In addition to the usual cherry for us, there is such a kind of felt cherry. This is a small shrub that reaches a maximum of 2 m, covered in warm seasons with wrinkled leaves with a slight pubescence. By the way, it was this plant that got the name "felt". And since the homeland of the shrub is considered the territory of China, it is also called the Chinese cherry. Fruits of felt cherry, round, small size, red or pink, they have an sour-sweet taste and are valued for the content of a small amount of vitamin C. So we will talk about the peculiarities of growing a felt cherry.
Planting a felt cherry
Under the planting of a cherry cherry prepare a sunny and open area with a fertile land, with a neutral reaction and at the same time loose. Cherry grows well on loamy or sandy loamy soils. Sour soil can be treated with lime. It is important that the groundwater is located at least one and a half meters below the surface of the earth, otherwise the bush not only can not bear fruit, but wither and die.
Plant a Chinese cherry in autumn in September or early spring into a prepared planting pit with a diameter of 60 cm and a depth of about 50 cm. Put a bucket of humus on the bottom of the pit. If you do not have such an organic fertilizer, use a phosphorus-potassium mixture. By the way, experienced gardeners recommend planting a number of cherry brush (at a distance of 1-2 m) to improve pollination. Before planting, the roots of plants should be shortened by twenty centimeters and treated with clay chatter.
Care for a felted cherry
In general, special care for felt cherry does not require, it grows well and develops and without much effort on the part of the owner. However, for a good harvest, some care of the plant is still needed.
First of all, an annual pruning of a felt cherry is needed. Its main goal is, of course, the formation of a powerful crown of the bush and its maintenance in the active phase of growth (rejuvenation). We must not forget about the sanitary purpose of pruning.
The procedure is carried out early in the autumn before the buds dissolve. In the first place, the damaged cherry, old and dried branches are removed from the felt cherry. Crop and shoots that grow inward, for thinning. Leave a central shoot about 40 cm high - the trunk, side branches need to be removed. Leave only the strongest 4-6 upper even branches, which grow in different directions. They are shortened by 2/3 of the length.
From the seventh to the eighth year, a felt cherry requires rejuvenating pruning. The fact is that the time of fruiting of the Chinese cherry does not exceed ten years. But the timely removal of old and sick branches will increase this period, which means that the bush will delight you for several more years with sweet and sour fruit.
In addition to pruning in the cultivation of felt cherries, timely watering is important. Watered shrub moderately, excessive moisture is fraught with poor fruit and growth.
Care and cultivation of felt cherries in addition to pruning implies fertilizing with fertilizers. It is brought in the spring after the flowering is over. The most commonly used complex fertilizer with an increased content of nitrogen. The substance is scattered over the area of the truncated circle and gently buried with loosening for 4-5 cm, trying not to damage the roots. The second fertilizer is produced in autumn fertilizers containing phosphorus (for example, superphosphate ) and potassium .