Bird cherry has long been used by gardeners not only as a tree or shrub bearing fruit, but also as a decorative element of the site. And this is not surprising: in late May - early June this culture is elegantly covered with spectacular large inflorescences up to 17 cm in white. In their place, then appear the traditional small fruits of black color, which are appreciated for the high content of various acids and vitamins. But is there a red bird cherry, that's what a lot of gardeners are interested in. Well, let's figure it out.
Red bird cherry tree - description
In fact, this kind of culture exists, and it is called red bird cherry virgin. Her homeland is the land of North America. In the adult state, red bird cherry is a shrub almost 4-5 m high. Its abundant bloom begins as soon as frost ceases to appear. Like the black cherry, in the Virginia in May and June appear large inflorescences - collected in a brush with a diameter of up to 15 cm, each of which has about 45-65 white small flowers. In the second half of August, small red-brown fruits with a diameter of 6-8 mm ripen cherry virgin ripen. The taste is different from sweet and sour notes and weak astringency. The benefits of red bird cherry include:
- resistance to moths and aphids;
- regular and abundant fruiting;
- good resistance to drought, pests and diseases.
Red bird cherry tree - planting and care
Bird cherry is difficult to call a demanding culture. Planting of the bush seedlings is carried out in the autumn, before the opening of the kidneys. The plant grows well on almost all lands, though on fertile and loose soils it looks more impressive. By the way, if on your site there are plots with a shallow groundwater occurrence, bird cherry can quite take root there. As for the illumination, the bush suffers a slight blackout, but open areas with excellent lighting are more suitable for him. When planting a seedling, dig a hole 50-60 cm deep, where then humus or mineral fertilizers are placed (for example, 300 g of superphosphate ). If the soil is heavy, it is diluted with peat or sand.
The bush is lowered, straightened by its roots and covered with earth. Many gardeners recommend planting a couple more shrubs nearby to improve pollination at a distance of 2 m. When the planting is complete, the seedlings must be poured with 1-2 buckets of water and wrapped .
By the way, virgin cherry grows very quickly - the annual growth can be 50-60 cm. Since the bush is undemanding to care, further cultivation should include timely watering (especially the first year of growth), weeding the stump, loosening the soil and fertilizing fertilizers. Since the red bird cherry is frost-resistant, it is usually not covered by winter.
With due care, the first fruiting begins in the third or fourth year of growth. Tasty fruits appear, as a rule, in late August - early September. If we talk about when to collect red bird cherry, then everything is decided by your convenience. The fact is that the berries for a long time hang on the branches, so they can be plucked up to frosts. But the collection itself is organized in dry weather in the evening or late in the morning after dew drying. Berry processing
Reproduction of bird cherry red
The easiest way to propagate red bird cherry is to separate and dig out the root shoots. In the spring of annual shoots, cuttings cut into 2-3 knots, placed in Kornevin's solution at night and put in a box with moist sand. Deepening should occur at the level of the first node. Before emergence, the box is covered with a film and periodically ventilated.
In the seed method, the inoculum (bones) are sown in late autumn to a depth of 4-5 cm.