Content
Felt cherry Alice is a variety widely known for its universal characteristics. With correct planting and proper care, the few weaknesses of the Alice cherry will not prevent you from growing a healthy shrub on your site, which will delight you with sweet berries year after year.
History of selection
Felt cherry variety Alice was bred by V.P. and N.A. Tsarenko in 1979 at the Far Eastern Experimental Station VNIIR. It appeared as a result of pollination of the Leto variety with mixed pollen cherries Ogonyok, Peschanovoylochnaya and Damanka.
The registration of the variety was entered into the State Register in 1997.
Description of culture
The height of the Alice bush, as a rule, does not exceed 1.5 m. It is dense, has an oval shape, and has an average growth rate. The bark of perennial branches is gray in color, covered with many small light horizontal tubercles - “lentils”.The branches of the Alice cherry variety are thick and straight. Young shoots are brown in color and covered with edges.
The buds are small, pubescent, pointed in shape, slightly deviating from the shoot.
The leaves are dark green, small, in the shape of elongated ovals with a pointed tip. The surface of the leaf blade is uneven, folded, with a jagged edge, pubescent on both sides. The petiole is short (0.5 cm), also pubescent, of medium thickness.
The flower is medium (corolla diameter is about 2.6 cm), pale pink, saucer-shaped, has 5 freely spaced petals.
Alice is a large-fruited variety of felt cherry. The berries weigh 3.3–3.6 g (of which 0.2 g is a seed), and their shape resembles an elongated oval with a slightly beveled top. The skin is dark burgundy, thin, slightly pubescent. The pulp is red, juicy, dense, fibrous. The bone is practically inseparable from it.
The fruiting period of the plant can reach 17 years.
Initially, the Alisa variety was recommended for breeding in the Far East (in particular, in the Primorsky Territory). However, later it became popular in other regions with milder climates. The variety showed good results when growing felt cherry Alisa in the Moscow region, Leningrad region, as well as in the central regions of Russia.
Characteristics
The characteristics of the variety are of no small importance when choosing a suitable cherry variety for cultivation in different regions and different climatic conditions.
Drought resistance, winter hardiness
Alice is a cherry variety characterized by high frost resistance. The bush, skeletal branches, and young shoots withstand winter cold well, and the flowers withstand spring frosts.
Pollination, flowering period and ripening time
The Alice cherry blossoms in mid-May. In terms of ripening, it is considered mid-season. The berries ripen in mid-July.
Early fruiting is another significant characteristic of the Alice felt cherry. A self-rooted seedling produces a harvest for 3–4 years, a grafted seedling yields earlier, already from the second year after planting in open ground.
The Alice variety is self-sterile. In order for a cherry of this variety to delight you with abundant harvests every year, plants suitable for it as pollinators must be planted next to it on the site. These can be 4-5 bushes of felt cherries of the same or different varieties, the flowering periods of which coincide with Alice.
Some stone fruit trees belonging to other species can also successfully act as pollinators for the felt cherry variety Alice:
- peach;
- plum;
- almond;
- apricot;
- cherry plum
Productivity, fruiting
Felt cherry Alice has a high yield. From 6 to 8.5 kg of berries can be harvested from one bush.
The fruits of the Alice variety are distinguished by a harmonious, pleasant sweet and sour taste. The rating given to them by tasters is 4 points out of 5.
Their pulp contains:
- 10.8% dry matter;
- almost 9% sugar;
- 0.68% acids.
Even though the berries are semi-dry when separated from the stalk, it is difficult to transport them over long distances. Harvesting Alisa cherries using a mechanized method is impossible.
Area of application of berries
According to their economic purpose, the fruits of the Alice variety of cherries are universal due to their very good taste.From them they produce juice and all kinds of drinks, prepare marshmallows and marmalade, make preserves, compotes, jams, marmalade, and also eat them fresh.
Resistance to diseases and pests
Felt cherry variety Alisa is distinguished by its high degree of resistance to coccomycosis.
Their resistance to kleasterosporiosis is average.
Moniliosis can significantly harm the Alice variety. Overwatering can cause flowers and berries to be affected by this dangerous disease.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
Advantages | Flaws |
Good resistance to high and low temperatures | Self-sterility |
High yield of the variety coupled with compactness | Poor transportability of berries |
Resistance to coccomycosis | Susceptibility to moniliosis due to waterlogging |
Large berries |
|
Precociousness | |
Pleasant taste and universal purpose of fruits |
Landing Features
Compliance with the rules for planting Alice cherries is the key to obtaining rich harvests. It is very important not only to adhere to recommendations regarding timing, but also the place for planting, as well as the composition of the soil.
Recommended timing
Young Alice cherry seedlings can be planted in the ground both in spring and autumn. Early spring (usually April) is considered preferable, as the seedlings have enough time to gain strength and get stronger before the cold weather.
However, autumn planting (mainly in September) is also quite acceptable. It is important to complete planting work 3-4 weeks before the onset of the first frost.
Choosing a suitable location
Characteristics of a suitable site for growing felt cherry Alice:
- good sun exposure;
- light soil composition;
- neutral (not acidic) soil.
