When ripe, they are juicy and relatively soft. The color of cherry plum fruits can vary greatly.
Pthere are red, dark red, yellow, pink, purple and even black shades of pulp. In rare cases, the skin and flesh have a different color. The average fruit size is about 3 cm in diameter. In most varieties, the stone is difficult to separate from the pulp.
Kuban comet - one of the large-fruited varieties, the weight of its fruits reaches 50 g
The peel is almost always covered with a waxy coating, and there is a longitudinal strip on the fruits stretching from the petiole. Crop yields can reach fantastic values. Cases of harvesting more than 300 kg from one plant have been recorded. Cherry plum trees begin to bear fruit from the age of 3, stable yields are obtained from 5-6 years. Early-fruiting and hybrid varieties stably bear fruit, starting from 3-4 years.
The fruits contain up to 14% sugars and 7% organic acids. The high concentration of sugars makes cherry plum a nutritious crop. Citric and ascorbic acids, pectin and carotene reach the highest concentration among the useful substances of cherry plum. Plum is rich in vitamins E, B and A.
Sweet or sour-sweet fruits in most crops have a universal use - they can be used in raw and processed form, as well as get juice from them and make preservation (jams, jams, sauces, compotes, etc.). From the seeds of cherry plum, oil is obtained that is close in quality to almond oil.
The habitat of cherry plum fruit trees (both domesticated and wild) is very extensive. The plant can be found in the Balkans, Central Asia, Transcaucasia, Moldova, Ukraine. In Russia, cherry plum has long been cultivated by gardeners in the Krasnodar Territory, Rostov, Belgorod, Smolensk regions, Moscow region, etc. It is not so much the frost resistance of the culture that limits the spread to the north, but the desire to increase the share of vegetables and shrubs in plantings in comparison with trees.
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Cherry plum Lavina
The varietal variety of cherry plum is very large. In addition to officially registered and released varieties, there are many as yet unrecognized hybrids and varieties that have a wide variety of properties inherited from their parents.
However, in terms of characteristics, gene set, methods of reproduction and cultivation, as well as care, they are all more or less the same. The main differences relate only to the taste of fruits, their appearance and ripening time.
Therefore, in most of the literature, it is precisely this classification of cherry plum that is used - according to the time when its fruits ripen. Below is a table indicating the varieties, cherry plums that can be grown in the Middle Strip. They are grouped by age.
| Varieties | Ripening terms |
|---|---|
| | |
| july rose | from the first decade of July through the first decade of August |
| Traveler | |
| Flint | |
| marquee | |
| Vetraz | |
| Found | |
| Scythian gold | |
| Monomakh | |
| | |
| Kuban comet | from the second decade of August through the first decade of September |
| Pesikovaya | |
| Chuk | |
| Lama | |
| Columnar | |
| Gift to St. Petersburg | |
| | |
| the globe | starting from the second half of September |
| Gift to Primorye | |
| Mara | |
| Cleopatra | |
Cherry plum has a dense crown that requires regular pruning
In the case of using cherry plum in landscape design, there is a varietal classification according to branching power. Varieties are divided according to weak, medium and high branching power (200, 400 and 800 cm per 1 linear meter of branch, respectively).
There are several hybrids of cherry plum with other crops. Most often, cherry plum is crossed with apricots for this. The most popular and commercially successful hybrids are plumcot and black apricot.
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Planting cherry plum
Planting a seedling in a hole
Depending on the climate of the area in which the culture grows, it is planted at different times of the year. In cold areas, planting in spring is recommended, in warm areas - in autumn. In the first case, planting should be carried out before flowering begins, in the second - before the foliage is shed.
Cherry plum loves sunny areas, protected from the northern winds. Best of all, the culture grows and takes root on loamy or loose fertile soils. However, it is believed that the culture is less demanding on soil quality than plum.
Despite the high frost resistance, trees under 3 years old need protection from cold winds. Fertile loam with neutral acidity is ideal as soil. The depth of groundwater should be no higher than 1 m, since the root system of the tree is located at a depth of 30-40 cm. If the waters lie above 60 cm, it is better to choose another site.
It is recommended to plant annual or biennial seedlings, that were received in the same region.
A week before planting cherry plum, planting holes should be formed with a depth of up to 60 cm and a diameter of 60-80 cm. A soil mixture should be poured into the holes at 2/3 of the depth, consisting of:
- 2 pieces of excavated land
- 1 part humus
- 1 kg nitrophoska
Planting cherry plum
Acidic soil will also require the addition of up to 1 kg of dolomite flour or 1 liter of wood ash to the soil. In the case of alkaline soil, 500 g to 1 kg of gypsum should be added.
The distance between the landing pits must be at least 2 m, Ultimately, the planting pattern depends on the crown diameter of the planted varieties.
On the day of planting, a mound is formed from the remnants of the soil mixture in the pit, on which the plant is installed, distributing its root system evenly along the slopes. The roots should first be moistened with clay mash, and the height of the mound should be selected so that the root neck is exactly at ground level. In the case of planting already grafted seedlings, the height of the grafting point should be 5-6 cm above ground level.
The pit is dug in with the remains of the excavated soil, lightly tamped and watered abundantly (3-4 buckets of water). The trunk circle (up to 1 m in diameter) is mulched with a layer of straw, sawdust or peat 5-10 cm high.
