Biological features and basic elements of cherry plum cultivation technology. When does the cherry plum bear fruit? What year does the cherry plum bear fruit?

Characteristic features of Cherry plum

Cherry plum is one of the many varieties of plum. The Latin name of this fruit crop is Prunus ctrasifera Ehrh, it belongs to the Plum genus of the Rosaceae family. You can often hear other names for this berry, for example, “spread plum” or “mirobolan”.

Fruit crops such as apricot, peach and felt cherry can also be considered “relatives” of cherry plum. Some experimental gardeners even manage to grow trees with different branches, but, unfortunately, such hybrids do not always take root and are not in good health.

Why is cherry plum so popular? The answer is simple: this culture is one of the most unpretentious. Proof of this is the fact that cherry plum grows on a wide variety of soils - from gravel and sand to carbonate and gray forest soils.

The cherry plum originated a long time ago; even before our era, the inhabitants of Transcaucasia and Western Asia were engaged in its cultivation. But gradually the cherry plum spread beyond its usual range. And today this crop, once considered suitable only for growing in the south, is successfully cultivated in the most different countries– in Russia, Ukraine, Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, Iran, Italy, France, etc.

The successful expansion of the “growing geography” of cherry plum can be explained simply: breeders developed sufficient quantity frost-resistant and healthy varieties. In addition, today's cherry plums are not small, inconspicuous plums with sourness.

The fruits of many varieties of cherry plum are very beautiful - they are large, sweet and colorful, their pulp contains a whole arsenal nutrients, organic acids, mineral salts, pectins, vitamins and minerals. In addition to the usual yellow cherry plum, there are varieties of red, pink, burgundy, orange or purple.

Fruit trees can have one or several trunks. The height of the trees also varies - they can reach several meters in height. Cherry plum blossoms begin early; single flowers of delicate color can bloom simultaneously with wide oval or ovoid foliage.

Today, growing cherry plum is possible even in northern regions with harsh winters, the main thing is to choose the right variety and choose a suitable place for planting.

Cherry plum loves warmth and light, so the best place on the site for planting cherry plum will be the south side. The fruit tree will not only receive the necessary amount of light and heat, but will also be protected from the cold wind.

Despite the love for warmth and light, cherry plum, at the same time, is one of the healthiest and most productive crops. Cherry plum seedlings begin to bear fruit the very next year after planting!

The cherry plum does not need frequent processing, but it is very responsive to regular feeding, since fertilizers help achieve best quality fruits and increase their size.

Sometimes cherry plums are confused with plums, but distinguishing these two crops is as easy as shelling pears: in cherry plums the seed is not separated from the pulp, but in plums it’s the other way around.

It is worth noting another interesting feature of cherry plum: the fruits on the tree never ripen at the same time. On the one hand, this is not bad, because you can enjoy these wonderful berries all summer. But it’s not possible to collect and process the entire crop at once.
There are many varieties of cherry plum, but, in fact, they all originated from three main groups: typical, eastern and large-fruited cherry plum.
Typical cherry plum combines wild varieties of cherry plum, common in the Caucasus, Asia Minor, and also on the Balkan Peninsula. But the wild varieties of cherry plum growing in Afghanistan or Iran are called eastern cherry plum. Large-fruited cherry plum is grown in our gardens. It includes artificially bred varieties.
Sometimes you can find hybrid cherry plum. This crop is bred from diploid or Chinese plums.

Cherry plum: advantages and disadvantages

Like any fruit crop, cherry plum has many advantages. These include:

Unpretentiousness to the soil
- Disease resistance
- Frost resistance
- Early ripening and high yield
- Long fruiting period of the tree (up to 25 years) and high life expectancy of the tree (up to 50 years)
- Excellent taste and product quality
- Useful properties of fruits

Of course, cherry plum also has some disadvantages, but they are few. Cherry plum will not grow and bear fruit well if:

The tree grows in very moist soil and in a ventilated place
- The plant does not receive the required amount of fertilizer
- Shoots are heavily pruned in the first two years after planting
- The variety is not suitable for the climate in which it will be grown

Sometimes the disadvantage of cherry plum is that the seeds are poorly separated from the pulp of the berries. But this is just a feature of this culture.

Growing cherry plum: secrets of success

In order for the cherry plum tree to grow healthy and strong, and for the harvest to please you with its abundance and excellent taste, you must learn the rules for growing this fruit crop.

1) You need to buy only those cherry plum seedlings that are grown in your climatic zone. Seedlings grown in the south are very sensitive to frost.
2) Cherry plum loves neutral soil. If the soil in your area is acidic, you can improve it with chalk, lime or dolomite flour. But for alkaline soils, gypsum is used.
3) The planting hole must be prepared correctly. This is extremely important! The southern part of the site is optimal for growing cherry plum, as the sun enhances the growth of the plant and increases its productivity.
4) Seedlings need to be planted to such a depth that the root neck is flush with the soil.
5) During the growing season, cherry plum seedlings must be fed regularly and abundantly. Fertilizers must be applied three times - in early spring, in June (ovaries grow) and in July (buds are laid for next year's harvest).
6) When feeding seedlings, do not forget that cherry plum, like most fruit trees, requires a lot of nitrogen, potassium, compost and manure.
7) During the growing season, two waterings are necessary. The first is carried out two weeks after the start of flowering, and the second - immediately after harvesting.
8) A fruit-bearing tree needs pruning, which helps maintain intensive growth of annual shoots. But it is carried out very carefully, taking into account the type of planting and the type of crown, so as not to harm the plant or reduce the yield.
9) In the case when seedlings experience active growth of annual shoots, pinching is carried out in the first half of summer.
10) If you want the yield from one tree to be higher, purchase two different varieties of cherry plum and plant the seedlings side by side. Cross-pollination of flowers from two trees will contribute to better fruiting.
11) The roots of the cherry plum tree do not lie too deep, so you only need to water the plant in dry weather.

Possible difficulties

It is impossible to call cherry plum a whimsical or demanding crop. But even if this fruit crop grown in optimal conditions, the appearance of some diseases (verticillium, perforated spot and monilial burn) is possible. In addition, the tree is often affected by some quite dangerous pests, for example, acacia false scale, brown fruit mite, California scale, rose leaf roller and cherry plum aphid.

However, no matter how serious all these pests and diseases may seem, they can and should be fought. After all, it is always easier to cure a tree early stages disease, rather than starting it and subsequently losing the plant. The best protection against cherry plum diseases and pests is timely and regular prevention.

To protect the cherry plum from the acacia false scale, you will need to treat the tree with a DNOC (dinitroorthocresol) suspension in the spring or autumn. Solutions of metaphzos, karbofos or metathion will also help.

To defeat the brown fruit mite, you will need either an ordinary garlic infusion or a DNOC solution. Only the branches of the tree are treated with garlic infusion, and with the help of a solution it is sprayed completely in the fall or spring. Emulsions of metaphos, phosphamide or a suspension of zolone are often used.

Similar preparations will help you rid your plant of Californian scale insects. It will be possible to add a trichloro-5 emulsion or a wofatox suspension to them.

In the fight against the most harmful pest of cherry plums, roseate leaf roller caterpillars, drugs such as metaphos, vofatox, bitoxibacillin and lepidocide will help.

But in order to defeat cherry plum aphids, it is necessary not only to spray the tree with a DNOC solution. We need to destroy everything root shoots, on which the cherry plum aphid develops, and also clean the tree trunks of dead bark. Spraying the tree with a regular soap solution will also have a preventive effect.

Described above chemicals They will also help get rid of the most common diseases of cherry plum - perforated spot, verticillium blight and monilial burn.

The old ones are not forgotten, but the true ones traditional methods control of pests and diseases affecting cherry plum. Most often, gardeners treat seedlings and fruit-bearing trees with infusions of wormwood or burdock, as well as a solution of pine concentrate. The smell of these herbs repels pests. True, trees will have to be processed at least four times during the summer.

Basic care will also help prevent diseases. Collect carrion often, loosen and dig up the soil around the tree.

A healthy cherry plum is a fruit crop that receives appropriate care. Don't forget about it!

Well, what garden can do without cherry plum? She took root in our gardens a long time ago. Moreover, growing cherry plum practically does not cause any trouble to the owner of the garden. It constantly produces high yields, grows independently, and requires minimal care. The tree lives for a long time, up to 50 years. Of these, it actively develops in the first decade.

The one-year-old tree is already beginning to develop fruit buds, and it will be able to bear fruit a year after planting. And in another 2-3 years the tree will be able to produce a harvest of about 40 kg. In a well-kept garden, each tree can produce more than 100 kg of juicy, aromatic fruit. They are used to prepare compotes, jams, juices, preserves and many other tasty things. But, let’s leave the tasty stuff for later and talk about growing cherry plum in more detail.

