Content
The late variety of felt cherry Summer attracts gardeners with its self-fertility and unpretentiousness. The rules for planting and caring for the Summer felt cherry are quite simple. By adhering to them, you can easily get a healthy, beautiful bush that is pleasing to the eye and produces a not very abundant, but regular harvest.
History of selection
Felt cherry variety Leto was obtained at the DalNIISKh in the mid-twentieth century. The author of the variety was G. T. Kazmin, who painstakingly worked for this with more than 10,000 seedlings in four generations. The felt variety Leto was grown from the seeds of another crop - sand (bush) cherry through open pollination. And therefore it combines the features of both felt and sand varieties.
Felt cherry Leto is included in the State Register list. The variety was introduced to the elite in 1955.
Description of culture
The Leto felt cherry bush is compact, the skeletal branches are straight, the branching is characteristically medium or sparse. The bark of perennial branches is rough. Young shoots are thick, smooth, brownish-green in color, and heavily pubescent.
The leaves of the plant of this variety are hard, ovoid in shape, and the pubescence is distinct.
Fruit buds are small, red-brown. They fit relatively tightly to the shoot (only the upper part is raised). In addition to annual shoots, they are formed on bouquet branches, but the latter are noticeably shortened (3–10 cm). Summer's flowers are large, pale pink, medium-open, with oval petals.
The berries of the Leto felt cherry are large (weighing 3–4 g). Their shape is characteristically irregular (one side is beveled towards the base) and resembles a rounded cylinder. The color is light red, unevenly distributed. The pubescence of the skin is very pronounced. The peduncle is short (0.5 cm), green, thin. Seed weight (on average) – 0.2 g.
The pulp of Summer berries is pale pink, juicy, thick. The taste is sweet, with a clear hint of acid, but at the same time somewhat bland. The juice is light pink.
Initially, this variety of felt cherry was zoned in the Khabarovsk and Primorsky Territories. However, later, thanks to the excellent characteristics of Summer, the territory of its distribution expanded beyond the borders of the Far Eastern region. Felt cherry Summer is very popular today in the Moscow region and other areas of the central zone.
Characteristics
Drought resistance, winter hardiness
The winter hardiness of the Leto variety is considered average - it is slightly lower than that of most other varieties of felt cherries. At the same time, spring frosts are well tolerated by the plant’s fruit buds. And also the bushes of this variety are relatively resistant to lack of moisture.
Pollination, flowering period and ripening time
Unlike most varieties of felt cherries, Leto is self-fertile, that is, it is able to be pollinated by its own pollen. At the same time, the presence of other related plants on the site can increase its productivity. Another bush of the same variety may well become a pollinator for the Leto felt cherry.
Summer blooms relatively late - from May 25 to June 6. In terms of ripening time, Leto also belongs to the late varieties of felt cherries. The bushes can be harvested by July 25, but ripe berries can hang on the branches without falling until the end of August.
Productivity, fruiting
An important characteristic of felt cherries of the Leto variety is stable but average yield. The bush of this variety begins to bear fruit in the second year. The berries ripen at the same time.
If the bush grows on a strong rootstock, from 100 to 300 g of fruit can be collected from a two-year-old plant. An adult plant that has reached full strength can produce 7–8.4 kg of berries per season.
In the pulp of Summer cherries, 9% is sugar, 8.5% is tannins, 0.7% is various acids and 0.6% is pectin. Tasters rate their taste 3.5–4 points out of a possible 5.
Due to the semi-dry separation of the berries from the stalk, the Summer crop has average transportability.At room temperature, the berries can retain their presentation for up to 4 days.
Area of application of berries
Summer refers to table varieties of felt cherries. The berries of this variety are quite suitable both for fresh consumption and for use in recipes for various preparations (jam, marmalade), desserts (marmalade, marshmallows), and drinks (including alcoholic ones).
Resistance to diseases and pests
The work of gardeners in growing felt cherries of the Leto variety greatly facilitates its high resistance to moniliosis (monilial burns). It is relatively resistant to the “pocket disease” of cherries, another problem of felt varieties.
The weak point of this variety is the codling moth, which causes significant damage to the plant.