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Pruning cherry plum
Caring for cherry plum is relatively simple, since the culture is quite unpretentious. Care consists of regular watering and fertilizing the plant, several prunings during the season, and preventive pest control measures. The procedures are discussed in more detail below.
Watering
Watering a tree is best done in a near-stem circle.
Despite good resistance to drought, cherry plum is still needed. The plant itself will not die, but a lack of moisture can have disastrous consequences for the crop: ovaries and unripe fruits can begin to wither and crumble.
Usually, the plant is watered three times per season:
- after flowering
- after stopping the growth of branches and young shoots
- after the beginning of the change in color of the fruit during ripening
The watering rate is from 15 to 20 liters per tree. Young plants are recommended to be watered up to 5 times per season (two additional waterings are added evenly between those already listed).
In addition, water-charging irrigation is carried out in the middle of autumn; while using from 30 to 40 liters of water.
Mulching will save the gardener from having to loosen the soil too often and weed weeds. Usually, straw or large wood chips are used as mulch.
top dressing
tree nutrition
The first dressing of cherry plum is made in May, at the same time, a special complex fertilizer for garden trees is used with the norms indicated on the package.
The second dressing is done during fruit ripening. Usually, organic fertilizers are used in this case: the mullein is dissolved in a ratio of 1 to 7 and the plant is watered with the resulting mixture in the amount of 1 bucket. You can feed the cherry plum with bird droppings or rotted manure, but their concentration should be at least 1 to 20 or 1 to 10, respectively.
The third dressing is done after harvesting. At the same time, mineral phosphorus and potassium fertilizers are introduced. Feed the tree with the mixture superphosphate and potassium sulfate in the amount of 50 and 40 g, respectively. Autumn top dressing of cherry plum with compost is allowed.
pruning
Spring pruning of cherry plum
Immediately after the snow melts, the plant is subjected to sanitary pruning - sick, frostbitten and damaged branches are removed, the trunk is cleaned of dead bark.
In April, pruning is carried out, combining sanitary, thinning and shaping. At the same time, not only dried shoots are removed, but also the crown is thinned out, cutting off the shoots growing inside the crown and too long shoots of past years, leaving no more than 3 buds on them. They also form the outer borders of the crown. In some cases, during the formation of the crown, even skeletal branches can be removed.
In summer, two-year-old shoots are shortened by 60-80 cm and the crown is subjected to corrective thinning - remove the growth formed from the moment last cut.
In autumn, it is better not to cut cherry plum, because the tree will weaken and endure wintering worse.
Disease prevention
First whitewash, after processing the tree with garden sprayer
Plum can be susceptible to a wide range of diseases. These include:
- moniliosis
- coccomycosis
- milky shine
- red spot
- marsupial disease
Most diseases are of fungal origin. Prevention of fungal diseases is carried out in early spring immediately after sanitary pruning. For it, a 1% solution of copper sulphate is used, which is sprayed on all branches of the plant. But the most important component of protection against diseases is the observance of the agricultural technology of the plant: all measures to care for the crop must be carried out in the period allotted to them.
Cherry plum pests are mainly represented by insects: these are mainly various leafworms and codling moths.
Protection against pests consists in treating the plant with insecticides. It is produced in early April as a spray on all branches of the tree. It is best to use complex preparations, such as Actellik, Skor, Phytoflavin or Aktara.
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reproduction
Pruning cherry plum cuttings
Like most horticultural crops, cherry plum can be propagated in one of the following ways:
- cuttings
- layering
- vaccination
- from the bone
Cuttings are widespread. Obtaining seed from lignified cuttings prevails. Difficult-to-root varieties (Naydena, Kometa, Shatyor, etc.) are propagated by green cuttings.
Lignified cuttings are cut in spring or autumn. In the latter case, they are stored at temperatures from 0 to +2°C. Planting of cuttings is carried out in May in well-loosened soil. Cuttings are planted obliquely, covering them after planting with plastic wrap. They should be regularly watered and ventilated. After about a month, the film is removed. Such seedlings need to grow from 1 to 2 years.
Green cuttings are obtained from the branches of this season. They are germinated in a peat-sand substrate, covered with plastic bottles. As soon as they form roots, they are transplanted into pots, where they grow for a year. Landing in the ground is carried out in May of the following year.Care for green cuttings is similar - regular airing and maintaining constant soil moisture.
Vaccination is carried out by any convenient method. Cherry plum can be chosen as a stock, plum or apricot. The vaccination procedure is standard and does not have any nuances. It is recommended to vaccinate after the start of sap flow (the criterion for which will be swelling of the kidneys), so that the scion and stock grow together faster and take root better. The grafting sites in the split should be treated with garden pitch.
Cherry plum grafting into a split
Plum, cherry, apricot or peach can be used as a rootstock.
Cultivation of cherry plum from the stone is rarely used, since the time to obtain healthy seedlings can be spent significant - from 3 to 4 years.
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Formation of the cherry plum crown
Cherry plum has high frost resistance. Some winter-hardy varieties can endure frosts down to -30 ° C without shelter, so we can say that the plant does not need shelter. However, young plants that do not yet have sufficient stem thickness may freeze slightly. It is recommended to spud the trunks of young trees to a height of up to 50 cm, and wrap the upper part of the trunk and the beginning of the skeletal branches with burlap.
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