General information

Cherry plum is an excellent early honey plant. The aroma of its flowers will attract a lot of pollinating insects to your garden, which is very important for other plants. And its flowers can withstand sudden cold snaps better than the flowers of other plants.

If someone doesn’t know - cherry plum fruit tree, which is a relative of the plum. But in all respects, she has long surpassed her relative. And although she is a native southerner, she nevertheless knows how to take root in different climatic conditions and bear fruit abundantly. Everyone who wants to have a cherry plum on their plot just needs to know how to plant it correctly and how to provide it with care.

Selecting a location

You need to place the cherry plum in the garden in a warm corner, where there is a lot of sun and no cold wind. The cherry plum will feel very good near buildings on the south side. Here it will be protected from the wind and from frost, so its fruits will be larger and sweeter than those of other trees, and the yield will be higher.

The soil

Cherry plum does not need any special soil; it does not have any requirements in this matter, but, nevertheless, it feels better on fertile loamy neutral soil. If the soil for growing cherry plum is acidic, then it should be limed with dolomite flour or chalk on the eve of planting, and gypsum should be added to the alkaline soil.

The roots of the cherry plum lie at a depth of 30 cm, so areas with groundwater levels of 1.2 m and deeper are well suited for it. If the waters are located closer to the surface of the earth, then cherry plum should be grown on bulk soil (in a flower bed).

Landing

Cherry plum seedlings should be planted in open ground in the spring, before the buds open. If planting is late, they will not take root well, and in the fall they can be damaged by early frosts. If the seedling is in a container, then you can plant it whenever it is convenient for you.

Preparation of planting holes

The place for planting cherry plums needs to be prepared in the fall. The planting hole should have a size of 60x60x60 cm. If there are several holes, then they should be located at a distance of at least 3 meters from each other. Then they are filled with nutritious permeable soil (after loosening the bottom), humus, potassium and phosphorus fertilizers are added, generously watered and, if necessary, deoxidized. Then the hole must be covered with earth and forgotten about for a while.

Disembarkation

In the spring, the soil is removed from the hole, a mound is made in the center of the hole, and the roots of the seedling are distributed over it. Closer to the edge of the hole, a stake is driven in so that its height above the ground is at least 1 m. A seedling is placed near it, the roots are straightened, covered with earth, the soil is compacted and watered, and the seedling itself is tied to a stake. It is necessary to plant at such a depth that after final planting the root collar of the seedling is level with the surface of the earth.

Then, we fill the planting hole with earth and make a hole around it for watering. Water (this will require 1.5 buckets for each seedling). To retain moisture longer after watering, the ground around the seedlings is mulched to a thickness of 5 cm or more. If the seedlings are in a container, then first water the soil in the container abundantly, and then after planting the seedling is watered again.

Care

Caring for young seedlings includes watering, weeding, pest and disease control.

Weeding and mulching

In addition, during the growing process, caring for cherry plum will include regular weeding and mulching.

Watering

Seedlings need to be watered only in case of drought. Usually three waterings are enough: when the tree fades, when the shoots stop growing, when the fruits color. For one tree, 5 to 6 buckets of water will be enough.

Feeding

Caring for cherry plum is not complete without its favorite fertilizers. Most of the fertilizers it needs are potassium and nitrogen, and phosphorus - to a minimum. Organic matter (manure or humus) should be applied in the fall - once every 2 or 3 years. About 5 kg of fertilizer is required per 1 m2. This will be the main feeding.

Mineral fertilizers are applied every year. Nitrogen fertilizers are applied three times. The first time - in the spring (before the tree blooms), the second time - at the beginning of summer, when the ovary is formed and developing, the third time - in the middle of summer. This fertilizing can be combined with the application of potash fertilizers. No more than 30 g of fertilizer is required for each m2.

Do not forget: if you applied fertilizers during planting, both mineral and humus, then until the tree begins to bear fruit, you do not need to feed it.

You should not overdo it with fertilizers, as excess fertilizers provoke the growth of shoots that are not capable of producing a harvest!

Protection from diseases

To protect seedlings from diseases, in the fall you need to spray them with a solution of copper sulfate.

Trimming

Tree care is not complete without pruning. When carrying out spring pruning, you need to shorten shoots whose length is more than 0.5 m. This will stimulate the development of lateral buds, and shoots will form from them. In summer, you can pinch off shoots that have developed too actively. This should be completed in July. Young cherry plum seedlings grow rapidly upward, and fruit-bearing trees develop in breadth. The height of the cherry plum should be limited and not allowed to exceed 3 meters.

Formation of a trunk

In the first years of life, the trunk should be formed about 50 cm high from the ground, with 3-4 skeletal branches. Before the first branch, the trunk must be completely clean, and all growth must be constantly removed. All young shoots must be pinched so that they become lignified better.

Tree formation

If you want to grow seedlings in the form of a tree, then in the first years it needs to form a sparsely tiered crown. This means that the main branches (there should be from 4 to 5) need to be laid from the ground at a height of 75 cm.

You should not get carried away with pruning cherry plums. If you prune heavily, this will provoke the growth of shoots, the crown will thicken and, as a result, the yield will decrease. Fruit-bearing trees only need to thin out their branches and remove damaged and diseased branches. Annual shoots should be shortened as little as possible. If rapid growth occurs, then in the summer you can simply pinch them off.

Bush formation

Another plant can be arranged in the form of a bush. Then pruning will be reduced to thinning the crown and shortening overly actively developing shoots, and maintenance will not cause much trouble.

Reproduction

Cherry plum is usually propagated by budding on plum rootstock or grafting on cuttings.

Reproduction by bone

In addition, its reproduction is possible even by seed. The seedlings obtained in this way are very well pollinated by neighboring trees and produce stable yields. In this case, we must not forget that cherry plum is sensitive to transplantation, so the seeds must be planted immediately in a permanent place. This will have a beneficial effect on the development of the seedling and its productivity.
Graft
Now let's talk about cherry plum grafting - the most common method of propagation.

T-shaped budding

Grafting can be done by budding method: T-shaped and in the butt. T-shaped budding is done during rapid movement of juices (depending on the area).

Grafting in the butt

Butt grafting is more common because it is practically easier to perform. It is made in the warm season. In the spring, this is done before the sap begins to flow. You will see that the cuttings take root much better.

Cherry plum rootstock

For the rootstock you can use wild cherry plum seedlings. They can be combined with any variety, and they are also drought-resistant and completely unpretentious.

Clonal rootstock

Clonal rootstocks are also very popular. They are obtained by rooting cuttings and layering from cultivated varieties of cherry plum. Plants obtained in this way are easy to reproduce and resistant to diseases and poor climatic conditions.

Grafting on plum

Grafting cherry plums onto plums is very popular. In this case, the basis for grafting is the varieties of Canadian plums and damsons. They are resistant to frost, combine well with cherry plum and greatly increase the winter hardiness of cherry plum. There are cases where a cutting of the required variety was grafted directly into the branches of a plum tree. Moreover, different varieties can be grafted onto one tree and coexist peacefully, which is very convenient if you have little extra space.

Flaws

But, nevertheless, propagation by grafting also has its disadvantages. The main one is low frost resistance. In severe frosts, grafted trees freeze out first and completely. Therefore, in regions with a harsh climate, it is better to grow not grafted trees, but self-rooted trees (propagated vegetatively using root shoots and cuttings). In order for the cuttings to take root better, they should be placed in a room with high humidity. Self-rooted cherry plum is very winter-hardy and quickly restores its crown even if it freezes.

From all that has been said, it is clear that caring for cherry plum is not difficult and can be done even by gardeners with little experience.

Cherry plum is a fruit tree belonging to the plum genus. Its homeland is the territory of southwestern Asia (Syria, Iran, Turkey, India). In Russia, this tree is widespread in the mountain forests of the South Caucasus.

Its southern origin helps the cherry plum to easily tolerate drought and heat. When the plant arrived in the middle and northern latitudes of the country, it turned out that it also thrives at low temperatures.

Cherry plum not only quickly adapts to different climates, but also brings a rich harvest. One large tree can produce up to 150 kg of fruit per season. The plant begins to bear fruit abundantly within two years after planting.

Cherry plum easily crosses with most other types of plums. This feature of the plant helps breeders develop new varieties. There are now more than 200 cultivated varieties. They all differ in color, shape and size.

Cherry plum varieties for the middle zone

- a low-growing tree that grows up to three meters. This tree grows large red fruits the size of a chicken egg - weighing 40 grams. The Kuban comet brings a good harvest every year. From young varieties you can harvest up to 10 kg, and mature trees produce 50 kg of fruit. The plums will ripen in mid-July.

- an early ripening tree reaching two meters in height. This variety was bred from the seeds of the Kuban Comet. It has the same large fruits of bright yellow color - weight 35 grams. An average yield tree produces up to 30 kg. The fruits ripen and are ready for harvest at the end of June.

