Felt cherries in their suburban areas are grown by many summer residents. Accordingly, breeding work with this culture is quite active. There were many varieties of felt cherries by specialists. Popular with gardeners are many of them. And one of the most fruitful at the same time is felt cherry "Natalie". She deserved the reviews of the owners of suburban areas simply excellent.
Growing Benefits
Before we start talking about the variety "Natalie", let's look at what advantages the actual felt cherry itself has in comparison with the usual one. The advantages of this variety are summer residents first of all:
- High decorative qualities. Such cherries can be grown not only to get good crops, but also to decorate the site. Very often, felt varieties are used, for example, to create borders and hedges.
- High degree of frost resistance. Almost all felt varieties of cherries are excellent for growing not only in the Central regions of Russia, but also in the Urals or Siberia.
- Early ripening. Fruits of felt cherry ripen about 1.5 weeks earlier than usual.
- Convenience of harvesting. Unlike ordinary cherries, the fruits of felt varieties practically do not crumble when overripe. Moreover, this species never grows too tall. To reach or use a stepladder in order to get the fruits from the upper branches, in this case is not required.
Of course, the Natalie variety of felt cherries also differs with all these advantages.
Fruit benefits
Actually, the felt cherry berries themselves are not only characterized by excellent taste. The fruits of this culture are also very useful for human health. In addition to various organic acids, they include substances such as carbohydrates and vitamins. By the percentage of iron, felt cherry berries are superior even to apples.
Who bred the Natalie variety
Russian summer residents have been cultivating this kind of felt cherry for a very long time. This variety was bred by domestic specialists in 1979. Work on it was carried out at the Far Eastern Experimental Station VNIIR. At the same time, a fairly productive Summer variety was also used as the parent. For pollination of its flowers, several varieties of cherries were used at once. It was "Twinkle", "Red Sweet" and "Damanka". The breeders N. A. and V. P. Tsarenko were engaged in the cultivation of the Natalie felt cherry variety. It was entered into the state registry in 1997. Since then, this variety has been enjoying constant popularity among summer residents.
Felt cherry "Natalie": general description
Unlike many other varieties of felt cherries, "Natalie" bushes grow quite tall - up to 1.8 m. A characteristic feature of this variety is also a wide spreading crown of ovoid or slightly flattened shape. Too thick bush varieties "Natalie" do not look. Their crown is very well ventilated.
Annual shoots of "Natalie" are downy and have a light brown color. Gray bark on perennial branches slightly peels. Buds on the shoots of the Natalie variety are formed at once in three pieces and have a spiky shape. Leaf blades from them grow dark green, elongated, corrugated. On the upper side, they, like shoots, are pubescent. Stipules not too long have stipules.
The flowers of the variety "Natalie" are not particularly large - in diameter they reach only about 2.5 cm. Their shape is saucer-shaped. Each flower has five snow-white petals, one pestle and 27 stamens. The calyx of each flower is cylindrical and pubescent.
The flowering and fruiting of the Natalie felt cherry is continuous along the branch.
Grade Features
Natalie cherry belongs to early ripening self-infertile varieties. It blooms on May 10-18. Harvest from the bushes of this variety can already be July 13-18. In addition to early ripeness, summer residents include friendly ripening of fruits to the advantages of this variety. Own seedlings of "Natalie" begin to produce crops for 3-4 years. With the vaccine, berries can be picked up already in the second year. Grows in the garden "Natalie" is usually up to 18 years.
The yields of this variety are very high - up to 9 kg per bush. Another advantage of this cherry is its frost resistance. In winter, the branches practically do not freeze. They have no effect on the flowers of this plant and spring frosts. This variety is also resistant to drought. However, waterlogging Natalie cherries is highly discouraged. Otherwise, she may vyprit.
With regard to the resistance of this variety to various diseases, summer residents have mostly only positive reviews. For example, Natalie cherry almost never gets infected with coccomycosis or kleasterosporiosis. To overmoisten this variety, among other things, is not recommended also because in this case the plant can get sick with moniliosis.
Natalie felt cherry has one more important advantage. Judging by the reviews of summer residents and the manufacturer's statement, it is very easily propagated by green cuttings. It is believed that this high-yielding variety is best suited for cultivation in intensive-type gardens, nurseries and amateur sites.
