Among the wide variety of plants growing in gardens and parks, one of the most famous is cherry. A tree familiar to many since childhood and growing on the territories of three continents.
Cherry is a tree or shrub, the height of the branches of which can be from 2 to 7 meters. The flowers are painted in white or pink tone and are collected in semi-umbrellas or 1-2 in a bunch. The spherical cherry fruit in the mature stage acquires various shades of red, from light to brown-dark. Fruits - juicy drupes, edible, have a mostly sweet and sour taste. Green leaves have an oblong-oval shape. When blooming, the flowers are pleasantly fragrant.
Cherry is a tree or shrub that belongs to the Pink family. This is a deciduous species of plants, so for decorative purposes it is used only as a spring accent. Many varieties and hybrids have been bred, the height of which does not reach even 1.5â2 meters, with beautiful flowers, sometimes velvet, and a pleasant aroma. Cherry, tree or bush, grows quickly and due to the density of flowering and decorativeness is often used in landscaping of gardens. In nature, propagated by root shoots, seeds. In a cultural form, it can only be propagated by vaccination.
Types of cherries
In the genus of cherry there are about 150 different species that are common in Europe, Asia and North America. These are mainly homemade cultivars that are bred by breeders. Wild cherry is also found in nature, of which there are many species and varieties.
Common cherry
This is a cultural type of cherry, a tall tree with a wide crown and sprawling branches. His bark is shiny dark. The leaves are oblong-oval in shape, pointed at the ends, dark green above and slightly lighter on the underside. The flowers are arranged on long peduncles and in diameter can reach up to 2.5 cm. In this type of cherry, the petals are painted white and have a pleasant aromatic smell. The flowering period lasts about 3 weeks. The fruit of cherries is ordinary round in shape and has a sweet and sour taste. This species is very common in Russia and some European countries. This is due to the fact that ordinary cherries are very unpretentious in care, frost-resistant, grows well in partial shade and tolerates dry summers well. It has many hybrids that are often used for decorative purposes.
Steppe Cherry
Steppe cherries tolerate frosty winters perfectly, in connection with this, most often it can be found in the north of Russia and in mountainous areas. This type of cherry is a tree or bush undersized, which branches strongly and creates a large crown. On erect branches there are small-sized leaves of dark green color, shiny. Their shape is oblong-oval, pointed at the end. The roots grow 3 meters from the tree and are shallow in the ground. The flowers of this type of cherry are small and collected 2â5 pieces in a bunch on the branches, painted white. The fruits are small, juicy, sour to the taste, can be red, pink and burgundy. The full ripening period approaches the end of summer or the beginning of autumn.
Felt Cherries
Felt cherry is a tree or shrub that has a large spreading crown with a small growth, about 1-3 meters. The birthplace of this species is China, so the second name is Chinese cherry. It can be used both for decorative purposes and as a fruit tree. The flowers are densely and beautifully arranged on the branches. Its advantage is in early flowering, this is what it adorns gardens that still stand with bare branches. The leaves are small, oval in shape, with notches. On the lower side they are pubescent, this creates the effect of velvety of the whole tree. Branches are thick with rough bark, have a gray-brown tint. The flowers are small, pinkish-white in color. Felt cherry, tree or shrub, tolerates not only winter frosts, but also spring cold. The fruit of the cherry is small in size, from red to almost black, sweet, juicy. The stone is small and does not separate from the berry. After ripening, the fruits of felt cherries can remain on the branches for a long time, without losing their properties.
Sakura, or Japanese Cherry
Japanese cherry, or sakura, is more a decorative tree than a fruit tree . Its homeland is Japan, where various varieties of cherries grow in all regions . Every year, locals celebrate the arrival of spring with the beginning of sakura blossom. The tree grows up to 4 meters in height, its crown is sprawling, umbrella-shaped, and can also reach 4 meters in width. The branches are long, flowing. The leaves are narrow, have an ovoid shape, pointed at the ends. In the summer they are painted in bright green color, and by the fall they turn yellow. The flowers are small pink, each of them is located on the petiole. The flowering period is the middle and end of spring.
Sand cherry
The homeland of sand cherry is North America. Like the Japanese one, it is used to decorate gardens and parks. Sand cherry is a shrub whose height reaches only 1.5 meters. Its crown is wide, branches are spreading, thick, reddish in color. The leaves are oval, oblong and pointed at the end. In summer they have a dark green color, and by autumn they turn bright red, which gives the cherry bush a special charm. The flowers are small, up to 1.5 cm in diameter, bloom in late spring. The petals are white in color, and the fruits are dark, almost black.
