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Red bird cherry, like other about 200 species of the Plum family, is found throughout Eurasia and northern Africa. The tree is grown both for decorative purposes and for collecting berries.
Is there a red bird cherry?
In different gardens you can find not only black, but also red bird cherry. The latter is usually called Virginskaya. This is due to the place where the crop grows: the tree was brought from Virginia.
Red bird cherry differs from ordinary varieties in the color of the berries and leaf blades: as the fruits ripen, they acquire a scarlet hue, and the green mass of the tree becomes bright red.
The culture is found mainly in America, where it grows as wild shoots. In Russia (southern latitudes and the Caucasus), the crop is planted in personal plots.
Description of the variety
Red bird cherry comes in different varieties. The culture quickly adapts to external conditions, bears fruit well, and is similar in appearance to ordinary bird cherry.
In North America, the tree can grow up to 12-15 m; in Russia it reaches 5-7 m and is a shrub.
Young shoots are brown in color, buds are the same color, oval or conical in shape, up to 5 mm long.
The leaf blades are dense, with a shiny surface, up to 10 cm long. More often they are oval in shape, with jagged edges. The inside of the leaf is lighter than the outside.
The main flowering period occurs at the end of May or beginning of June in regions where low temperatures prevail. The flowers are white in color, two-fingered in shape, collected in fluffy brushes, each of which contains 15-30 pieces.
Among the varieties, Schubert bird cherry is often distinguished. The culture is known for its decorativeness: a tree 5-10 m high with a wide crown pleases with pink flowers in the spring and burgundy-purple leaf plates in the fall. The fruits of bird cherry are red, becoming purple as they ripen. Ripe berries with juicy pulp appear in mid-August.
The tree is shade-tolerant, but grows faster in sunny places. It is undemanding to the soil and bears fruit well in moist, mineral-rich soils.
When planting a tree for decorative purposes, it is necessary to place it on fertile and well-lit soil. In the lowlands, the plant bears fruit and grows poorly due to the accumulation of cold air and spring frosts.
The bird cherry variety Canada Red is distinguished separately. The tree, 4-5 m high, is highly resistant to low temperatures and has a conical crown.
In spring and summer, the leaf blades are bright green, becoming brown in autumn. Ripe fruits are almost black in color and have a tart taste.The plant is unpretentious, but when favorable conditions are created, it blooms and bears fruit more abundantly.
There are other varieties of red bird cherry:
- Narym and Taiga: bushes with dense foliage, up to 4 m high. It is necessary to plant several varieties, because they are self-sterile. The berries are large and red in color.
- Dawn: The height of red bird cherry is up to 3 m; the variety is characterized by early fruiting.
- Self-fertile: mature trees reach 6-7 m, a plant with large leaf blades and powerful branches forming a pyramidal crown. During flowering, large clusters are formed, ripe berries are almost black in color.
The yield and fruiting of the variety, as well as its decorative appearance and resistance to adverse factors depend not only on the region of cultivation, but also on compliance with the planting and care algorithm.
Drought resistance, frost resistance
The red bird cherry variety tolerates low temperatures very well (up to - 45 ° C). Spring frosts are not dangerous for the tree, but the flowers may suffer, which will negatively affect the harvest.
The plant does not require watering, but planting bird cherry in loamy soils with a source of groundwater will provide the tree with the necessary amount of moisture.
Young shrubs and seedlings have good shade tolerance, but over time this property decreases.
Productivity and fruiting
Productivity and the nature of fruiting depend on the variety of red bird cherry. Taiga and Narym have very large fruits, red in color with yellow flesh inside. You can collect up to 5 kg of berries from one bush.
The early variety Rassvet allows you to get up to 10 kg of fruit per plant. The berries are characterized by a dark red color, the presence of sourness and astringency.From one Samoplodnaya hybrid it is possible to collect up to 20 kg of fruits, which have a more pronounced sweetness than Rassvet or Taiga.
