Cherry Large-fruited

Cherry Large-fruited - a unique variety. Slightly larger berries can be found in Melitopol black, but on average, Large-fruited sweet cherry has no competitors. The variety has a lot of other advantages.

Cherry Large-fruited was bred in 1986 at the Institute of Irrigated Horticulture of the Ukrainian Academy of Agrarian Sciences (UAAS). The crossing involved the yellow-fruited sweet cherry Napoleon white (mother plant), the luxurious variety Valery Chkalov, Elton with very tasty orange-yellow fruits and the French seedling Zhabule (pollinators). The result was a hybrid with phenomenally large, juicy and sweet berries.

A tall tree, up to 5 m tall, active, fast-growing. The crown is beautiful, round, medium in density. The foliage is dark green, large. Fruits on bouquet branches. Flowers are large, white, appear in May. Petioles are of medium length, during the harvest period they are perfectly separated from the fruit, leaving a neat dry trail.

The berries of this cherry justify its name, they are really very large. The weight of one berry is 10-18 grams (for comparison, the average weight of ordinary cherries is 8 grams). The shape is broadly round, slightly cordate. The color of ripe fruits is appetizing - it is a rich dark red color with thickening at the edges. The skin is shiny, thin, dense. The fruits tolerate transportation well. The pulp is juicy, slightly cartilaginous, dark red in color. The stone is large, but it separates perfectly from the pulp.

The taste is sweet and sour, rich and harmonious. The tasting score is quite high - 4.6 points. This is a versatile cherry. It is wonderful fresh, in desserts, in fruit salads, and in dish decorations. Suitable for any workpieces: juices, compotes, liqueurs, wines, jellies, confitures, jams, preserves.

Ripening periods are average, the harvest begins at the end of June. The variety has a good maturity, you can see the fruits as early as the 4th year.

The yield is good - 60-70 kg per tree (on average).

The variety has high winter hardiness, but only in the sweet cherry class. And these trees are still not well adapted to the conditions of the Russian Federation. The variety is best suited for growing in the North Caucasus region. If there is a desire to grow this luxurious variety in other regions of the Russian Federation, it should be provided with high agricultural technology.

The variety is partially self-fertile. For a better harvest, trees of other varieties are needed nearby: Francis, Surprise, Dybera Chorna, Bigarro Oratovsky.

The choice of a landing site must be approached carefully. All damp, low-lying, windy places should be excluded. An ideal plot for cherries is sunny, with an even warm temperature, with loose, moisture-permeable soil, without nearby groundwater. The tree is winter-hardy, but does not tolerate getting wet.

A tree is planted in the spring, having previously prepared the planting hole in the fall.If the soil is poor and heavy, a large hole should be dug, at least 1 meter in diameter. Humus, potash and phosphorus fertilizers are poured at the bottom. It is advisable to dip the roots of the plant in a mash of humus, clay and sifted ash. The root collar should be slightly above ground level.

Next, you will need the usual care for cherries: regular pruning and shaping of the tree, watering, fertilizing, treatment from diseases and pests.

All cherries grow intensively, so they need skillful pruning. It is started in the 3rd year of the seedling's life. To prevent the tree from growing too tall, not only the branches are shortened, but also the top.

Shelter for the winter is required only for young seedlings. The method is chosen at your discretion. The safest thing is a frame covered with a non-woven fabric. But you can cover with standard spruce branches, burlap. Sprinkle the soil with dry sawdust or humus.

The most crucial period for care is spring, when the sun's rays heats the bark, and cold can come from below. The tree may burn itself, and infection will penetrate through the damaged areas of the bark. To protect cherries from the capricious spring sun, the trunk is thoroughly whitewashed since autumn. The best mixture for whitewashing is a composition of 3 kg of slaked lime, 0.5 kg of copper sulfate and 3-4 tsp. flour paste. All this is diluted in 10 liters of water, stirred very thoroughly and allowed to brew.

The variety has good resistance to moniliosis, above average, but may be slightly affected by coccomycosis. Therefore, before the buds dissolve, the branches are thoroughly sprayed with Bordeaux liquid or other copper-containing preparations. During the year they use "Fitosporin" - this biological product is safe for humans. If signs of disease have been noticed, fungicides (for example, "Topaz", "Horus") should be treated "on a green cone", at the time of flowering and immediately after harvest.

Preventive measures are also important: thorough cleaning of fallen leaves, whitewashing of trunks and branches, timely removal of all damaged leaves, branches, fruits.

All cherries are not too demanding for watering, however, during dry periods, they can perceive the lack of moisture sensitively. Water the large-fruited sweet cherry as needed, depending on the summer. On average, 4 waterings are required per season: 1 in the spring, 2 during the growing season and one water-charging in the fall. However, if the plant is young and the summer is dry, weekly watering may be required.

Chokeberry loves fertilizers, the berry becomes even more delicious. From the 2nd year of life, the tree is fertilized in the fall. Use humus, potassium salt, superphosphate. It is better to apply humus as a solid, it is scattered on the ground around the tree, slightly dug up, potash and phosphorus fertilizers are laid in small grooves made around the trunk circle.

Water thoroughly, pouring at least 2 buckets of water onto the plant, make sure that the soil is wet by at least 40 cm. Watering should be even, without periods of excess or lack of moisture. Especially important is the even flow of moisture during the ripening period of the fruit. Sweet cherries of this variety have large, poured fruits, therefore they are prone to cracking.

The reviews are extremely positive. During the harvest season, the Large-fruited cherry is so effective that it is immediately clear that it has few competitors. One branch can bring half a kilo of berries. The berries may crack if it rains actively, but there will be few of these in the total mass. And gardeners forgive the plant for this minor defect - the plant actively forms berries, the branches look so lush that the appearance of a couple of cracked berries is not at all surprising. The berries are dense, ideal for transportation. They also have an excellent taste: they are sweet, but not insipid at all, the taste contains exactly that portion of sourness, which makes the taste bright, contrasting. The plant is unpretentious in suitable growing regions, will interest everyone who grows cherries for themselves or for sale.