- a mid-season tree, not exceeding two and a half meters in height. Many sweet fruits grow on short branches big size with a dark purple color – weight 55 g. Fruiting is abundant; every year you can harvest up to 60 kg of crop. The fruits ripen in early July.

– the variety ripens quickly, reaching two and a half meters in height. The tree begins to bear fruit in the second year after planting. Small yellow fruits grow on spreading branches - weighing up to 22 grams. Royal cherry plum brings a stable and rich harvest of sweet and sour fruits. They will sing at the end of June.

Mid-season variety, growing up to four meters. The tree begins to bear fruit in the third year after planting. Large yellow fruits with a purple blush grow on the branches - weighing up to 30 grams. The tree bears fruit abundantly, producing up to 50 kg of sweet and sour fruit. The harvest is ready for harvest at the end of July.

– ripens late, reaches up to three meters in height. The tree bears fruit two years after planting. Many medium-sized yellow fruits appear on the branches - weighing 25 grams. Fruiting is stable, every year the tree bears up to 40 kg of sweet and sour fruits. The harvest can be harvested at the end of August.

– ripens early, grows up to three meters. The tree begins to bear fruit two years after planting. Large sweet and sour dark red fruits grow on the branches - weighing up to 35 grams. Productivity is low but stable. You can collect up to 10 kg of fruit from a tree. They ripen at the end of June.

- an early ripening tree reaching three meters in height. Fruits grow on the branches small size with a purple-pink tint – weight 25 g. Fruits consistently, bringing up to 40 kg of plums every year. The harvest can be harvested at the end of June.

- mid-season variety, reaching three meters in height. The tree begins to bear fruit for the first time three years after planting. Large sweet and sour dark red fruits grow on the branches - weighing up to 35 grams. The variety brings abundant yields of up to 60 kg. The fruits ripen in mid-July.

– ripens late, grows up to two meters. Fruiting begins in the second year after planting. Large sweet and sour red-brown fruits grow on the branches - weighing up to 40 grams. This variety produces a good harvest. Up to 60 kg of fruit can be picked from a tree. Ripening occurs in the second half of August.

Mid-season variety, growing up to two meters. The tree is ready for the first fruiting three years after planting. Large red-violet fruits grow on the branches - weighing up to 45 grams. This variety gives bountiful harvest. You can collect up to 50 kg of sweet and juicy fruits from the tree. Ripening date is mid-August.

- an early ripening variety that grows up to two meters. The period of first fruiting occurs four years after planting. It has large sweet and sour red-yellow fruits - weighing up to 35 grams. This variety brings up to 40 kg of harvest. The fruits begin to ripen in early June.

- an early ripening variety that grows up to five meters. The tree bears its first harvest five years after planting. Large and sweet orange-red fruits grow on the branches - weighing up to 55 grams. You can collect about 60 kg from a tree per season. The fruits ripen in the first half of July.

– ripens late, reaches four meters in height. It bears fruit in the fourth year after planting. The fruits are large, dark purple, have a sweet and sour taste - weight up to 40 grams. This variety produces up to 40 kg of fruit every year. The harvest is ready for harvest in September.

– a tall tree, resistant to cold weather and any diseases. This variety bears harvest at the end of August. The fruits are very large - some specimens weigh about 90 grams. If the harvest is rich, the weight of the fruit becomes less than 50-60 grams. They ripen by the end of August, acquiring a black and purple color.

The general name for varieties of plums that have red foliage. Among them there are large trees and medium-sized shrubs. It is used not only as a decorative decoration for the garden. Many species have large and sweet fruits. Red-leaved varieties are rarely affected by diseases and tolerate frost well.

- a decorative variety of tree that grows up to five meters. The crown is spreading with dark purple shoots and foliage. Tolerates winter well and does not require special care. This variety bears large and juicy red fruits every year.

- an early ripening variety that grows up to six meters. It has a sparse and spreading crown. The first harvest occurs in the fourth year after planting. The fruits are medium-sized, light red in color and weigh up to 30 grams. The harvest can be harvested in early June.

- mid-season variety, reaching six meters in height. Needs good insulation for the winter. Large red-violet fruits grow on the branches - weighing up to 50 grams. The tree brings up to 30 kg of harvest. The fruits ripen in the second half of August.

- a late-ripening variety that grows up to four meters. It begins to bear fruit in the fourth year after planting. The fruits are large, dark red, and weigh up to 30 grams. The yield is small, but stable up to 30 kg. The fruits can be collected in early September.

Cherry plum planting and care in the middle zone

Choosing planting material, carefully examine the structure of the seedling. There should be no damage, wrinkles, spots or deformations on the trunk, shoots and leaves. Also pay attention to the root, which should be white and at least ten centimeters long.

In the middle zone, cherry plum seedlings should be planted in early April. You can’t do this in the fall, otherwise they won’t have time to take root before winter. Choose a sunny location with shallow groundwater. Maintain a distance between seedlings, which should be at least four meters.

Dig a hole 60 cm deep and 70 cm wide. good land put it in one place and the clay in another. Add a bucket of turf and humus to the hole and mix everything with the soil. Make the depth such that the root collar of the tree is at ground level.

Drive two pegs opposite each other along the edges. They will serve as trunk support. Place a seedling in the middle of the hole, straighten its roots and bury it with the remaining soil.

Then tie the plant to the stakes. Hold the seedling and lightly compact the soil around the trunk. Having completed planting, you need to shorten the main branches of the seedling and remove small shoots.

Plums can also be grown when planted and cared for in open ground without any problems if the rules of agricultural technology are followed. All necessary recommendations You can find it in this article.

Watering cherry plum

To water the plant, make a hole around the trunk. Carry out the first watering immediately after planting. Fill the hole with two buckets of water. Carry out further watering once every two weeks, thirty liters each.

When autumn comes, it is necessary to carry out water-charging irrigation. In mid-September, water the plant generously. This procedure will help the seedling to better prepare for wintering.

Feeding cherry plum

If you added fertilizers to the planting hole, then you do not need to feed the tree in the first year. In subsequent years, fertilize the soil regularly to ensure the development of cherry plum. Apply nutrient mixtures in spring, summer and fall.

In spring: Before flowering begins (second half of April), add potassium salt - 40 g and ammonium nitrate - 25 g to the soil. After flowering is completed (second half of May), prepare a solution of mullein in a ratio of 1:3 and add 50 grams of superphosphate per 10 liters of solution. Pour the resulting composition two liters per barrel.

In summer: in the first half of June, feed the tree with a urea solution in a ratio of 20 grams per 10 liters of water. Pour five liters of solution under one barrel.

Autumn: in mid-September, do the last fertilizing to speed up leaf fall and prepare the tree for winter. To do this, make a groove around the tree and sprinkle potassium chloride and double superphosphate, one tablespoon at a time, over the surface. Cover the groove with soil and water well.

Cherry plum likes to grow in neutral-acid soils. If the acidity of your soil is too high, then you need to add lime or wood ash. Carry out this procedure once every five years.

Pruning cherry plum

Cherry plum grows quickly, so it needs to be pruned every year. What does this give? Pruning shapes correct form crowns, helps to grow large and juicy fruits, preserves the health of the tree. This procedure is carried out in spring and autumn.

Spring pruning is formative. During this period, it is necessary to shorten annual growths and remove branches that thicken the crown or have dried out.

Autumn pruning is sanitary. It begins when the tree sheds its leaves. Remove dry and diseased branches. If there are barren branches, they also need to be removed.

Cherry plum blossom

Cherry plum begins to bloom in late April or early May. The flowers bloom before the leaves. This beautiful spectacle lasts 8-11 days. The flowers have five petals that are white or light pink.

The tree blooms with single flowers, but sometimes two umbrellas appear from a bud at once. Flowering is accompanied by a pleasant smell.

Cherry plum fruits

Depending on the type of tree, cherry plum fruits appear in different time. The earliest ones ripen in early June, and the later ones in September.

The branches of cherry plum grow large fruits weighing up to 60 grams and small ones weighing up to 30 grams. They come in different shades: yellow, red, red-violet, black-violet. Their flesh is juicy and sweet-sour.

Cherry plum transplant

Cherry plum does not like to be replanted. But sometimes it needs to be done. The best time for this procedure is spring. You can replant for two reasons.

First: you planted a tree, but the place turned out to be bad - the seedling does not grow. In order not to destroy the plant, it must be carefully dug up and replanted.

Second: you are propagating cherry plums from seeds. Your tree will grow and become stronger in a year. Then it can be transplanted to a permanent place.

Cherry plum in winter

This type of stone fruit tolerates cold and frost well. Cherry plum is successfully grown in the middle zone, where frosts can reach -25 °C, and in the north, where temperatures drop to -30 °C. To make it easier for the plant to survive such frosts, it needs to be prepared.