Cherry pruning
Cherry needs annual pruning to rejuvenate trees and shrubs and remove diseased and dried branches. If the question arose about whether cherry is a tree or a bush, the answer can be simply: what type and variety you choose, this kind of plant will delight you every year with its flowering and fruits.
Bush Cherry Pruning
Branches of bush cherries have the properties of greatly growing, so they need to be pruned annually. This is done competently, since cherry reacts worse to pruning than other trees and bushes. This process is carried out the next year after planting. The period must be chosen when the bush is still in winter sleep. It can be the end of February or the beginning of March.
When trimming, it is recommended to leave the stem 30-50 cm from the ground. In the first year of pruning, 5â7 strong branches are left, which are at a distance from each other and directed in different directions. In the second year of pruning, all branches are cut that are directed to the center of the bush. During the spring-summer period, green shoots will appear on the stem, which must be cut immediately. If the bush is running, then such shoots are removed already in the spring pruning of the bush.
With annual pruning, a bush is formed and branches that grow inward are removed so that the bush is not very thick. Dried and dead shoots are also removed, and young ones are left to replace them. Root shoots often appear in bush cherries, which should be removed by pruning just below ground level. If you do this above, then a new bush will form from such a shoot, and the shoots will begin to branch.
Tree pruning
Pruning cherries, like all trees, occurs during the dormant period. This is the end of winter or the beginning of spring. This process is tied to weather conditions in the cherry growing region. When trimming trees, dry, weak and diseased branches are removed, and the places of cuts are processed. You can also remove large main branches with a file if a disease is detected. This way you can save the whole tree by deleting a bad branch.
Care and reproduction
Cherry - a tree or shrub that does not require special knowledge or specific care. Timely pruning, top dressing, watering - this is practically all the procedures necessary for the good development and growth of cherries.
Care
Cherry in the garden prefers to grow in a bright place, where the sun warms well. The soil should be fertile and pass moisture well, stagnation of water has a bad effect on the life of the whole tree. Also, the land must be neutral and fertile; in other types of soil, cherry grows and bears fruit much worse.
Already for 2 years of a tree's life, it must be fed with mineral fertilizers in the spring. If the soil is empty, then humus is required.
Cherry, bush or tree, tolerates drought, so it should be watered moderately, and after the ripening of fruits begin to reduce watering or remove.
All types of cherries that grow in the form of trees must be covered with lime 50â70 cm from the ground every year in the spring. This protects plants from pests and various infections.
Breeding
Spring is the best time to plant cherry seedlings. But since the vegetation of this type of plant begins very early, the purchase must be done in the fall, after the leaves have fallen, and the seedling should be buried in the area.
For planting, it is necessary to dig a hole with a diameter of about 40 cm and a depth of about 50-60 cm. If necessary, it is expanded to such a size that the roots of the seedling are free in it and do not rest against the walls. Mix part of the earth with humus and nitrogenous fertilizer and fill up the bottom of the pit. The seedling is placed on top and sprinkled with earth, after which it is filled with water. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure that the young tree does not deepen, and the root neck remains 1â2 cm above the ground. It is also recommended to mulch the young seedling to further retain moisture.
Varieties of cherries that grow in a bush must be planted at a distance of 2â2.5 meters from each other, so that the branches do not intertwine and interfere with others. Tree varieties that have a large spreading crown are planted at a distance of 3â3.5 meters. For trees, it is advisable to leave a lot of space so that they do not obscure each other.
Propagation of cherries occurs with the help of root offspring and cuttings, but such seedlings must be grafted to obtain a variety. Without this, a wild cherry will grow out of the tree. But this rule applies only to previously grafted plants. Root offspring of varietal cherries give beautiful seedlings, from which good fruiting trees are obtained.
Useful properties and application
Cherry (trees and shrubs of any kind) has many useful properties and qualities not only in fruits, but also in branches, foliage, and even in petioles of berries.
Cherry fruits improve appetite and have a dietary property, and their syrup is often used in pharmaceuticals. It is also good to eat berries with low hemoglobin. They contain substances that contribute to the normalization of blood coagulation.
For treatment, the juice of the tree, called cherry glue, is used. It contains such useful substances as sugar pentose, galactose, arabinose. Cherry glue envelops the walls of the stomach and helps with inflammation of its mucous membrane.
Cherry is often used in folk medicine, for example, the root of a tree is used to treat an ulcer. Fruit pulp and juice are used as an antiseptic. And if juice is mixed with milk, then joint inflammation can be treated.
Also, a decoction of the stalks with swelling and diarrhea is often used. Such a recipe is known in almost every family.
Farm application
Cherry berries are eaten raw. From them make tinctures, prepare compotes and preserves, add to baking. Such berry trees can be found in almost every garden in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Cherry is a tree or shrub, a photo of which can be easily found in any botanical book, as well as see in this article.