Not suitable for this variety:
- heavy, clayey soil;
- area with low relief;
- soil oversaturated with moisture.
What crops can and cannot be planted next to cherries?
Good neighbors for Alice will be other felt varieties of cherries, sweet cherries, and some stone fruit trees that can become pollinators for her.
Elderberry will get along well with cherries, protecting them from aphids.
Grapes grow wonderfully next to not only cherries, but also many other trees.
Begonias, phlox, roses and other moisture-loving flowers cannot grow next to the Alice felt cherry, since waterlogging the soil will create serious problems for it.
The roots of gooseberries and raspberries take nutrients from the upper layers of the soil, thereby inhibiting the development of the Alice variety of cherries.
Nightshade crops (pepper, tomato, tobacco) can become a source of diseases dangerous to cherries.
Walnut leaves emit substances that inhibit the growth of many other plants, including the Alice cherry.
Coniferous trees strongly acidify the soil, so for the felt cherry, which prefers soil with neutral acidity, they are bad neighbors.
Selection and preparation of planting material
It is advisable to purchase cherry seedlings of the Alice variety from trusted sellers, since buying it secondhand may result in failure and not bring the desired result.
Planting material should look like this:
- healthy-looking, undamaged root system, the length of which should be at least 20-25 cm;
- powerful, well-developed shoots;
- the presence of well-developed kidneys.
Before planting, the roots of the seedlings need to be lightly trimmed and then dipped in clay mixed with water and wood ash (you can add a root growth stimulator to this mixture).
Landing algorithm
When planting felt cherry Alice on the site, you must:
- make sure that the distance between the seedlings is at least 1.5 m, and the depth and width of the planting hole for each of them is about half a meter;
- at the bottom of the pit there should be soil mixed with organic fertilizers;
- the seedling is lowered vertically into the hole, making sure that the root collar is not too deep;
- After planting, the soil in the tree trunk circle is carefully compacted, watered well and mulched with peat.
Subsequent care of the crop
Caring for the Alice felt cherry after planting involves pruning, watering, feeding the plant, protecting it from rodents and preparing it for winter.
Cherry bushes of the Alice variety are pruned in autumn or spring. This is done:
- for crown formation;
- for rejuvenation purposes;
- with strong growth of branches.
More details on how to properly prune cherry trees can be found in the video.
Felt cherries should be watered in moderate portions, carefully ensuring that moisture does not accumulate in excess. The plant needs watering, first of all, during the dry period, as well as during the budding and fruit formation phase.
Fertilizing is applied carefully, along the edge of the trunk circle, during the period when the cherry tree has already bloomed. The following amount of fertilizer is required per 1 sq.m:
- organics – 5-7 kg;
- phosphorus-containing – 70 g;
- nitrogen – 30 g;
- potassium – 20 g.
Nitrogen-containing substances and organic matter should be added in the spring, and phosphorus and potassium in the fall.
To prevent mice and other rodents from gnawing on the bark of felt cherries in winter, gardeners advise tying the trunks with artificial covering material, reeds, spruce branches, raspberry shoots, after moving the soil slightly away from the trunk.
In winter, the snow should be compacted tightly at the base of the trunks - then mice will not be able to move on it. However, it will be necessary to rake it away from the bushes in the spring.
Diseases and pests, methods of control and prevention
Despite the variety of varieties, there is hardly a crop that will have exceptional immunity to diseases and pests. Each variety has its own weaknesses. Brief information about pests and diseases that can threaten the Alice cherry can be found in the table.
Disease/Pest | Manifestations and damage dealt | Prevention and control |
Clusterosporiasis | Small spots-"holes" on the leaves. The pathogen is able to penetrate into branches. "Ulcers" on affected fruits | 1. Cutting and burning the affected parts of the plant. 2. Spraying with Bordeaux mixture (3%), biological products |
Moniliosis | Wilting of flowers, leaves, drying out of shoots | 1. Prevention - treatment with fungicides. 2. Control - destruction of the affected parts of the bush, spraying with preparations containing copper |
Pocket mite | “Warts” on leaves in mid-summer - an insect sucks the juice out of them | Watering with hot water from a watering can before the buds open and after the leaves fall |
Felt cherry propagation methods
Propagation of the felt cherry Alice while preserving the valuable qualities inherent in the variety can be done well using green cuttings. To do this, take twenty-centimeter (or more) cuttings with at least 4 internodes. Before planting, their tips are placed in a solution that stimulates growth for 10-12 hours. Then the cuttings are planted in the ground, where they take root within a month.
In addition to this method, the Alice cherry variety can be propagated:
- lignified cuttings:
- layering from roots;
- grafting method;
Conclusion
Felt cherries of the Alice variety have long gained popularity among gardeners, which is explained by the large number of inherent advantages. Large and tasty berries, high yield, resistance to drought and frost favorably distinguish this variety from many others. Among the few disadvantages are self-sterility and sensitivity to excess moisture, but the advantages of the variety more than compensate for them.