In mid-September you should dig up the soil around the tree and water it generously (50-100 buckets). In October, whitewash the trunk from the root neck to the first skeletal branch. Then insulate the root system with a layer of mulch 10 cm thick. To do this, use a mixture of humus and compost.

Reproduction of cherry plum

Cuttings - in conditions middle zone in our country it is held at the end of June. Cut cuttings from the current year's growth one centimeter below the buds. The length of the cuttings should be 12 cm. Leave the top two leaves and remove the rest.

Treat the lower part of the cut with a root growth stimulator. Plant the cuttings in a container filled with nutrient substrate. The planting depth is 3 cm, and the distance between cuttings is 8 cm.

Maintain moderate soil moisture. Cover the cuttings with film and place the container in a warm place where the temperature is not lower than +25 °C. The roots will appear in a month and a half. Rooted cuttings need to be grown for one to two years.

Planting a seed – take the largest, ripe fruits and separate the seeds from the pulp. Rinse the seeds well and dry. Place them in a jar and place them in a dry place away from light.

Before the onset of frost, plant the seeds in open ground. Maintain a distance of 6 cm between seeds. Water well and place a layer of mulch on top. sawdust or peat.

The onset of frost and snowfall will ensure stratification. In the spring the seeds will sprout. After a year, you can transplant the seedlings to a permanent place or graft them into other varieties.

Cherry plum diseases

Hole spot – in the first stage of the disease, brown spots appear on the leaves. The affected tissue then falls off and holes appear. Such spots appear on fruits and branches. To cure the plant, remove all damaged leaves, fruits and branches. 14 days after flowering, treat the crown with Bordeaux mixture.

Moniliosis – the bark of the branches turns brown, becoming like it has been burned by fire. The fruits rot and become covered with a gray coating. The control method is the physical removal of affected branches and fruits. Then you need to treat the plant with Bordeaux mixture before and after flowering.

sterility – cherry plums of the same variety grow in the garden, but they cannot pollinate each other. For fruit to appear, other pollinating varieties are needed. The more varieties grow in the garden, the more stable the fruiting will be.

Pests of cherry plum

Yellow butterfly sawfly - a small white caterpillar that penetrates the fruit and eats the pit and pulp. To kill the pest, treat the crown with Fufanon or Novaktion insecticides. Spray before and after flowering.

Eastern moth - a small caterpillar that eats away the core of young shoots. It also feeds on fruit pulp. To kill the pest, make a solution from table salt– 0.5 kg per 10 liters of water. Treat the crown after flowering and harvesting.

Cherry plum beneficial properties and contraindications

The fruits contain many useful substances. It contains vitamins in large quantities: A, E, C, PP, B1, B2. As well as minerals: iron, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium. They remain in the refrigerator for a long time without losing their medicinal properties.

The fruits are recommended for consumption by children, pregnant women and the elderly. Regular use relieves colds, vitamin deficiency, stomach and intestinal diseases. It also strengthens the heart muscles and prevents the development of arrhythmia.

Despite medicinal properties, cherry plum can be harmful to health. Eating large quantity Eating fruit in one sitting causes diarrhea, heartburn and nausea. The level of glucose in the blood and acidity in the stomach increases, gastritis and ulcers worsen.

Ingredients:

• cherry plum – 1 kg;
• cilantro, mint, dill - 30 g each;
• hops-suneli, ground coriander - 1 tbsp. l.;
• chili pepper – 1 pc.;
• garlic – 4 cloves;
• salt, sugar - to taste.

Preparation:

Rinse the fruits and place them in a saucepan. Pour a glass of water over the cherry plum and place on low heat. Cook the fruit for twenty minutes after boiling.

When the cherry plum is cooked, place a metal sieve over another pan. Push the fruit through it. The skins and seeds should remain in the sieve. Add salt to the gruel - 1 tsp, sugar - 4 tbsp. l. Place on the fire and bring to a boil.

Grate the garlic, peel the seeds from the chili pepper and finely chop it, also finely chop the cilantro, mint and dill, prepare the seasonings khmeli-suneli and ground coriander. Add all these ingredients to the sauce and cook for ten minutes. Tkemali sauce is ready!

Ingredients:

• cherry plum – 1 kg;
• sugar – 1.5 kg;
• water – 3 mugs.

Preparation:

Wash the fruits well and place in hot water for five minutes. While the fruit is steaming, prepare the syrup. To do this, take a saucepan, pour three mugs of water into it and add one and a half kilograms of sugar. Stir well and bring to a boil.

Take out the steamed fruits and make cuts in each so that they are better saturated with syrup. Place them in hot syrup for four hours. When this time has passed, put the fruits with syrup on the fire and cook for forty minutes. Simple jam is ready!

Ingredients:

• cilantro, green onions, parsley - 40 gr.
• cherry plum – 2 kg;
• coriander – 1 tbsp. l.;
• chili pepper – 3 pcs.;
• garlic – 10 cloves;
• turmeric – 1 tsp;
• sugar – 1 tbsp. l.;
• salt – 4 tbsp. l.

Preparation:

Rinse the cherry plum well, place it in a saucepan and cover with water. Put it on fire. After boiling, cook for ten minutes. After cooking, push the fruits through a sieve - remove the skins and seeds.

The remaining ingredients: chili pepper (peeled from seeds), spices, herbs, sugar, salt, garlic should be ground in a blender along with the fruit pulp. Place the resulting homogeneous mass on the fire to simmer for ten minutes. After cooling, adjika can be wrapped in jars for the winter.

Ingredients:

• unripe cherry plum – 1 kg;
• dried basil – 2 tsp;
• bay leaf – 6 leaves;
• dried clove inflorescences – 8 pcs.;
• vinegar 9% – 100 ml;
• salt – 100g;
• sugar – 50 gr.

Preparation:

Rinse the trays well and fill them with hot water for five minutes. While they are steaming, prepare the jar. Add seasonings to the bottom: basil, bay leaf, cloves. When the heat treatment is finished, place the fruits in a jar.

Now cook the filling. To do this, pour one liter of water into a saucepan and add salt and sugar. Mix thoroughly and cook on the fire. When the filling boils, add vinegar and remove the saucepan from the heat. Pour the cherry plum, sterilize for five minutes and close the jar.

Cherry plum wine at home

Ingredients:

• cherry plum – 3 kg;
• raisins – 150 gr;
• water – 4 l;
• sugar – 300 grams per liter of juice.

Take the unwashed fruits and mash them to make a paste. The bones should remain intact. Fill with water, add raisins and stir. Cover the container with gauze and place in a dark place at +25 °C. Stir every day, drown the pulp that floats to the surface.

After three days, fermentation will begin - hissing, foam and a sour smell will appear. Strain the fermented juice into a large bottle, squeeze out the remaining pulp. Add 300 grams of sugar per liter of juice, mix thoroughly and put a rubber glove on the neck - pierce a hole in it. Transfer the bottle to a dark place with a temperature of +25 °C.

Wait until the juice has finished fermenting – after 20-50 days. You will understand this when the hissing stops, sediment falls and the glove deflates. Pour the juice through a straw into another bottle without sediment. The container must be filled to the brim so that the wort does not come into contact with oxygen. Close the bottle tightly and place in a cool place with a temperature of + 10 °C. In three months the wine will be ready.

Cherry plum is often also called spreading plum, cherry plum, and in the Caucasus - tkemali. After all, the traditional Georgian sauce with that name is made from cherry plum, and lavash is made from sun-dried mashed fruits. And most importantly, this fruit tree is more resistant to disease, frost, drought and less demanding on the soil than the common plum. So there is no reason not to take advantage of all the benefits of this crop and start growing it at home. Cherry plum (Prunus cerasifera) grows naturally mainly in mountainous areas in the Balkans, Iran, the Caucasus and Transcaucasia, as well as on the plains in Moldova and southern Ukraine. It looks like a branching multi-stemmed tree up to 10 m high or a low bush, up to 1.5 m, with a lot of thorns. The crown of the cherry plum is pyramidal or round. The branches are thin, straight or drooping, the leaves are of various shapes, often oval-ovate. Single white, sometimes pink flowers appear shortly after the leaves open. And the cherry plum begins to bear fruit from the first years after planting and for many years afterwards. The fruits are elongated, round, flattened, often yellow, but varieties of other shades have also been developed - from red and purple to black.

cherry plum tree in nature

How to choose a variety

Cherry plum is propagated by seeds, cuttings and grafting, but the easiest way is to buy it from a reliable manufacturer. It is advisable to grow cherry plum on the site different varieties. On the one hand, cross-pollination contributes to better fruiting, and on the other hand, the period for collecting fresh berries increases. Early, middle and late varieties bear fruit, respectively, at the end of June, in July-August and in September. When choosing a variety, also consider whether you can come to the site and harvest on time. The variety must be zoned, that is, most suitable for the climatic conditions of the region. Cherry plum can develop in the form of a tree or shrub. Therefore, when choosing a variety, look at the photographs to know how the tree will look on the site and whether it will look harmonious in the landscape of your garden.