Advantages and disadvantages
Advantages | Flaws |
Self-fertility | Productivity is moderate |
Fruit buds are frost resistant | Frost and drought resistance is average |
Compactness of the bush | Slow bush growth in the first two years |
Resistance to moniliosis | Significantly damaged by codling moth |
Large berries | Taste is average |
Landing Features
Recommended timing
The preferred time for planting felt cherries is summer in the ground - early spring, before the buds open. However, autumn planting is also possible, in September. It is better to bury seedlings that were purchased later in the ground until next spring.
Choosing a suitable location
It is advisable to choose a site for planting felt cherries in summer that is sunny and dry, if possible located on a slope or hill. Ideally, the soil will be:
- fertile;
- light in composition (sandy or sandy loam);
- well drained.
What crops can and cannot be planted next to cherries?
Recommended | Not recommended |
Shrubs and trees | |
Felt cherries of other varieties | Apple tree |
Columnar cherry plum | Pear |
Cherries | Quince |
Plum | Gooseberry |
Black elderberry | Hazel |
Flowers | |
Marigold | Primrose |
sedum | dark geranium |
Periwinkle | Irises |
Violets | Khosta |
Vegetables | |
Onion | Peppers (any type) |
Garlic | Tomatoes |
Greenery | |
Nettle | Parsnip |
Dill |
|
Parsley |
|
Selection and preparation of planting material
Most often, the planting material for felt cherry of this variety is 1–2 year old seedlings.
Characteristics of a quality seedling:
- height about 1 m;
- there are several branches;
- the root system is branched;
- leaves and bark show no signs of disease or damage.
Reproduction of felt cherry Summer is done:
- scions (for cherry plum, Vladimirskaya cherry or damson);
- layering;
- cuttings.
Landing algorithm
Briefly, the procedure for planting felt cherry Summer is as follows:
- First, a landing pit with a diameter and depth of about 0.5 m is prepared;
- the pit should be filled with a mixture of soil with rotted manure, lime, potassium and phosphate fertilizers;
- the roots of the seedling are cut off a little and dipped in clay, loosened in water;
- the seedling must be lowered into the hole strictly vertically, observing the same planting depth that it had in the nursery;
- the root circle is covered with soil mixture, compacted, then watered with water;
- It is recommended to mulch the ground around the plant with peat to regulate the level of humidity.
Subsequent care of the crop
Felt cherry varieties Leto are pruned in several stages:
- unbranched annual seedlings, when planted in the spring, are cut to a height of 30–40 cm;
- in the first few years they form a bush, removing weak shoots and leaving 4–6 powerful branches at the base of the trunk;
- by 10 years and later, anti-aging pruning is regularly carried out, maintaining the ability of the felt cherry bush to grow and bear fruit.
Felt cherry bushes should be watered sparingly in summer - excess moisture harms it. As a rule, watering is carried out in case of prolonged absence of precipitation.
Felt cherries are fed annually, carefully applying fertilizer to the tree trunk circle to a depth of about 5 cm. Spring fertilizing with nitrogen-containing substances stimulates shoot growth. In autumn, on the contrary, to prevent growth, the bushes are fertilized with organic matter (humus, manure).
In regions with harsh winters, and also if the Leto cherry variety is planted in a lowland, you should bend its branches and cover the bush (tops, straw, special artificial material) before the onset of frost.
The intricacies of caring for felt cherries will be demonstrated in the video https://youtu.be/38roGOKzaKA
Diseases and pests, methods of control and prevention
Disease/pest | Symptoms | Prevention and methods of control |
"Pocket Disease" | Fungal spores that germinate on branches and ovaries. The latter, instead of fruits, form soft pods with spores inside | Destroy diseased parts of the plant. Spraying the plant with a fungicide (Fitosporin-M, Skor, Horus) |
Plum moth | The larvae feed on the pulp of the berries. Affected berries stop growing and dry out | Place butterfly traps (containers with sweet compote mixed with glue) in the garden. Treatment of bushes with Decis, Alatar, Karbofos or Kinmiks |
Rodents | The bark at the bottom of the plant is torn and gnawed. | Wrap the trunk with fine mesh metal mesh. Place mouse poison bait around the bush |
Conclusion
Felt cherry Leto is a variety that combines the features of sand and felt crops. An easy-to-care compact bush with large berries, it was originally intended for northern latitudes. And although Leto does not produce large harvests, its self-fertility, good frost tolerance and high resistance to moniliosis allowed the variety to quickly gain recognition among gardeners throughout the country.
