Content
Duke Cherry Nursery is a stone fruit crop that is a hybrid of cherry and sweet cherry with the best qualities taken from the parent plants. Refers to the latest generation of hybrids, the author is A.I. Sychev.
Description of Cherry Nursery
The life form of Duke Nurse is a tree. Growth strength is average. The bark of young shoots has a gray tint, which becomes darker with further growth.
Cherry fruiting is mixed, the main fruiting occurs on bouquet branches
The leaves are large in size, dark green in color, elongated oval in shape, more like cherry leaves. Duke Cherry x Cherry Kormilitsa is suitable for growing in central Russia.
Height and dimensions of Cherry Nursery
The nurse cherry grows into a low compact tree up to 4 m in size. At a young age, the crown resembles the shape of a pyramid due to the fact that the skeletal branches are more tightly pressed to the trunk. With age, the crown acquires a more rounded shape.
Description of fruits
Cherevishna Kormilitsa is distinguished by large fruits, the weight of each reaches 7-8 g. According to the photo and description of the cherry variety Kormilitsa, the abdominal seam of the fruits is medium-sized and weakly expressed. The berries are dark red in color and have a round shape.
The pulp is dense, dark-colored, tender, with a subtle cherry aroma. The sweet taste of the fruit is noted as standard. Tasting score – 4.8 points. When overripe, the color of the berries becomes richly dark and the taste becomes sweeter.
Pollinators for Duke Nurse
Duke Nurse is self-sterile. It is also not pollinated by other cherry trees. The crop is planted in a separate group with cherries and sweet cherries, while maintaining a distance of 3-4 m between plants. It is not recommended to include plums and apple trees in close planting.
Cherry pollinator varieties:
- Lyubskaya;
- Bead;
- Youth;
- Bulatnikovskaya.
Cherry pollinator varieties:
- And the way;
- Revna;
- Ovstuzhenka.
It is important that the pollinators of the Nursery cherry coincide in the flowering time, which occurs in May.
Main characteristics of the Nursery cherry
Duke Nurse, with its compact tree shape, is characterized by high productivity. It has a well-developed root system and resistance to drought and frost. Cherry cherry does not require complex care and is immune to the main diseases of stone fruit crops.
Drought resistance, frost resistance
According to studies conducted in 2005-2006.The eight-year-old duke cherry variety Kormilitsa survived the winter, when the air temperature in the experimental area dropped to a critical -40.5C° in satisfactory condition. Damage to wood amounted to 3.5-4 points. The flower buds died completely.
The winter hardiness of Duke Kormilitsa is rated higher than that of sweet cherries, but lower than that of cherries. Flower buds of the crop can also be damaged in milder winters if a sharp, even short-term, drop in temperature occurs.
The Drought Resistance of the Cherry "Kormilitsa" is high. In adulthood, the crop tolerates long periods of drought well and does not require special additional watering.
Productivity
The ripening period of the cherry-cherry hybrid Kormilitsa is average; the berries turn red, depending on the growing region, in late June - early July. The first harvest is harvested in the third year after planting. An adult tree produces about 13 kg of berries. Productivity largely depends on successful pollination. The fruits are suitable for fresh consumption, in compotes and jam. Less suitable for freezing.
Cherry cherry is large-fruited
The variety has average transportability characteristics. Fresh berries ripen well on the tree; when collected, they are stored for a week.
Advantages and disadvantages
Duke Nurse is more frost-resistant than sweet cherries, making it suitable for growing in cold regions. The berries have excellent taste and large size. One of the advantages of cherry trees also includes resistance to diseases and pests, and minimal care.
A disadvantage or feature of Duke is its self-sterility and the need for pollinating trees.
Rules for planting Duke Nurse
For planting, one- or two-year-old seedlings with a closed root system are selected. Simultaneously with planting the cherry-cherry hybrid or VCHG Nurse, it is necessary to plant a pollinator with the same flowering period.
Recommended timing
A favorable time for planting cherry is early spring before the plant begins to awaken, which is one of the first to occur in stone fruits. The period from snow thawing to bud break is usually short-lived, so it is important not to miss it. In the southern regions, it is possible to plant Duke Nurse in the fall after the leaves have fallen. But when planted in spring, the crop shows a higher survival rate.
Site selection and soil preparation
Choose a sunny place for planting cherry trees, excluding areas with drafts and sharp gusts of cold winds. For successful cultivation, it is important that groundwater does not lie close and rainwater does not stagnate on the site. Flat, elevated areas are suitable for planting. Garden soil should have neutral acidity. Lime is added to unsuitable soil from the previous season. Heavy soils are improved by diluting with sand.
How to plant correctly
The area for planting cherry seedlings is prepared in advance. The soil is dug up and loosened. A planting hole is dug measuring 70 by 70 cm. The excavated soil is mixed with organic fertilizers. Subsequently, the seedling is covered with this mixture, the soil is compacted and watered well.
After planting, the shoots are shortened in order to balance the volume of the crown with the size of the roots for their best development.
Features of care
Peculiarities of caring for the Cherry Cherry "Kormilitsa" include proper formative pruning, moderate fertilizing and covering the trunk for the winter. The soil under the tree is periodically loosened and kept free of weeds. Otherwise, the crop is unpretentious and is suitable for growing even by inexperienced gardeners.
Watering and fertilizing schedule
Cherry cherries are additionally watered only after planting and at a young age. An adult tree does not require special watering and is even contraindicated. Overmoistening negatively affects the root system and leads to cracking of the bark.
Duke is watered according to the projection of the crown
Fertilizing for Duke must be carried out in small quantities, which is due to the peculiarity of the crown of the hybrid. Abundant fertilizer provokes shoot growth, during which the wood does not have time to ripen and is severely damaged in winter. Fertilizers applied during planting last for several years.
Trimming
It is recommended to form the cherry tree in the form of a low tree, which has a beneficial effect on fruiting and ease of harvesting. Formative pruning for Duke variety Kormilitsa is carried out annually until the age of 5. It is important not to leave a high trunk, which is the tree’s most vulnerable during the cold season. Sparse-tiered pruning is suitable for cherry trees.
With this procedure, the growth of branches is directed to the sides. To prevent the tree from growing in height, the upper central branch is cut off at the level of the last tier. Shoots below the skeletal ones are cut off completely.
During sanitary pruning, branches that intertwine and compete with each other are removed. The peculiarity of cherry is that it does not form lateral shoots.
Preparing for winter
In winter, the cherry tree trunk suffers from frost damage. In order to protect the tree, the trunk and skeletal branches are whitened or wrapped in burlap, as well as other light-colored material. Young trees are completely covered; for this, the branches are pressed against the trunk, and a bag or other covering material is placed on top.
Diseases and pests
Cherry cherry is highly resistant to coccomycosis and moniliosis. According to the description and reviews of the Duke variety Kormilitsa, the crop is distinguished by strong immunity and is little susceptible to other diseases characteristic of cherries. No pest damage was noticed on the tree or fruit either.
Conclusion
The Duke Cherry Cherry, like other cherries, has not yet been identified as a separate crop. But they are considered promising for planting in the middle zone and producing sweeter and larger berries than cherries. The crop is easy to care for and has high productivity.
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