Cherry plum can develop in the form of a tree or shrub.

cherry plum fruits do not ripen at the same time

you can harvest up to 40 kg

How to harvest and store crops

From young cherry plum plants you can collect up to 40 kg of fruit, and an adult tree with good care will produce more than 200 kg of fruit.

The cherry plum does not ripen at the same time, which allows you to eat fresh fruit for several weeks. It is advisable to harvest the crop in dry weather, immediately sort it out and keep it in a ventilated container in the cellar or refrigerator; at a temperature of +5 °C, the fruits will be preserved in fresh at least two weeks.

Use in cooking and medicine

Delicious wine, compote, jam, marmalade, and marmalade are prepared from cherry plum, and many of the beneficial properties of the fruit are preserved even after heat treatment. At the same time, cherry plum seeds cannot be removed by breaking the fruit, like from a plum, or squeezing special device like cherry. You have to cut the fruits with a knife or wipe them after cooking or stewing. The composition of cherry plum fruits includes vitamins, microelements, carotene, fiber and pectins. The fruits, leaves, bark and roots are used in folk medicine, and non-drying cherry plum seed oil is used in perfumery. However, it is necessary to limit the consumption of cherry plum in case of increased acidity of gastric juice, gastritis and stomach ulcers, a tendency to allergies, and also reduce the consumption of dried fruits.

famous tkemali sauce

How to grow cherry plum

Where to place it? The best place is where the cherry plum will be protected from the cold wind. If the groundwater in the area is located closer than at a depth of 1 m, the seedling must be grown on bulk soil. When to plant? Saplings with an open root system should be planted in early spring before buds open. If the seedlings come to you in the fall, they can be buried or planted, in the latter case, covered with a layer of up to 30 cm to protect the roots from freezing. Just don’t forget in early spring, when the soil dries out, to rake the soil away from the trunk. How to plant? It is better to prepare the planting hole in the fall. If the desire and opportunity to plant cherry plum appeared in the spring, it is still better to prepare the hole at least 2 weeks before planting.

It is better to prepare the planting hole in the fall.

• The size of the pits is 60x60x60 cm. The distance between plants should be at least 3 m, and for tall varieties even 6 m.
• Loose soil, humus (15 kg), fertilizers (superphosphate - 40–60 g, potassium salt - 60 g) are poured into each hole, and if the soil is acidic, lime or chalk is added.
• The hole is filled to two-thirds of the depth, and the rest of the earth is left nearby.
• In the spring, when starting to plant cherry plums, a mound is formed in the center of the planting hole from the substrate located in it. To stimulate the development of the root system of the seedling, before planting it is immersed in an aqueous 0.001% solution of heteroauxin.
• Place the roots of the seedling evenly on the mound. Add the remaining soil, positioning the seedling so that its root collar is flush with the soil, and form a hole around the periphery for watering.
• You need to pour 1-2 buckets of water onto the planted plant, and then mulch the circle around the trunk.

How to care? Caring for cherry plum plants includes weeding, watering as needed, fertilizing, protection from pests and diseases, including protecting the trunks from mice in the winter. You need to water the cherry plum only in dry weather, about 2 weeks after the start of flowering and immediately after harvesting, spending 5-6 buckets of water on one tree. Fertilizers. Remember that over-fertilization will cause shoot growth at the expense of yield.

• It is recommended to apply humus in the fall no more than once every 2–3 years (up to 10 kg/m2).
• Mineral fertilizers - annually, in the spring before flowering (nitrogen) and in June (potassium and phosphorus).

mulching the tree trunk circle

Trimming. The cherry plum plant can be shaped as a bush or tree, or as a bowl or palmette. 1. After spring planting, the branches of the seedling are shortened by about half immediately, and after autumn planting - next spring. The height of the seedling should be 70–80 cm, and the central shoot should be 20–25 cm longer than the side branch of the upper tier. If annual shoots of seedlings grow intensively, they are pinched at the beginning of summer. 2. If the plant is intended to be grown in the form of a tree, then pruning should be carried out so that after 3–4 years, at a height of 70–80 cm from the ground, no more than 4–6 branches extend from the trunk. A properly formed crown should consist of a central leader shoot and several tiers of skeletal branches with a distance between tiers of 30–40 cm. Excess branches are cut into a ring. In the lower tier, 3–4 most developed skeletal branches are left, directed towards different sides, in the upper tiers there are 2 branches, but their direction should not coincide with the direction of the branches of the lower tier. The lateral branches should extend from the leader shoot at an angle of at least 45°. 3. If the plant is supposed to be formed in the form of a bush, you only need to periodically thin out the crown, slightly shorten the rapidly growing shoots so that they do not break under the weight of the fruit, and remove rubbing, dry and diseased branches. Compared to other fruit species, cherry plum is less damaged by insects and affected by diseases. But still, I will talk about measures to prevent diseases and pests in a separate article. The methods for protecting cherry plums from mice for the winter are the same as we indicated earlier for felt cherries. Cherry plum is unpretentious to growing conditions, durable and productive, and its fruits are tasty and healthy. In addition, it is very beautiful and can decorate your garden no worse than ornamental trees, only at the same time it is guaranteed to provide you and your family with delicious fruits.

Cherry plum (lat. Prunus cerasifera), or spread plum, or cherry plum– species of the genus Plum of the Rosaceae family, woody fruit plant, which is one of the original forms of the domestic plum. The word cherry plum comes from the Azerbaijani language and means “small plum”. The plant itself is native to Western Asia and Transcaucasia; cherry plum can also be found in the wild in the south of Ukraine, Moldova, the Tien Shan, the Balkans, Iran and the North Caucasus. It is cultivated in Russia, Ukraine, Western Europe and Asia.

Planting and caring for cherry plum (in brief)

• Landing: in cold areas - in spring, in warm areas it is better to plant in autumn.
• Bloom: in the beginning of May.
• Lighting: bright sunlight.
• The soil: fertile loam.
• Watering: on average - three times per season: after flowering, after shoot growth stops and after the fruits acquire the required color. Water consumption is 1.5-2 buckets for each year of the tree’s life. Young plants are watered 4-5 times per season. In October, if the autumn is dry, water-recharging irrigation is carried out.
• Feeding: once every 2-3 years, add 10 kg of organic matter per 1 m2 ² trunk circle. Mineral fertilizing is needed annually: nitrogen fertilizing is applied before flowering, and phosphorus and potassium fertilizing is applied in June. Twice a season, foliar feeding is carried out: in May - with a solution of microelements, in June - with the same solution, but with the addition of potassium and phosphorus fertilizer.
• Trimming: sanitary and formative is carried out in the spring, before the buds open. If absolutely necessary, corrective pruning can be done in the summer.
• Reproduction: root suckers, grafting, cuttings, and sometimes seeds.
• Pests: brown fruit mites, slimy and yellow plum sawflies, oriental and plum moths, aphids, subbark budworms.
• Diseases: Hole spot (clasterosporiasis), milky sheen and false milky sheen, moniliosis ( gray mold), marsupial disease (plum pockets), coccomycosis.

Read more about growing cherry plum below.

Cherry plum tree - description

Cherry plum is a branched multi-stemmed tree or shrub from 1.5 to 10 m high with powerful roots and thin brownish-green shoots. The leaves of cherry plum are elliptical in shape, pointed towards the top. Single flowers with a diameter of 20-40 cm, white or pink, bloom in early May - a blooming cherry plum is practically indistinguishable in appearance from a blooming plum. The fruit of the cherry plum is juicy, round, sometimes flattened, sometimes elongated drupes up to 3 cm in diameter, yellow, green, red, pink, purple or almost black, covered with a light waxy coating. The stone is elongated or round, convex or flat, and is often difficult to separate from the pulp. Its core contains oil that is not inferior in quality to almond oil. The fruits ripen, depending on the variety, from July to September. The lifespan of cherry plum is 30-50 years.

Most of the varieties and hybrids of cherry plum are self-sterile, that is, in order for the cherry plum to bear fruit, you need to have not one, but at least two trees on the plot, blooming at approximately the same time. And even if you have a self-fertile cherry plum variety, if there is another cherry plum tree nearby, the fruiting will be more stable and more abundant.

Cherry plum is a relative of such crops as plum, apricot, peach, almond, apple, pear, rose hip, hawthorn, medlar, serviceberry, cotoneaster, quince, rowan and chokeberry. Cherry plum is a flexible, unpretentious crop, and yet it is not as popular among amateur gardeners as many of its relatives. Previously, cherry plum was grown only in warm areas, but thanks to the work of breeders who crossed cherry plum with Chinese plum, a hybrid appeared, endowed with higher winter hardiness - Russian plum, or hybrid cherry plum. This hybrid is consistently productive, it begins to bear fruit 2-3 years earlier than cherry plum, is resistant to diseases and pests and is drought-resistant.

