Growing Hybrid Cherry Plum (Russian Plum - 2)

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

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Cultivation of hybrid cherry plum in the North-West of Russia

Do not rush to immediately plant cherry plum seedlings in the cold ground, but wait until the end of the late spring frosts and the onset of stable warm weather. Before planting, place the acquired seedlings in a bright place: on a glazed loggia, veranda, in a greenhouse or close to the southern side of the house, but be sure to provide protection there from possible frost by temporarily covering them with lutrasil or spunbond.

In the case of purchasing seedlings with an open root system, they must be planted in a container with earth. Since the soil in containers dries out quickly, you should periodically water the seedlings with warm water, and 1-2 times a month it is good to feed them with a weak solution of fertilizers such as Ideal or Kemira-Kombi, according to the recommendations on the package.

With the onset of stable warm weather, it is necessary to start preparing the seat. In the conditions of the North-West, the site is chosen on elevations with a southern, southeastern or south-western slope, where the ground quickly warms up, and cold air masses flow into the lowland. It is useful to have protection from cold winds on the north side, this can be a wall of a building, a vegetation curtain in the form of planting tall trees or shrubs, standing tall trees, preferably a spruce or pine.

In lonely standing trees, up to a height of 4-5 meters, the lower branches are removed, and along the perimeter of the crown, at a distance of 2 meters from the trunk, up to 5-6 cherry plum seedlings are planted in a semicircle. Such a landing by 4-5 ° C increases the average daily air temperature, weakens the impact of frosts and cold northern winds. In addition, single trees reduce excessive soil moisture, excess nitrogen content, increase the resistance of cherry plums to critical frosts, covering the soil with needles, protecting it from freezing in snowless winters.

Cherry plum is undemanding to growing conditions, grows on any soils, tolerates close, up to 1.2 m, groundwater bedding and even slight salinity. However, cherry plum grows best on lean soils, and with a nitrogen deficiency, it quickly begins to bear fruit. Before planting cherry plum, fatty soils must be depleted with clay, sand, gravel or a powerful plant (spruce, pine, birch).

In our conditions, cherry plum, like many other fruit plants, especially of southern origin, must be planted on hills or raised ridges. To do this, the seedling is carefully removed from the container and, without destroying the earthen coma, is placed on the ground in the selected place, gradually filling the root system with a layer of soil of at least 10 cm. The earth is taken along the perimeter at a distance of at least 0.8 m from the trunk. In this case, a drainage groove and a gentle mound-flowerbed with a slope towards the groove are formed.

In addition, cherry plum is planted on ready-made raised ridges 1.5 m wide and 30-40 cm high in relation to the soil level. On excessively waterlogged and cold soils, drainage must be provided. For this, the top soil layer is removed to a depth of 1.5-2 shovel bayonets and the resulting hole or trench is filled with a thick layer of wood waste: shavings, sawdust, scraps of logs and boards, branches. This will not only drainage, but also protect the cherry plum from the deep cold. On top of the tree layer, earth is poured, taken when digging a hole or trench.

When planting on 1 cherry plum seedling, add 100 g of wood ash and superphosphate, as well as 2 teaspoons of nitrogen-free AVA fertilizer. Cherry plum should be planted in a well-warmed ground, after the end of frost and until the second half of August, so that young plants have time to take root before the onset of cold weather.

If you bought a cherry plum seedling late or did not have time to plant it on time, you can place it in a cold basement or basement with a temperature of 0-5 ° C for the winter, or dig it in the garden for the winter. A hole in a mound or a raised ridge is dug out according to the size of an earthen lump of a seedling and spilled well with warm water at the rate of 5-10 liters.

The tree is planted with a slight slope to the north so that the near-trunk zone of the soil is not shaded by cherry plum branches. The earth is not trampled down, but a hole is made around the trunk until the upper roots are exposed, into which the seedlings are subsequently watered. In dry weather, this is done once every five days, and in rainy weather they do not water at all. In the fall, after the first frosts, the hole is covered with earth with a layer of at least 10 cm. All subsequent care for the cherry plum consists in forming the crown and ensuring the conditions for fruiting.

In our conditions, the most successful and winter-hardy form of the cherry plum crown will be a fanless and low-stemmed one with a low arrangement of skeletal branches. This crown shape contributes to good airing and lighting of the cherry plum. To form it during planting, the seedling is cut at a height of 35 cm and planted so that the buds are in the plane of the row. The crown is formed in the form of a fan and 6 skeletal branches, three on each side along the row. Branches with a different arrangement are bent in the right direction or cut out. The distance from the ground to the first skeletal branch is 15-25 cm, and between the branches of one side - 25 cm, the lower two shoots are placed horizontally, and the upper ones at an angle of 450.

