Felt Cherries: Popular Varieties, Features Of Planting, Care, Pruning And Reproduction With Photos And Videos

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 12:53

Felt cherry: how to care for a small gardener

Felt cherry, which is common in the Far Eastern region, has not yet gained great popularity in the western part of the country. Meanwhile, this plant is worth paying attention to. High frost resistance and unpretentiousness makes it possible to grow it everywhere.

Content

• 1 Features of Felt (Chinese) Cherry

  1.1 Table: Advantages and Disadvantages of Chinese Cherry

• 2 Growing in different climatic conditions

• 3 Description and photos of popular varieties

  • 3.1 Natalie
  • 3.2 Fairy tale
  • 3.3 Harvest
  • 3.4 Children's
  • 3.5 Princess (Queen)
  • 3.6 Alice
  • 3.7 Summer
  • 3.8 Fireworks
  • 3.9 Morning
  • 3.10 Delight
  • 3.11 Oceanic virovskaya
  • 3.12 Damanka
  • 3.13 Beauty
  • 3.14 Eastern Darkie
  • 3.15 White
  • 3.16 Anniversary

• 4 Cherry agrotechnics

  • 4.1 Video: Why Felt Cherry Needs Moniliosis Prevention
  • 4.2 Video: how to prune bush cherries
  • 4.3 Video: where you can plant cherries
  • 4.4 Video: how to transplant a cherry bush
  • 4.5 Video: how to properly care for Chinese cherries

• 5 Reproduction of a bush by grafting, bones, cuttings, layering

  5.1 Video: how to propagate a bush by cuttings

• 6 Reviews of gardeners

Features of Felt (Chinese) Cherry

The homeland of this culture is China (hence the second name of the species is Chinese). It appeared in Russia at the end of the 19th century. The first specialist in our country to develop a variety with rather large fruits was I. V. Michurin. This cherry got its name because of the pubescence that covers all parts of the plant, including the fruits.

All parts of the plant are poorly pubescent, which is why this culture got its name

Small tree (up to 3 m), spherical or oval crown, rather spreading. The shoots are powerful, the leaves are small, wavy at the edges. The berries are small, the color varies from light milky to dark burgundy (depending on the variety). The fruits are sweet, slightly sourness is present in some varieties. The stone is small, poorly separated. In the photo you can see that the berries have short stalks, and therefore it seems that they "sit" on a branch.

Compact cherry bushes are entirely covered with fragrant flowers, thus representing huge natural bouquets. Felt cherry flowers, exuding a honey aroma, attract a lot of bees.

Table: advantages and disadvantages of Chinese cherry

pros	Minuses
The small size of the tree makes it convenient for maintenance and harvesting, it is also a plus for gardeners with a small garden area	High susceptibility to moniliosis
Easy to grow and reproduce	Small tree life - about 10 years
Sweet, almost without acidity, taste	Some varieties are self-fertile and require planting of pollinators
Ornamental type of shrub	The bone is poorly separated from the pulp
Early fruiting (may yield yields as early as the second year after planting)	Poor transportability
Stable yield	Intolerance to excess moisture
The berries practically do not crumble
Coccomycosis resistance
Early ripening of berries
Good drought tolerance

Felt cherry tree is compact and great for small gardens

Growing in various climates

Chinese cherry is an unpretentious plant, which allows it to be grown almost everywhere. In the Moscow region or in another region with acidic, dense, not too rich in organic matter soils, you need to pay attention not so much to the ability to withstand frost, but to the requirements of plants to the soil. As a rule, the shrub grows best on light, loose soils with a neutral or slightly acidic reaction.

The choice of varieties of felt cherry for the regions of the North-West region, in particular for the Leningrad region, requires special attention. Here, due to the possibility of changing spring thaws by frosts under the layer of infusion, even successfully overwintered plants can weed out. A similar situation occurs when growing felt cherry in the Urals.

The frost resistance of felt cherry allows it to be grown almost everywhere

Chinese cherry is sometimes confused with steppe cherry. However, the latter has abundant root shoots. In addition, the berries are differently colored, while the felt cherries have a uniform color.

Description and photos of popular varieties

There is a fairly wide variety of varieties of felt cherries.