We will tell you how to grow cherry plum in your garden, how to feed the cherry plum to stimulate its abundant fruiting, how to treat cherry plum from diseases and pests, how to graft cherry plum onto a plum rootstock and give you a lot of other information that will help you navigate this issue well, like planting and caring for cherry plum.

Planting cherry plum

When to plant cherry plum

In areas with a warm climate, cherry plum takes root better in the fall than in the spring, and in areas with cold winters it is more reliable. spring planting. Buy annual cherry plum seedlings for planting that were grown in your region. Seedlings with an open root system should be planted immediately, but those with roots in a container can wait.

Choose an open sunny area for cherry plum, protected from cold winds, preferably on a sloping slope with a northern, western or northwestern exposure. Trees growing on the south side of buildings, which protect them from the winds, have higher yields, and the fruits are larger and sweeter. The best soil for cherry plum - fertile loam. Because the root system cherry plum is located mainly at a depth of 30-40 cm; it can be planted in areas where groundwater lies at a depth of at least 1 m.

Planting cherry plum in autumn

At the end of September, a week or two before planting, dig a hole 40-60 cm deep and 60 to 100 cm in diameter and fill it 2/3 full with a thoroughly mixed mixture of soil, 15-20 kg of humus and 1 kg of nitrophoska. If the soil on the site is acidic, add dolomite flour, chalk or lime to the soil mixture, and if it is alkaline, then you need to add gypsum to it. In addition, a little peat and sand should be added to clay soil, and a little to sandy soil. turf land. If you are planting several trees, keep a distance of 2-4 m between the holes, depending on the crown of the adult cherry plum variety you are planting.

On the day of planting, form a mound at the bottom of the hole from the remains of the soil mixture, place a seedling on it, the roots of which are first lowered into a clay mash with the addition of Heteroauxin, which stimulates root formation, and then fill the hole with soil so that the root collar of the grafted seedling is at surface level. Self-rooted seedlings can also be planted with the root collar deepened.

After planting, the cherry plum is watered, and when the water is absorbed, the tree trunk circles should be mulched.

How to plant cherry plum in spring

Cherry plums are planted in the ground in the spring before sap flow begins, so it is better to prepare holes for seedlings and fill them with nutritious soil mixture in the fall.

Pre-planting preparation of seedlings is very important: those whose root system is in a container must be watered abundantly before freeing them from it. For seedlings with an open root system, you need to remove all rotten and dried roots and place them in a bucket of water for a day to swell the roots. Before planting, exposed roots are dipped into a clay mash with root former.

Spring planting of cherry plum is carried out in the same order as autumn.

Cherry plum care

Caring for cherry plum in spring

At the end of March or beginning of April, in case of heavy snowfall in winter, you need to dig grooves in the soil to drain excess melt water. The cherry plum trunk and skeletal branches are cleaned of dead bark and washed with a three percent solution of copper sulfate. In April, sanitary and formative pruning of cherry plums is carried out, digging up the area around it, planting seedlings, applying nitrogen fertilizers, preventive treatment against pests and diseases, removing root shoots and grafting cuttings.

If the winter was without snow and the spring without rain, spring moisture-recharging watering of the trees is carried out. A little later, the cherry plum buds are sprayed with a solution of microelements.

In May, you may have to take measures to protect trees from returning spring frosts. At the same time, the cherry plum is fed with complex mineral fertilizers.

Caring for cherry plum in summer

In summer, cherry plum needs regular watering, after which the soil in the tree trunk circles is loosened to a depth of 8-12 cm, while destroying weeds. Keep in mind that young trees require more moisture than mature trees.

Conduct a merciless fight against harmful insects and fungi, pinch the ends of shoots that may not ripen until the end of the growing season.

If expected big harvest, take care to install supports in advance. A month after the first foliar feeding, apply a second one, which, in addition to microelements, should contain phosphorus and potassium.

Fruiting cherry plum feeds its fruits in August and lays generative buds for the next year, so it needs your care more than in other summer months. Remove weeds, loosen the soil in tree trunk circles, moisten the soil to the depth of the roots, feed the cherry plum with organic fertilizers - a solution of a bucket of mullein in 7-8 buckets of water or bird droppings in a ratio of 1:20. If organic fertilizers no, apply phosphorus-potassium mineral fertilizers.

Caring for cherry plum in autumn

After picking the berries, at the end of September, when the leaves begin to turn yellow, add organic and mineral fertilizers to the soil for digging. Before the massive leaf fall, carry out pre-winter moisture-recharging watering of the cherry plum to a depth of 40-60 cm. If you plan to plant seedlings, try to do this in the first ten days of October, while the top layer of soil is not yet frozen.

After planting, preparation of the trees for wintering begins: the cherry plum bark is cleared of dead particles, after which you can begin whitewashing the trunks and the bases of skeletal branches with lime. If there are hollows on the trees, they are closed up and the root shoots are removed. Fallen leaves, bark scrapings and other plant debris should be collected and burned.

Cherry plum processing

As a preventive measure, in April the cherry plum is sprayed against pests, fungal, viral and bacterial diseases with a one percent copper solution or a two percent solution iron sulfate. However, before processing the cherry plum, make sure that the sap flow has not yet begun, otherwise you may burn the opening buds. The same prevention should be carried out in the fall, after leaf fall, in order to destroy pathogenic microorganisms and insect pests that have settled for the winter in cracks in the bark or in the soil of the tree trunk.

Watering cherry plum

Cherry plum is a drought-resistant plant, but it also needs moisture. On average, in the absence of natural precipitation, adult cherry plum is watered three times during the summer - after flowering, after shoot growth stops and after the fruits acquire the color required for the variety. In October, moisture-recharging watering of cherry plums is carried out before winter. If a dry spring comes after a snowless winter, then you need to water the cherry plum in May. For each adult plant, 1.5-2 buckets of water are consumed in one watering session for each year of life. Young trees are watered more often - 4-5 times per season.

Feeding cherry plum

When and how to fertilize cherry plum? Organic matter is added to the cherry tree tree trunk in the fall at the rate of 10 kg per m², but this is done no more than once every 2-3 years. The plant requires mineral fertilizers annually: in the spring, before flowering, nitrogen fertilizers are applied to the tree trunk circle, and in the summer, in June, potassium and phosphorus fertilizers are applied. The approximate consumption rate of nitrogen fertilizers (urea, for example) is 15-20 g per m², potassium fertilizers (potassium sulfate) are added at 15-25 g/m², and phosphorus fertilizers (superphosphate) are 40-50 g/m². In addition to root fertilizing, foliar fertilizing is carried out twice per season: the first, consisting of a solution of microelements, is carried out in May, the second, of the same composition, in June, but phosphorus and potassium fertilizers are added to it.

Wintering cherry plum

Adult cherry plum overwinters without shelter; young seedlings only need high hilling of the trunk and obligatory mulching of the tree trunk circle with a thick layer of peat, humus or compost. Mulch can also be useful for mature trees. When the snow falls, don’t be too lazy to cover the tree trunks with snow and throw it in a snowdrift in the tree trunk circle - under such cover the cherry plum is not afraid of any frost.

Pruning cherry plum

When to prune cherry plum

Professionals and experienced amateurs believe that best time for pruning cherry plum - spring. Before the buds begin to swell, in March-April, sanitary pruning and formation of cherry plums can be carried out, since at this time there is still no strong sap flow. If you did not have time to do this, and the buds have already begun to open, it is better to postpone the pruning until next spring.

Sometimes cherry plums are pruned in the summer, but this pruning should be minor and corrective.

How to trim cherry plum

What types of pruning are there? Sanitary, thinning, shaping and rejuvenating. Sanitary pruning is carried out in order to free the tree from unnecessary branches. If necessary, it can be carried out at any time of the year, except winter. Thinning pruning is usually done in spring or summer to rid the crown of thickening branches and shoots that do not allow the sun's rays to penetrate to the ripening fruits located in the thicket. Formative pruning of the crown promotes good formation and ripening of fruits; in addition, a tree with a properly formed crown is easier to care for, it lives longer and gets sick less often. Rejuvenating pruning of cherry plum will help in time to replace old branches with new ones and thereby prolong the life of the plant.

Pruning cherry plum in spring

Cherry plum can be formed in the form of a tree with a cup-shaped crown and in the form of a bush. It is better to grow cherry plum varieties that are not winter-hardy enough as a bush: the seedling is cut at a height of 15-30 cm from the surface of the plot. The 5-6 branches located on the remaining section are shortened to half a meter and, with the help of guy ropes, are moved to a position as close to horizontal as possible - in this position it is easier to keep them under the snow in winter, and, therefore, they are not at risk of frostbite and long and painful recovery after winter , so you can count on a good harvest.