Fruit
The description of Natalie felt cherries given above allows us to judge it as fairly unpretentious. Among other things, very large berries grow on the bushes of this crop, in comparison with other varieties. Their average weight is 4 grams. The fruits of the Natalie felt cherry are dark red in color. The skin of ripe berries is covered with short hairs. The pulp of the fruits of this variety is cartilaginous, dense, juicy. The taste qualities, according to many farmers, it is simply excellent. The fruit juice is red, sweet and sour.
Judging by the description of the varieties of cherries of felt "Natalie" (the photo on the page also confirms this), its berries differ in really large sizes. At the same time, it is believed that the fruits of this culture are excellent for both processing and fresh consumption. If desired, from the berries of this cherry you can make not only jam, jam, compote or marshmallow. Many owners of summer cottages make delicious wine from them.
How to choose a landing place
In the garden, Natalie felt cherries should be placed on the sunniest spot. This will allow in the future to get maximum yields. The pluses of this variety, among other things, include undemanding to the composition of the soil. Natalie cherry will grow well on almost any soil. But it is best to choose a plot for it with fertile and light soil. A prerequisite for this is the absence of closely occurring groundwater.
"Natalie" belongs to self-fertile varieties. And this means that growing in the garden only one of its seedlings is pointless. Harvesting will be impossible. Near the "Natalie" must grow, for example, other felt cherries. In this case, her flowers will give many ovaries. Among other things, this variety has one very interesting feature. Its flowers can be pollinated, including related fruit crops. For example, cherry plum and plum are good pollinators of felt Natalie cherries.
Where to get planting material
You can grow "Natalie" on the site as a seedling, and from the seed. But more preferred is still the first option. The fact is that Natalie cherry seeds must be stratified before planting. Otherwise, they simply will not rise. Stratification is a rather troublesome procedure. But if you want, of course, you can try this landing option. In any case, the varietal qualities when grown from Natalie stone, like almost any other felt cherry, do not lose.
Natalie seedlings can be purchased in almost any nursery. Cherry is really quite old and popular among summer residents.
How to plant
The Natalie felt cherry pit should be dug quite large. The optimal indicators of its depth and diameter will be approximately 50 cm. The soil mixture for the seedling is prepared by mixing fertile garden soil with rotted manure. At first, a little slaked lime and some kind of complex fertilizer are also added to it to feed the plant.
At the seedling itself, the roots are cut by about 20 cm. This ensures their best development in the future. The seedling thus prepared is dipped in a clay mash. The soil mixture is poured into the pit with a not too thick layer. Next, set a seedling and cover it with prepared soil.
In order for the Natalie felt cherry to start well, it must be planted at the same depth as in the nursery. At the final stage, a roller is made around the plant from the ground and watered well.
Felt cherry "Natalie": features of growing in the garden
In order for the plant to consistently give good crops in the future, it, of course, needs to be watered and fertilized on time. Also, Natalie cherries require periodic pruning. Loosening the soil under plants is a must. But follow this procedure as carefully as possible. The fact is that the “Natalie” cherry root system is located quite close to the surface. And therefore, it is not difficult to damage it in the process of loosening.
How to fertilize
In spring, Natalie felt cherries are usually fed with minerals. In this case, a complex composition intended for berry crops is used. For good development, cherries require both potassium (about 20-30 grams per plant), phosphorus (70-80 g), and nitrogen (30-50 g). In autumn, this variety is desirable to feed organic matter. Best of all for Natalie cherries is a well-rotted horse or cow dung. You can also use compost. In any case, under each plant you need to pour about four buckets of organic fertilizer. This variety is fed in the fall usually immediately after pruning.
The best harvests are made by Natalie felt cherry on neutral soils. Therefore, the soil underneath should be calcified from time to time. This procedure is carried out approximately once every 5 years. In this case, about 200-300 grams of lime per 1 m 2 is used .
