What could be better than fresh juicy cherries? Fruits from the market or supermarket cannot be compared to freshly picked berries. But how to choose from among many a suitable variety for planting on your site? Indeed, most species that really have unrivaled gustatory qualities do not respond well to cold. But there is one variety that has earned positive reviews - Ovstuzhenka cherry. This is the "brainchild" of breeder Kanshina. She tolerates even severe frosts, which cannot but interest the northerners.
Description
This variety is partially self-fertile. This means that even with minimal pollination with insects, no one will be left without a crop. The tree grows rather quickly, but does not grow tall. It features a thick spherical crown.
Sweet cherry Ovstuzhenka is a tree with a raised crown, which is densely sprinkled with white flowers in spring. They tolerate sharp spring temperature drops without problems, even morning frosts are not afraid of them. Inflorescences consist of three flowers, the petals of which come on top of each other.
Sweet cherry Ovstuzhenka has a long pestle and stamen. The stigma is flush with the stamen or slightly higher. The leaves have an ovoid shape, the edges of which are with bicameral notches. Petiole is medium thick, short. Young leaves have pigmentation. This variety is resistant to fungal diseases.
Tree growth
Description of cherries Ovstuzhenka and reviews of summer residents indicate that this is a real find for the gardener. The tree grows quite quickly, but the first 4 years - up, and when it enters the fruiting phase, the branches form a ball. Such varieties as Iput, Bryanskaya pink and Raditsa are planted next to the cherries. Then you can achieve yields from one tree to 30-35 kg. The fruits are large, dense, ripe cherries of almost black color. Each individual berry reaches 7 g.
Cherry Ovstuzhenka, based on the description of the variety, is very useful for the heart and the entire vascular system.
Choosing the right place
Sweet cherries love well-lit places. In more shady corners of the garden, the fruits will be less sweet, yield may decrease. Even frost-resistant varieties of cherries should be planted in places secluded from the cold. It is better for them to allocate a section between buildings (sheds, bathhouses, a residential building and a fence).
She will appreciate and give thanks for the tasty, juicy fruits if she finds a sunny spot with the north side closed from the wind.
Do not plant cherries Ovstuzhenka (the variety description confirms this) in the area where flooding and stagnation of water are possible. It is better to prepare a drainage in advance or plant a tree on a hill. If this condition is not met, then the cherry may die.
Sweet-cherry and loamy soils are best suited for sweet-cherry Ovstuzhenka by description. It will be difficult for her to develop on heavy ones. You can prepare a good pit for landing. Soil with an acidity close to neutral is perfect.
Landing and care
Planting cherries varieties Ovstuzhenka is carried out in the spring. Under no circumstances should seedlings be buried in the ground. The root neck should not be lowered below 6-7 cm above ground level.
Purchased seedlings can immediately cut the branches. The roots must be chosen large and strong, then the tree will take root faster.
Sweet cherry Ovstuzhenka is considered to be self-infertile. To set fruit, she needs pollen from other plants. Thus, if there is no other kind of sweet cherry nearby, then urgently you need to think about planting such. If this condition is met, you can expect a higher yield.
The nutrition area of this fruit tree is 12 square meters. When planting seedlings, organic fertilizers, potassium chloride and superphosphate are lowered into the pit.
Top dressing
They feed the cherries with nitrogen fertilizers in the spring and superphosphate and potassium sulfate in the fall. In addition, from early spring to late autumn, you need to periodically apply organic fertilizers to the trunk circle. If the soil is rich, you should not be too diligent with fertilizers, if on the contrary, then fertilizing is needed annually.
According to reviews, Ovstuzhenka cherries should cut off almost all the flowers in the first year. Then the tree will take root better. In the future, too, should normalize the crop. To do this, "greenfinch" a few centimeters in size is cut off in an amount up to 50% of the total crop. Thanks to this procedure, you can count on a larger crop with sweet cherries.
Watering
Water the tree at least 4 times a month. It is very important to do this in May-June, when the berries are poured. With a lack of moisture, the harvest of not only this but also the next year may suffer.
It is better to finish watering by July, when the ripening of the fruits begins, if this is not done, then you can get cracked fruits. The growth of shoots may be delayed, and the plant will not tolerate winter well. In a dry year, it is worth continuing to water the cherries to frost, so that the tree can be saturated with moisture. Watering regime should be adjusted depending on the weather. On soils with a high level of groundwater, it is necessary to carefully approach the issue of irrigation, since the cherry does not tolerate flooding.
