Cherry tree

People have been growing common cherry everywhere since ancient times, and it is impossible to know for certain where the first wild tree grew, which was later domesticated. Today, more than twenty countries of the world produce cherries on a large economic scale. This is a unique tree that uses not only fruits, but also leaves, bark and wood.

Brief description of the plant

• Appearance: deciduous tree or shrub from 1.5 to 5 meters tall, sheds foliage in the autumn-winter period.
• Fruit: sweet and sour juicy drupe of red, dark red or black color, containing one stone.
• Origin: a subgenus of plants of the Plum genus, the Pink family.
• Life span: twenty five to thirty years.
• Frost resistance: high.
• Watering: moderate, drought-resistant plant.
• Soil: neutral, well fertilized.
• Attitude to light: light-loving plant.

Cherry blossoms

Common cherry blossoms
Cherry blossoms in spring are a beautiful sight. No wonder this tree is found in the literary works of various writers. Shevchenko's Ukrainian hut in the village is necessarily decorated with a cherry orchard. Everyone knows the work of AP Chekhov "The Cherry Orchard". Small white or pink cherry flowers are collected in umbrella inflorescences, bloom in early or late May, early June, depending on the variety and climate. Fragrant flowers are good honey plants. Bees collect pollen and nectar from them.

Sakura blossom
In Japan, cherry blossom is a national holiday celebrated at home and at work. They celebrate right in nature near trees fragrant with pink flowers, spreading warm blankets on the ground. Sakura blooms in March, early April. It is an ornamental tree, but some varieties bear small, sour fruits, similar to cherries, which the Japanese find very useful and highly prized.

Common cherry, which is the ancestor of most varieties, is also useful and has not only good taste, but also healing properties.

The chemical composition of cherry fruits
There are early, medium and late varieties of cherries. The early varieties bear fruit in June, the middle ones - in July, the late ones - at the end of July and August. The fruits contain:

• 7-17% sugars
• 0.8-2.5% acids
• 0.15-0.88% tannins
• Vitamin complex consisting of carotene, folic acid, B vitamins, vitamin C
• Ionisite
• Anthocyanins
• Pectin
• Minerals

Sugars are found in fruits in the form of glucose and fructose. Organic acids - citric and malic. Ionisite is a metabolic regulator. Anthocyanins strengthen the walls of blood vessels and capillaries. Vitamins have a tonic and regulatory effect on the entire body.

The use of cherry fruits
Who hasn't tasted the delicious cherry jam? This is a traditional cherry preparation, which is prepared in many countries. In addition to jam, compotes, juice and wine are made, dried, added as a filling to dumplings and pies. Cherry fruits are eaten fresh. Many varieties have good taste and health benefits due to the high content of vitamins, minerals and other useful substances.

There are also contraindications.You can not eat cherries for people suffering from stomach ulcers and gastritis with high acidity. If there is a tendency to allergies, cherries should also be eaten with caution, like all fruits that have a red color.

Cherry foliage and wood
Cherry leaves, harvested in spring and dried, are used to brew vitamin tea. They contain tannins (leaf stalks), dextrose, sucrose, organic acids and coumarins. Leaves are used for salting and pickling various vegetables.

Cherry wood kitchen set
Cherry wood is used to make furniture and various wooden everyday objects. It has a pleasant dark brown color in various shades and is easy to process. Highly appreciated by both consumers and craftsmen.

Planting and leaving

Cherry does not like waterlogging of the root system due to groundwater close to the surface. Grows poorly in the shade. The tree is planted in April or September on neutral, fertilized, not very moist soils, in a well-lit place, protected from the wind.

Scheme of planting cherry seedlings and preparation for winter
If a seedling is bought in late autumn, it is dug into the ground at an angle of forty-five degrees and covered with spruce branches on top, with needles outward, so that in winter the seedling does not freeze and it is not damaged by mice. Most cherry varieties begin to bear fruit in the third or fourth year after planting. A young tree needs good care, which consists in loosening the earth in the near-trunk circle, applying mineral fertilizers, regular watering, pruning branches and preventive treatments against diseases with a solution of Bordeaux liquid and copper chloride.

Cherry varieties

There are a large number (about 150) cherry varieties, differing in the weight and taste of the fruit, the yield of the tree, disease resistance, frost resistance and the timing of flowering and fruiting. Consider three varieties common in Russia.

Variety "Shokoladnitsa"
Self-fertile, high-yielding variety, bred in Russia in 1996. The height of the tree is up to two and a half meters. The annual growth is seventy centimeters in height. Fruits are dark burgundy, almost black, weighing three and a half grams. The taste of the berries is sweet and sour. Blooms in early May. The fruits ripen in mid-July. In cooking, it is widely used for making preserves, jam, dried berries and compotes. This variety is frost and drought tolerant.

Variety "Vladimirskaya"
It is considered a symbol of the City of Vladimir, where it has been cultivated since the sixteenth century. It is a tree consisting of several trunks, from three to five meters in height. The amount of harvest depends on the growing region.

Up to twenty kilograms of berries can be harvested from each tree. The variety is self-fertile. In order for the fruit to set, a pollinator cherry variety growing in the neighborhood is needed, blooming at the same time as the self-fertile variety. The size of the fruit is small or larger, the color is dark red. The taste is sweet and sour, very pleasant. The berries are used to make preserves and jams, dried and frozen. Planting and care conditions are the same as for most varieties.

Variety "Shpanka"
Bred in Ukraine by the method of folk selection, a hybrid of cherry and sweet cherry. A tall tree with a rounded crown, self-fertile. Fruiting is abundant, from an adult tree, which begins to bear fruit in the sixth, seventh year of life, up to 45 kg of cherries are regularly harvested. Red fruits have a colorless, yellowish pulp with a sweet and sour taste. Fruit weight is about 5 grams. In addition to traditional preparations from cherries of this variety, good quality wine is obtained.

Tree care and planting is no different from other varieties. The variety tolerates severe frosts well, bears fruit better with regular watering and application of mineral fertilizers, as well as taking preventive measures against various diseases.