Natalie

This variety has a vigorous tree with a wide medium thickened crown. The fruits are sweet-sour, purple in color. The pulp is juicy, dense, the average weight is 4 g . Natalie has the largest fruits, but during bountiful harvests the berries become smaller. The variety is self-fertile, therefore it needs pollinators in the neighborhood. Average yields are about 7 kg per season. Natalie's peculiarity is good resistance to clasterosporium disease.

Natalie has the largest berries

Story

The bush grows up to 1.3 m. The oval medium thickened crown consists of straight gray branches. Leaves are dark green, oval-elongated, with a sharp top. Fruits are sweet-sour, dark-burgundy, with dense pulp. The average weight of a cherry is 3.5 g. A fairy tale produces about 10 kg of berries per season. The variety is self-fertile.

The average weight of Fairy Tale berries is about 3.5 g

Yielding

The crop has a wide spreading crown. Not very large berries (average weight - 2.6 g) sweet and sour in taste, dark pink, with dense pulp. The variety is self-fertile, has a good yield among Chinese cherries - up to 12 kg per season from one bush.

Children

Self-fertile bush with a wide medium thickened oval crown. Sweet and sour, bright red, dense berries are quite large - the average weight is 3.7 g. The variety is one of the most productive - up to 15 kg of fruits can be harvested from one plant.

Nursery - the record holder for yield among felt cherry

Princess (Queen)

A low tree with a broadly oval spreading crown of medium density. Cherries are crimson-pink in color, with sourness, the flesh is not very dense. The average fruit weight is 3 g. The variety is self-fertile. One of the princess's features is excellent frost resistance. Suitable for growing in northern regions. The tree is able to withstand frost down to -40 ^o C.

The princess is also called the Queen

Alice

It is a short tree with a dense crown. The mass of dark burgundy berries is about 3 g. Their flesh is juicy, dense, bright scarlet in color. The sourness is pronounced. The average yield of the variety is 8.5 kg. Alice is self-fertile and therefore does not need pollinators.

In the fruits of Alice, the acidity is pronounced

Summer

It is one of the first varieties of felt cherry and is the parent of many others. An upright tree is compact, its growth in the first years of life is practically invisible. Summer resists moniliosis well, but is more susceptible to moth attacks than others. Cold resistance is not very high, so you definitely need to take care of shelter for the winter. The berries are sweet with sourness, slightly bland in taste, juicy, scarlet with a less bright color at the stalk, the average weight is 3.5 g. The variety is self-fertile, the average yield is from 8 to 10 kg of fruits per season.

Leto became the parent of many other varieties

Firework

The tree is undersized, with a spreading oval dense crown. Fireworks begin to bear fruit rather late for felt cherries - 4–5 years after planting. The variety is self-fertile, the yield is not bad - up to 10 kg. On the crimson-pink berries with bright scarlet pulp, pubescence is clearly visible. The average fruit weight is about 3.5 g.

Cherry varieties Salute begin to bear fruit only 4-5 years after planting

Morning

The bush is compact and grows quickly. The crown is not very thickened. Self-fertile variety produces about 9 kg of berries per season. Red, with juicy pulp, small (average weight less than 3 g) berries are almost devoid of pubescence. Variety Morning is well resistant to clasterosporium disease and is practically not attacked by the moth.

Berries of the Morning variety - almost without the edge characteristic of felt cherries

Delight

The average fruit weight is about 3.3 g. The top of the berry is slightly beveled, the cherry color is bright scarlet. The pulp with fibers, dense, juicy. During the season, this medium-sized tree with a dense spreading crown gives up to 9 kg of fruit. The variety is self-fertile, so you need to take care of pollinators.

Oceanic virovskaya

The tree is tall - from 1.8 m, without pruning it can grow up to 2.5 m. The average weight of the fruits is small - 2.8 g. Berries are bright burgundy, the seam is almost invisible, the stalk is very small. It is a self-fertile variety. In the presence of pollinators in the neighborhood, it gives a full harvest - about 9 kg from an adult tree. A characteristic feature of cherries is the almost complete absence of smell.

Ocean virov cherry almost does not smell

Damanka

One of the latest varieties. Its ripening period is the 1st decade of August, and the berries of the other varieties can be harvested in mid-late July. Damanka looks like one of her parents - a sand cherry. A medium-sized tree with a rounded crown yields up to 10 kg of fruit. It is important to consider that the variety is self-fertile and will not bear fruit without pollinators. The berries of Damanka are large, dark (almost black), the flesh is dense, fleshy.