The height of the cherry plum trunk can be 40-50 cm - at this height, the lower skeletal branches of the cherry plum are protected by snow in winter. But some gardeners prefer to form a trunk 80-120 cm high, citing the fact that trees with a low trunk, when snowdrifts settle and snow melts, small branches are deformed and broken, and wounds remain on the tree. That is, you will have to decide for yourself what height of bole it is more appropriate to form for the cherry plum tree in your climate.

The best crown shape for cherry plum grown as a tree is sparsely layered. The crown of the cherry plum is formed in the shape of a bowl, like the crown of a plum, leaving 5-7 main branches and cutting the rest into a ring. In the first year, only 3 branches are left above the trunk, located along the trunk at a distance of 15-20 cm from one another, and those that extend from the trunk at an angle of 45-60 º, and form an angle of approximately 120 º between themselves. Over the next couple of years, add new branches with the same characteristics to the existing ones. After 2-3 years, the formation of the crown is completed, and the top of the conductor is cut off flush with the third skeletal branch.

In the spring, at the end of March or beginning of April, in addition to the formation of the crown of young trees, sanitary and thinning pruning of adult plants is carried out - annual branches that thicken the crown are cut into rings, dry and broken shoots and branches are removed. As the cherry plum begins to bear fruit, the growth of its shoots slows down significantly, and you will have less pruning work.

Pruning cherry plum in summer

The branches of cherry plums grow up to one and a half or even two meters in the first two years, so they will have to be shortened to 60-80 cm, but this is best done in the summer, since increased growth of branches begins at the cutting sites. After summer pruning new fruitful branches will begin to develop from the lateral buds.

Pruning cherry plum in autumn

In autumn, cherry plums are not pruned, as this greatly weakens the plant before winter. If necessary, you can remove dry and broken shoots after the leaves fall and the tree enters a dormant period. Do not forget to treat cuts of large branches with garden varnish.

Reproduction of cherry plum

How to propagate cherry plum

Some forms of cherry plum are propagated by seeds, but more often they are used vegetative methods– propagation by root suckers, cuttings and grafting. Self-rooted seedlings can be propagated by shoots, root or green cuttings, but green cuttings require a special installation that produces fog, so we will not dwell on it, as well as on the seed method. With the seed propagation method of cherry plum, the varietal characteristics of the parent plant are not preserved in the seedlings. The seed method is also not used for growing rootstocks, since when propagating cherry plums by grafting, it is better to take plum seedlings of such varieties as Renklod Kolkhozny, Volzhskaya Krasavitsa, Eurasia 21, Vengerka Moskovskaya, as well as damson, apricot, felt cherry and sloe seedlings as winter-hardy rootstocks.

Reproduction of cherry plum by shoots

This method is the easiest to implement. The best material is shoots located at a distance from the mother plant, since such offspring have a well-developed root system, unlike those that grow close to a tree or bush. In early spring, dig up the place where the offspring leaves the root of the tree, and cut off the mother root, retreating 15-20 cm along it towards the tree. The cut place on the tree root should be even, and do not forget to treat it with garden varnish before burying .

The dug up shoots, if they are developed, are planted in a permanent place. If the shoot is small and weak, plant it in well-fertilized loose soil for growing, and when it gets stronger and grows, transplant it to the planned place.

Propagation of cherry plum by root cuttings

Root cuttings are harvested in early spring or autumn from the most productive trees. The roots of young trees are dug up at a distance of 70-100 cm from the trunk, for adults - at a distance of 1-1.5 m. Dig up roots 5-15 mm thick and cut cuttings from them about 15 cm long. If you are harvesting root cuttings in the fall, put them in a box with sawdust and store until spring at a temperature of 0-2 ºC. In the spring, at the beginning of May, the cuttings are planted in loose soil so that the upper end is buried 3 cm, and the lower end even deeper. The distance between root segments in a row is kept within 8-10 cm. The planting area is covered with film, and on sunny days also with burlap. The soil is kept slightly moist. After a month, the film can be removed. Seedlings are grown from root cuttings for one to two years before planting in a permanent place.

Reproduction of cherry plum by grafting

To carry out propagation using this method, it is necessary to have a varietal cutting as a scion and a rootstock - the plant on which the grafting will be carried out. Rootstocks can be grown from shoots or from seeds. You already know how to grow seedlings from shoots. You can grow a rootstock from plum or sloe pits by planting them in moist and loose soil at the end of September. In the spring, the area with the crops is lightly harrowed, and in May seedlings appear, which are watered all summer, and the soil around them is loosened and weeded. The rootstocks from the seed will be ready for grafting in the summer, in July or August of next year, when sap flow is active in the trees.

Scions are cut on the day of grafting from branches 30-40 cm long, not shorter. Grafting is carried out in several ways: in a T-shaped incision, in the butt, using the method of improved copulation, behind the bark and in the spine.

Before budding, the rootstocks are watered to stimulate sap flow, and the trunk is wiped from dust with a damp sponge. All leaves are removed from the scions, leaving only pieces of petioles 5 mm long, after which the bud with such a petiole is cut off with a sharp knife along with a strip of bark about 3 cm long and at least 5 mm wide. On the rootstock, 3-4 cm above the ground level, make a T-shaped cut, carefully bend the bark at the intersection of the short and long cuts and insert a shield (a bud with a strip of bark) under it, after which the bark is pressed tightly to the wood and the grafting site is tied tape or tape so that the bud itself with the remainder of the petiole is not covered.

Most often, budding is used in the butt, since it is easier to perform and always gives a good result. The method of improved copulation is good when the cutting and rootstock are of the same thickness. If the rootstock is thicker than the scion, the methods of grafting the wood and the bark are recommended.

Cherry plum diseases

The diseases and pests of the cherry plum are the same as those of the plum, its closest relative, and in order to recognize them in time and cope with them, you need to know the description of all harmful insects and symptoms of each disease.

Hole spot, or kleasterosporiosis, appears on the leaves of the plant as brown spots with a dark border. The affected tissues fall out, forming holes in the leaves. Small dirty red spots appear on the fruits and deform them. The branches also become covered with reddish spots, under which the bark cracks, and gum begins to emerge from the cracks.

Control measures. Destroy all plant debris and do not leave it under trees for the winter. Treatment of cherry plum: during the phase of coloring the buds, after the end of flowering and again two weeks later, treat the cherry plum with one percent Bordeaux mixture or the drug Hom in accordance with the instructions. If you are dealing with a severe infestation, apply another application three weeks before harvest. As a preventive measure against the disease in the spring, before the buds open, cherry plums are sprayed with a three percent solution of ferrous sulfate. Do not allow the crown to thicken; carry out thinning pruning in a timely manner.

milky shine And false milky sheen look like a silvery coating on cherry plum leaves. The false form of the disease and the real milky sheen have different natures: the first disease is a consequence of the cherry plum freezing in winter, and with good care, watering and fertilization, the tree will recover within a year or three. Real milky shine - fungal disease, penetrating deeply into cherry plum wood and causing stem rot. By mid-summer the leaves turn brown and the cherry plum dries out.

Control measures. In the fight against a fungal disease, the affected cherry plum branch must be immediately removed and destroyed; the cut is treated with a one percent solution of copper sulfate, and then with garden varnish. For preventive purposes, spring and autumn spraying of cherry plums with copper-containing preparations is carried out, all cuts and cuts are treated with garden varnish, and the tree trunk and skeletal branches are treated with lime.

Moniliosis, or gray rot, covers the surface of the fruit with gray pads containing fungal spores. Shoots and branches turn brown and wither, as if they were burned by something, and growths form on the bark.

Control measures. Healthy fruits become infected with moniliosis from sick fruits hanging on the same branch, so diseased fruits must be immediately picked off and burned, as well as shoots affected by gray rot. Before the buds begin to open, treat the cherry plums with a three percent Bordeaux mixture, and before the flowers open and immediately after flowering, treat them with Bordeaux mixture substitutes of the same effect.

marsupial disease, or drain pockets– a fungal disease in which the seeds in the fruits do not form, and the fruits themselves grow, become deformed and become covered with a powdery coating. The flesh of diseased fruits is wrinkled and greenish. Affected shoots become twisted and swollen.

Control measures. Diseased cherry plum shoots and fruits are removed and burned. For preventive purposes, cherry plum is treated as against moniliosis.

Coccomycosis appears in early summer as small reddish-brown spots on the upper side of the leaves, which merge with each other as the disease progresses. A powdery pinkish coating appears on the underside of the leaves. The leaves turn yellow and fall off prematurely, the fruits stop developing and dry out.

Control measures. Collect and destroy fallen leaves and fruits. In early spring, before the sap begins to flow, and in the fall after the leaves fall, treat the cherry plum and the trunk circle with Hom or one percent Bordeaux mixture.