Advantages and disadvantages
Before planting red bird cherry, you should objectively evaluate the benefits of the plant:
- low maintenance;
- shade tolerance;
- yield (depending on the variety);
- decorativeness;
- frost resistance;
- wide range of crop applications.
The disadvantages of the plant include the need for regular pruning and shaping: the tree grows quickly. Young children and pregnant women should not eat red bird cherry.
Planting and caring for red bird cherry
The optimal time for transferring seedlings into the soil is autumn or spring. The distance between plants is at least 5 m so that the bushes form a full-fledged root system and do not shade each other.
On the site, you need to choose a lighted area with slightly alkaline or neutral soil. It is recommended to dilute heavy soil with sand or peat and add superphosphate to the planting hole.
Landing algorithm:
- Prepare a hole, at the bottom of which fertilizer is placed.
- The seedling is placed in the hole and the roots are straightened.
- Cover the plant with soil, mulch the soil and water it abundantly.
- If necessary, provide support for young bird cherry.
Red bird cherry can also be propagated by seeds.This is a long-term procedure: the plant will bear fruit 6-7 years after planting. For planting, use a seed, which in the fall is placed in the soil to a depth of 6 cm and sprinkled with earth. The emerging sprout is watered and fertilized in a timely manner, covered for the winter until the bird cherry gets stronger.
It is possible to plant red bird cherry using cuttings. To do this, green shoots are cut, leaf blades are removed from them, leaving a few at the top, after which the branches are placed and left in a stimulating solution for a day. After the time has passed, the cuttings must be transferred to the soil to a depth of 3 cm and covered with film.
Young plants are moved into open ground after the formation of the root system.
Red bird cherry is undemanding to care, but loves loose and moist soil, so in natural conditions it often grows near rivers.
The crop requires abundant watering only immediately after planting: the soil is soaked with water to a depth of 25-30 cm, the procedure is repeated up to 3 times per season. During dry periods, the frequency of watering increases.
The appearance of bird cherry depends on timely pruning of the bush. To form a lush crown, the seedling is pruned by 50 cm after being transferred to the ground.
It is important to ensure air circulation in the root system, so it is necessary to regularly loosen the soil and clean it of weed. This procedure is also carried out before fertilizing, this measure allows the nutrients to penetrate deeper.
It is recommended to use manure as an additive, which is applied to the soil every 3 years.The soil is also fertilized by mulch, which is formed by fallen leaves.
To prepare red bird cherry for winter, the bush must be watered in the fall and whitened before frost sets in. Adult plants do not need shelter; small or weakened seedlings are wrapped in fabric and covered with snow.
Disease and pest control
Due to the presence of immunity, preventive measures are required only against bird cherry moths. To do this, the bush is treated with tobacco or lavender infusion and soap solution.
From the numerous insects that flock to the red bird cherry during flowering, it is recommended to use chemical agents: Aktara, Karbofos.
When a marsupial fungus appears on the trunk, it is necessary to remove it along with the damaged area.
A weakened or damaged plant is often affected by fusarium, therefore, to prevent the disease, it is important to promptly fertilize the soil, carry out pruning and shaping.
What can be made from red bird cherry
The most common way to use berries is to eat them fresh. They make tinctures, compotes, jelly and jam from red bird cherry, and use it as a filling for pies.
If it is necessary to preserve and transport the berries, after picking they are laid out on the surface and dried in a ventilated area so that they are not exposed to open sunlight. Dried fruits are collected and stored in a fabric bag.
There are a huge number of videos on the use of red bird cherry: its berries, leaves and even bark for healing and health purposes, so the plant is grown in gardens and as a medicine.
Conclusion
Red bird cherry is a very unpretentious and hardy plant with strong immunity.The crop is widespread and can bear fruit safely even in latitudes with harsh winters. Due to its properties, the shrub serves not only a decorative purpose, but is also used in cooking and folk recipes.