Damanka is one of the latest varieties

Beauty

The crown is wide, dense, the height of the tree is about 1.6 m. The berries are round, slightly flattened from the sides, covered with crimson skin. The pulp is scarlet, juicy. The average weight is 3.3 g. The variety is self-fertile, but with pollinators it is capable of producing 10 kg of berries. However, with too large yields, the berries become smaller. Fruit transportability is not very high.

In the presence of pollinators, Krasavitsa cherry can produce up to 10 kg of fruits

Dark-haired oriental

The tree is undersized and broadly spreading. The fruits are small (average weight - about 2.7 g), but spectacular - dark burgundy, almost black when fully ripe. It tastes sweet and sour, with delicate pulp. The variety is self-fertile. The yield is low - up to 7 kg.

The variety got its name for the dark color of the berries.

White

A tree of medium height with a spreading crown. The fruits are sweet and sour, with juicy pulp, the average weight is 1.8 g. This variety of felt cherry is easy to recognize by the color of the berries - they are dull white. The variety is self-fertile, the yield is up to 10 kg.

Cherry variety White is easy to recognize by the color of the berries

Anniversary

A vigorous tree of this self-fertile variety has an oval, medium thickened crown. Cherries are dark red in color, with juicy pulp. Average weight - 4 g. Average yield - up to 8.5 kg.

Jubilee berries have fibrous juicy pulp

Cherry agrotechnics

Planting and caring for felt cherries and regular cherries are similar, but there are a number of points to consider.

Some varieties are self-fertile, while self-fertile ones give the best yields if pollinators grow nearby. Therefore, at least 3-5 trees of different varieties must be placed on the garden plot. The tree planting scheme is 2 × 1 m.

One of the main disadvantages of the Chinese cherry is its susceptibility to moniliosis. This disease is caused by a fungus and affects all parts of the plant. It appears as brown spots on greenery, which dries up rapidly. Moniliosis is favored by damp, cloudy weather. To prevent trouble, it is necessary to spray the tree with 1% Bordeaux liquid before blooming. The processing is repeated after flowering. But pests almost never disturb felt cherries.

Video: why felt cherry needs prevention of moniliosis

Felt cherry has a high frost resistance, many varieties can withstand cold up to -40 ^on C, and flowers - to -3 ^on C. If, nevertheless, the winter turned out to be very harsh, and even a Chinese cherry froze, you need to remove the trunk at the root. Soon, shoots will appear at this place, which can yield a crop in 3 years.

A tree lives on average no more than 10–12 years, but if you cut it off on time and provide it with proper care, this period can be extended.

Video: how to prune bush cherries

Low-lying places and stagnant moisture are absolutely contraindicated for felt cherries - this must be taken into account when choosing a planting site and watering.

Video: where you can plant cherries

If for some reason the felt cherry needs to be transplanted, then it should be borne in mind that the same rules apply for it as for the rest of the stone fruit. During this procedure, the cherry should be at rest - it is best to transplant the plant in the autumn, after the leaves have fallen off.

Video: how to transplant a cherry bush

In regions with harsh winters, the cherry root system should be protected from frost. To do this, it is enough to cover the soil under a bush with a thick layer of snow, in a timely manner to shovel up the snow to form a snowdrift. Additionally, you can insulate the cherry trunk with a burlap cover or wrap the bole with paper. With the beginning of spring, all shelters must be removed, otherwise the cherry may suffer from condensation.

Video: how to properly care for Chinese cherries

Propagation of a bush by grafting, bones, cuttings, layering

There are several ways to propagate felted cherries:

• grafting (can be grafted onto a regular cherry);
• sowing seeds (this way you can propagate cherries, but not the variety);
• green or lignified cuttings (cuttings are the best way to propagate fruitful cherries);
• layering (the lower branches are laid in grooves and looked after during the season).

Video: how to propagate a bush by cuttings

Gardeners reviews

Felt cherries, although small in stature, and have smaller berries, will give odds to our usual cherry. Sweet berries almost do not sour - this is one of the main advantages. Also, do not forget about the high frost resistance of Chinese cherry, which allows it to be grown in many regions of Russia, including the northern ones.