How to water
Excess moisture is, as already mentioned, something that Natalie felt cherries really dislike. Photos of healthy bushes of this crop are presented on the page. Poured cherries "Natalie" looks very different. The beginning of the brewing of this culture in the early stages can be determined, for example, by rotting the root neck. In any case, watering "Natalie" should be moderate. Moisturize the soil under this plant should be mainly only in the drought. Usually the bushes are watered no more than three to four times per season (approximately once every 1-1.5 months).
It is believed that moistening the soil under Natalie is best done by sprinkling. This is explained primarily by the surface occurrence of the root system. Using a hose, it can be easily washed. Actually, irrigation itself should be carried out exclusively in the evening or in the morning. Otherwise, it will be possible to "burn" the leaves of the plant.
Crown formation
The description of the “Natalie” felt cherry variety given above allows us to judge it as a plant quite high. This culture is actually developing very quickly. The same goes for her aging. Therefore, Natalie, like almost any other felt cherry, needs regular pruning. The technology of this procedure depends primarily on the age of the plant. The branches of two and annual seedlings are cut in the spring by about 1 / 3-1 / 4 if their length exceeds 60 cm. At the same time, all extra shoots are removed from the bush. Ultimately, the plant should have about 10-12 of the strongest branches.
In the following years, in the springtime, they mainly do sanitary cutting of Natalie cherries . That is, all frozen, dried up and incorrectly growing branches are removed from the bushes.
At the age of 6-7 years, Natalie felt cherries, like many other varieties, can begin to decline in yield. To prevent this from happening, a rejuvenating pruning of bushes should be done. At the same time, in the center of the crown of each plant, all old branches of the first and second orders are removed “onto the ring”. Subsequently, new young shoots will begin to grow near the cherries near the slices. In the future they will give good harvests.
In one place, Natalie cherries can sprout up to 18 years of age. However, experienced gardeners advise changing plants already at the age of fifteen. Unfortunately, older cherries do not yield particularly good yields.
When trimming Natalie, it is advisable, among other things, to use a garden var. They cover up “hemp” immediately after removing the branches.
Diseases and their treatment
The most dangerous diseases of felt cherries are, according to many experienced gardeners, klyasterosporiosis and monilial burn. To the first type of infection, Natalie felt cherry, as already mentioned, is quite stable. The risk of her disease with a monilial burn is quite large. This infection can be detected in Natalie cherries first of all by the presence of dried brown shoots in the crown. Moniliosis is dangerous primarily because its manifestations are very easy to take for freezing during spring frosts or a burn when using insecticides.
The shoots dry out during this disease due to the violent activity of a special type of fungus belonging to the Monilia family. The spread of this parasite can contribute to wet weather and all sorts of insects that carry spores from plant to plant. Already in the very first year, due to this disease, the gardener may lose a large share of the crop.
It is not possible to cure Natalie felt cherry moniliosis with folk methods. The gardener will have to use a comprehensive technique using chemicals. Includes the treatment of this disease several mandatory measures:
- pruning infected branches;
- autumn cleaning from under the bushes of fallen leaves;
- regular treatment with copper-containing preparations.
Reviews of gardeners about the variety
Opinion about Natalie felt cherry, planting and care of which are relatively simple procedures, gardeners have developed a very good one. Among other things, this variety has earned good reviews for its excellent taste. The berry of this cherry is sweeter than many others. At the same time, their taste, judging by the reviews, is very rich. With regard to frost resistance to Natalie cherries, summer residents also have virtually no complaints. The only thing is that this variety sometimes does not tolerate thawing winters too well.
Of course, the self-fertility of this culture, many summer residents attribute to its shortcomings. However, pollinators of the “Natalie” felt cherry variety, plum, and some others, are found in almost every garden. The main thing is to plant this plant closer to them.
The fruits of Natalie are slightly larger than most other felt cherries. However, they are stored, according to many gardeners, slightly worse than many other varieties. Also, some disadvantage of "Natalie", according to summer residents, is the tendency to dry up. Regarding watering with this variety, it is really worth being as careful as possible.
Instead of a conclusion
So, we found out what a sort of felt cherry “Natalie” is (description, photo, reviews). As you can see, the culture is really unpretentious and productive. In any case, the summer resident who planted it on his site is likely to remain satisfied. But, of course, this variety will give good harvests only with proper care and periodic pruning.