Further care consists in the spring removal of excess weak, broken and dry branches, limiting the growth of strong-growing shoots by pinching the tops, removing all growth points in August. After the entry of cherry plum into abundant fruiting, growth processes decrease, and pruning is required only for thinning the crown in April.

Young plantings of cherry plum are not fed with nitrogen, but only in the spring they apply a small amount of ash and 2-3 teaspoons of AVA fertilizer. After the first bountiful harvests (15 kg per tree), starting from the third year after planting, additional fertilizing must be constantly introduced. Signs indicating the need for feeding are growths less than 0.5 m and a decrease in fruit size. In this case, chlorine-free fertilizer Kemira-Universal or granular organic-mineral fertilizer Universal is applied at a dose of up to 100 g for a seven-year plant and up to 200 g for a ten-year plant.

When using fertilizers such as azofosk or ekofosk, top dressing begins with 50 g of fertilizers and 50 g of AVA fertilizer are added, which are embedded in the soil along the perimeter of the crown. During the summer and at the beginning of autumn, it will be very useful to carry out 3-4 times foliar (by leaves) feeding with microelements, using Uniflor-micro fertilizer for this according to the attached instructions. This foliar dressing has a positive effect on the development of plants, increases their winter and frost resistance, and enhances the ability of plants to resist diseases, pests and other adverse factors.

In the North-West, in contrast to the places of its traditional growth, cherry plum is practically not exposed to diseases and pests, and there is usually no special need for the preparation of pesticides. Therefore, in contrast to the cherry-plum imported from the south, the cherry-plum fruits grown in our country are much more environmentally friendly. Sometimes, however, aphids appear at the beginning of the growing season, but in this case, one selective spraying from pests with appropriate preparations is sufficient. As a prophylaxis against diseases, Fitosporin proved to be a good remedy and spraying once a month with a solution of Uniflor-micro microfertilizers.

The following varieties of hybrid cherry plum are best suited for our conditions: Kuban comet, Gatchinskaya, Golden autumn, Nectarine, Apricot, Peach, Yantarnaya, Shater, Traveler, Nayden and others. Here is a description of some of them:

Cherry plum varieties

Golden autumn is self-fruitless. Fruits are yellow-orange, medium, weighing 12 g. The pulp is juicy, aromatic, has an almond flavor. Ripens at the end of August, the fruits hang without dropping until October 15. Winter hardiness is high. Flowers can withstand frosts down to -7 ° C. A very productive variety - it bears fruit almost every year.

Kuban comet. Partially self-fertile cherry plum. Fruits are large, dark red, weighing 29 g. Winter hardiness is high. Ripens from August 26. The yield is high.

Nectarine aromatic. Self-fertile variety. The fruits are claret-black, very large, weighing 41 g, in some years up to 52 g, very fragrant, smelling like a hybrid tea rose and peach. The pulp is juicy with peach flavor, sweet, sticky juice, reminiscent of diluted honey. Winter hardiness is high. Ripens from July 28. The yield is high. Outwardly, the fruits are similar to imported nectarines, but they are superior in taste.

Traveler. Self-infertile variety. The fruits are large, red, weighing 30 g. The pulp is orange, juicy, tastes like a banana. Winter hardiness and disease resistance are high. Fast-growing variety. Ripens from July 28. The yield is high.

Apricot. Partially singleton. Fruits are pink-orange, fragrant, large, weighing 26 g. The pulp is fragrant, juicy-sweet, sticky juice with the smell of apricot. Ripens from 15 August. Fruiting is very abundant, reminiscent of sea buckthorn.

Recently, new practically acid-free varieties of cherry plum have been bred, such as Arbuznaya, Melnaya and others.

Crossing well with other crops of the plum genus, cherry plum was used to create new fruits, such as "black apricots", which are superior to traditional apricot varieties in their adaptive properties. The behavior of "black apricots" in the St. Petersburg climate can be judged after several years.

When writing this article, the personal experience of the author and other St. Petersburg amateur gardeners was used; recommendations of Yu. M. Chuguev, head of the Voronino farm (Smolensk); articles by Professor G. V. Eremin, leading breeder of the Crimean experimental selection station of VIR (Krymsk, Krasnodar Territory).