It is also recommended for better frost resistance to mulch a young tree with horse humus. The stamp is wrapped with covering material. For this, it is worth choosing a material that will allow air and water to pass through. This wrap will also help against pests such as mice and hares.
At the cherries Ovstuzhenka (photo is presented in the article), the trunk circle should always be clean. You should not plant other plants there, and it is also important to ensure that there are no weeds. The soil around the tree cannot be covered with concrete or covered with metal sheet.
Pruning
If you correctly pruning trees, you can positively affect the yield, sweetness and size of the fruit. The procedure will help rid him of illnesses.
When planting seedlings, you need to cut branches at a height of one hundred centimeters. This will help in the fastest laying of the crown.
Pruning is done in early spring, even before the appearance of the buds. With too wild growth, pruning of young shoots in August is allowed. Before winter, they will have time to move away and significantly thicken. Branches that reach the earth need to be cut.
It is worth paying attention to the description of Ovstuzhenka cherries (a photo of the fruits can be seen above) claims that it should be thinned out annually, this will help avoid the appearance of diseases. Leave only upright, well-developed shoots. All the weak and cropped are cropped.
It is better not to cut the shoots in one fell swoop so as not to shock the tree. It is necessary to gradually form a good crown so that the sun's rays reach the fruits without any problems.
Useful properties of cherries
The fruits have a rich natural multivitamin complex - here you can find both ascorbic acid and vitamins B1, B2, A, PP, E, as well as cherries rich in pectins, carotene, malic acid, flavonoids, micro and macro elements, sugar and coumarin.
This is an early ripe variety of berries - they appear among the very first ones and are an excellent remedy against spring deficiency of vitamins. Sweet cherry is also widely used in folk medicine. It is an excellent tool for the treatment of kidney disease, has a diuretic effect. Sweet cherry tones up perfectly, helps in weight loss, improves health and general condition of the body.
Reviews of cherries Ovstuzhenka suggest that the fruits help strengthen the walls of blood vessels, prevent the development of atherosclerosis, help with hypertension. Coumarins can lower the blood coagulation threshold, prevent the formation of plaques and blood clots, and help in the treatment of anemia. Sweet cherries Ovstuzhenka (reviews confirm this) relieves pain, helps with rheumatism, gout, arthritis.
Cherry juice is used to enhance gastric motility, improve digestion, it also helps with stomach pains. In addition, cherry juice lowers blood cholesterol. Juice and compote from cherries are recommended for those who do not perceive the fruits in their raw form, since acids are neutralized during processing and cellulose is easier to digest.
Use in folk medicine and stalks. A decoction of them helps to regulate the activity of the heart, it is drunk with increased neurosis and irritability.
Tree diseases
Cherry is quite resistant to various diseases and fungi, but it also needs to be strengthened and treated:
- Brown spotting. In this disease, the leaves of the trees are first covered with brown spots, and then holes form in their place. For the treatment of a garden tree, a Bordeaux mixture is used. As a disease prevention, they carefully monitor that the diseased branches are cut in time, and the cut-off point must be treated with copper sulfate. Also, in early spring, this tool should spray the soil around the tree.
- Scab. When this disease is affected, the leaves darken, curl into a tube, and the fruits stop their growth and gradually dry out. In order to avoid an unpleasant disease, the tree at the stage of bud formation is treated with a solution of copper oxychloride. For prevention, the leaves are removed in the fall, and the soil around the tree is dug up.
- Mosaic disease. It appears as yellow stripes on the leaves, after which they curl and dry. Unfortunately, such trees need to be uprooted and new ones planted in their place.
- Gum Detection. With this disease, gum is released on the trunk. To treat such a tree, the gum is removed, and the affected area is treated with copper sulfate.
There are many pests that will infringe on the crop. These include:
- cherry aphids;
- cherry fly ;
- false tinder;
- sulfur-yellow tinder fungus.
Harvest Storage
One cherry can give the gardener up to 30 kg of fruit. If the stem is not removed, the shelf life will be a little longer. Do not leave spoiled fruits with healthy ones. Store no more than 5-6 days in a room with high humidity and a temperature of no higher than 4 degrees.
Cherry Ovstuzhenka is a universal variety. It is suitable for stewed fruit as well as for mashed potatoes, juices, preserves and pastries. When frozen, berries practically do not lose their taste.