Pests of cherry plum

Most often, cherry plums are affected by the following pests from the insect world:

Brown fruit mite– due to its activity, cherry plum leaves turn brown and fall off, and the process of bud formation for the future harvest slows down.

Control measures. Clean the cherry plum trunk from dead bark before the buds swell; during swelling and during budding, treat the tree with Karate or Fufanon.

Slimy sawfly eats leaves, leaving only veins.

Control measures. Collect cherry plums from the site in the fall and destroy plant remains. In July or early August, when the sawfly larvae hatch, treat the cherry plum with Fufanon or Novaktion.

Yellow plum sawfly– the caterpillars of this pest devour the pulp of the fruit and eat away the seed. Young larvae damage the ovaries.

Control measures. Adult sawflies need to be collected by hand or shaken off the tree onto a linen sheet. Before and after flowering, spray the tree with Fufanon or Novaktion.

Eastern moth gnaws passages in a young shoot, and when it reaches woody areas, it moves to another shoot. Damaged shoots dry out and break. The caterpillars also damage the pulp of the fruit.

Control measures. Trees immediately after flowering and after harvesting are treated with a solution of 500-700 g of table salt in 10 liters of water. To process an adult tree you will need approximately 7 liters of brine, to process a young tree - 1.5-2 liters.

Plum moth penetrates the fruit, covering the entrance hole with a web containing pieces of pulp. The caterpillar eats the pulp of young fruits and the soft bone, ripe fruits it does not damage the bone, limiting itself to eating the pulp and filling its passages with excrement. The fruits in which the plum moth caterpillar lives turn purple and quickly fall off.

Control measures. Destroy fallen leaves and fruits, clean the cherry plum from dead bark, and treat the cherry plum with insecticides.

Plum aphid feeds on the cellular sap of leaves and young shoots of cherry plum, as a result the leaves curl, turn yellow and fall off. The tops of the shoots also dry out.

Control measures. At the stage of exposing the buds, the trees are sprayed with insecticides - Karbofos or Sumition, for example. When processing, the composition must be applied to the underside of the leaves.

Subcortical leaf roller gnaws passages in the wood, and this can kill not only individual branches, but the entire tree.

Control measures. Damaged shoots are cut and burned, the sections are treated with garden varnish.

How to deal with cherry plum

Plum, cherry and cherry plum very often produce root shoots that must be dealt with, otherwise they will take over the entire garden. How to do it? If you do not need a tree that produces shoots, cut it down, drill several holes in the stump as close as possible to the sap-conducting layer and pour Tornado solution or potassium ammonium nitrate into the holes. Cover the top of the cut with a piece of plastic or film. After 5-7 days, lightly drill out the same holes and fill in the next dose of the drug and repeat the same procedure in another week. When the growth dies, do not rush to uproot the stump; make sure that there are no roots left that the drug that destroys them did not have time to reach.

If you do not want to destroy the tree, you will have to fight the growth. Some gardeners recommend digging up shoots and cutting them off at the point where they depart from the root of the mother plant, but experience suggests that it is better not to do this, because in the place of one shoot cut at a depth, two or three grow. Cut the growth at the level of the surface of the area, and if grass grows in the tree trunk, mow the growth along with the grass. Or grow cherry plum varieties that do not produce shoots.

Cherry plum varieties

Cherry plum varieties differ in terms of ripening: early varieties ripen at the end of July or early August, medium-ripening varieties - in mid-August, and late varieties ripen by the end of August or in September. According to the size of trees, varieties are tall, medium-sized and low-growing. According to the method of pollination - self-fertile and self-sterile.

Cherry plum varieties for the Moscow region

Thanks to interspecific hybridization, heat-loving cherry plum is now successfully grown not only in the Moscow region, but also in cooler areas. The best varieties for the Moscow region are:

• Nesmeyana– a new early frost-resistant self-fertile variety with an easily separated seed. The plant is tall and spreading. Fruits are light red in color with dense fibrous pulp Pink colour and sweet and sour taste;
• Scythian gold– medium-yielding, self-sterile, very early variety high winter hardiness. The tree is of medium height, the crown is sparse but spreading. Fruits weighing up to 35 g are yellow in color with juicy, tasty pulp;
• Traveler– an early self-fertile frost-resistant variety with medium-sized fruits weighing up to 27 g, yellow with a red-violet bloom, with orange fine-fiber sweet pulp with a delicate aroma. The advantage of the variety is its stable yield, but the disadvantage is that the seed is poorly separated from the pulp;
• Cleopatra– self-sterile, frost-resistant late variety of medium growth with a wide-conical crown. The fruits are large - weighing up to 37 g, dark purple with a bluish bloom. The pulp is red, gristly, dense, tasty. The bone is separated in half;
• Mara– a medium-sized, mid-ripening, disease-resistant, winter-hardy variety of Belarusian selection with yellow fruits weighing up to 23 g. The fruit pulp is juicy and sweet.

Early varieties of cherry plum

The most popular varieties of early ripening cherry plum include:

• Found– a productive and stable self-sterile variety of high winter hardiness, resistant to diseases, with red-violet fruits, large or average size, reaching a weight of 31 g, with orange fibrous low-juicy pulp;
• Flint– a self-fertile, drought-resistant variety, almost not affected by diseases, with fruits weighing up to 29 g of dark purple color with a waxy coating and red color with dense, low-juicy pulp with a hard-to-separate stone;
• Gift to St. Petersburg– self-sterile, consistently productive, winter-hardy variety, characterized by the ability to quickly recover from mechanical damage. The fruits of plants of this variety are very small, weighing up to 12 g, yellow-orange in color with a faint waxy coating and bright yellow, juicy, fine-fibered pulp with a sweet and sour taste. The pit is difficult to separate from the pulp;
• Yarilo– a very early variety with round, shiny red fruits, medium size, weighing up to 35 g and juicy, dense, yellow pulp of excellent sweet and sour taste with a half-separable stone;
• Monomakh– a productive early-fruiting variety with purple fruits weighing up to 25 g with sweet, juicy, fibrous red pulp and a well-separable stone.

Medium varieties of cherry plum

TO the best varieties The average ripening period includes the following:

• Huck- winter-hardy, consistently productive, self-fertile, medium-sized variety with a thick, flat-rounded crown and large yellow fruits weighing up to 35 g with yellow and dense pulp of a sweet and sour taste. The pit is difficult to separate;
• Sarmatka– a winter-hardy, disease-resistant, self-sterile variety with ovoid, purple-red, medium-sized fruits with medium-density yellow flesh and a sweet and sour taste. The pit is difficult to separate from the pulp;
• Sigma– a highly productive and winter-hardy variety with large yellow fruits weighing up to 35 g. The pulp is yellow, dense, sweet and sour;
• Abundant– a highly productive self-fertile variety with fruits weighing up to 40 g of red-violet color with a waxy coating and orange dense medium-fibrous pulp of medium juiciness;
• Lama- a tree with red leaves and large dark crimson fruits weighing up to 40 g with juicy, aromatic dark red pulp with a sweet and sour taste. The stone comes away from the pulp well. The variety is self-sterile, but high-yielding and winter-hardy;

Late varieties of cherry plum

Popular cherry plum varieties that ripen closer to autumn and in September include the following:

• Comet late– very winter-hardy and productive variety with dark red fruits weighing up to 30 g with aromatic red pulp with a sweet and sour taste;
• Chuk- a low-growing, self-sterile tree with a compact crown, producing dark burgundy fruits weighing up to 28 g with orange dense, aromatic and juicy pulp with a sweet and sour taste. The bone is difficult to separate from the pulp. The variety is productive and disease resistant;
• Columnar is a winter-hardy hybrid between the large-fruited cherry plum and the Hiawatha cherry plum, characterized by its tall growth and compact crown. The fruits of this hybrid are very large - weighing up to 40 g, dark red with a waxy coating and aromatic, juicy pink pulp of medium density and pleasant taste;
• Melon– a medium-sized self-fertile variety, resistant to diseases and pests, with very large fruits weighing up to 45 g, dark red in color with a waxy coating and yellow, medium-dense sugary pulp of excellent taste with a delicate aroma;
• Golden autumn- a medium-sized, winter-hardy variety with a spindle-shaped crown and small golden fruits weighing up to 20 g, which do not fall off even after leaf fall. The fruit pulp is yellow, has a pleasant taste with an almond tint.

The following varieties and hybrids of cherry plum have proven themselves well: Apricot, Skoroplodnaya, Peach, Kuban Comet, Globus, Amers, Zhemchuzhina, Stanley, Olenka, Purpurovaya, Violet Dessert, Anastasia, Alyonushka, Lykhny, President, Vision, Lyubimaya Mlieva, Shater, Karminnaya, Vetraz, Nasaloda, Pchelnikovskaya, Seedling Rocket, Krasa Orlovschina, Timiryazevskaya, General, Ariadna, Karminnaya Zhukova, Rubinovaya and others.