Cherry Rondo

Yellow cherry is a gourmet berry. Such cherries have sweet, refined berries, but the plant is quite demanding on growing conditions. One of the hardy varieties is the Rondo cherry.

Sweet cherry was bred in the All-Russian Research Institute of Horticulture. I. V. Michurin. The institute was founded in 1931, since then it has bred about 100 varieties of fruit crops - 4 of them are sweet cherries. All of them are well adapted to the conditions of Russia. Sweet cherry is a very capricious plant for the Russian Federation, it was I. V. Michurin who was the first to create winter-hardy varieties of sweet cherries. The first results were not popular among ordinary gardeners, but they became the material for further trials and searches. Cherry Rondo is very similar to its parent - Leningrad yellow, only it has sweeter and larger fruits.

A tree of medium height, up to 4-5 meters, high vigor. The crown is pyramidal, rather spreading and wide, of medium density. The bark is brown, the branches are covered with medium-sized, elongated leaves. Fruiting on bouquet branches and annual growths. Flowers are white, large, rosette, with rounded petals, bloom early, in the middle of spring.

The berries are medium-sized, 4.7 grams each, round-heart-shaped, with an unusual golden yellow color. Sometimes there is a slight blush. The seam is present, but it is almost invisible. The pulp is light yellow, very tender, juicy, soft. The bone is small. The skin is thin and delicate. The berries taste great, but do not tolerate transportation well.

Rondo cherries are sweet, aromatic, very good fresh. Yellow cherry is considered a dietary berry, it is the leader among berries in terms of iodine content, is useful for diseases of the thyroid gland, gastrointestinal tract, kidneys, urinary tract, removes cholesterol, promotes weight loss, helps to maintain youth and beauty.

But if you wish, you can send the harvest to harvesting. The juice turns out to be light yellow, exotic. Wines, liqueurs, liqueurs, mashed potatoes, jams, confitures, and preserves are also prepared from yellow cherries.

Early ripe variety. Fruits begin to take off in the 20th of June. Early maturity - 4-5 years after planting.

The yield is excellent - an average of 80-100 centners / ha, removed annually.

Sweet cherry as a culture in terms of winter hardiness is in 5th place after apple, pear, cherry and plum. It is ahead only of apricots and peaches. Therefore, it is difficult to grow it even in the Moscow region, not to mention the northwest of Russia, Siberia, the Urals and the Far East. However, the Leningrad yellow and all the varieties that it gave birth to (this is Rondo, Pink Pearl, Michurinskaya late, Chermashnaya, Fatezh) can be used as material for further breeding in terms of winter hardiness.These are, indeed, hardy varieties. They have a relatively high winter hardiness. If you want to grow cherries in cold areas, you should pay attention to Rondo and the like.

The variety is self-fertile, will not bear fruit in monoplants. Therefore, other varieties are definitely needed nearby, for example, Michurinka, Pink pearls, as well as any others with the same flowering period.

The plant is planted only in well-lit, high places, protected from cold air currents from the north. Low areas, places where stagnant waters in spring are possible, with "drafts" that enhance the effect of cold air masses are categorically not suitable. The soil should be nutritious, cherries grow rapidly and actively accumulate nutrients in the fruits. Before planting a tree, the planting hole is well filled with humus, potash and phosphorus fertilizers. If the soil is very poor on the site, the hole is made wide - up to 1 meter in order to fertilize the soil well.

Sweet cherries need skillful shaping and pruning, and Rondo is no exception. Pruning begins from the 3rd year, all branches are cut by ¼, including the trunk.

During the growing season, especially fruit-bearing cherries, good feeding is needed - 1-2 times per season. The first feeding is in April. They dig depressions along the perimeter of the crown, cover them with a mixture of soil and urea (at the rate of 1 glass of urea per tree), sprinkle them with soil. In June, during the period of fruit ripening, it makes sense to feed the plant with superphosphate and any potassium fertilizer. In autumn, it is advisable to dig up the soil shallowly with humus, or make furrows where potassium-phosphorus fertilizer is laid.

The variety is very winter hardy. But for the winter, shelter is required. Young plants are covered under a frame, then whitewash, mulch and snow cover are enough. Temperature drops in spring, as well as sunburn, are critically challenging. Like many non-resistant crops, cherries have a sensitive bark. It is able to react even to the contrast of temperatures from the illuminated side of the barrel and the shaded one. Temperature drops during the day also affect. The trunks start to rot. Thorough whitewashing of trunks and even large branches is very useful. You can wrap the barrels with white non-woven fabric.

The Rondo cherry is very drought tolerant. But for good harvests in a dry summer, it is better to provide the tree with deep watering, especially in May, when the tree is growing intensively, in June for the growth of fruits and before winter, when the cherry is preparing for winter. In a dry summer, it is watered once a week, wetting the soil up to 40 cm. In a normal summer, it is enough to water once a month or as appropriate, cherry trees do not like excess moisture.

The Rondo variety is highly resistant to coccomycosis. Sweet cherries are generally less likely to get sick than cherries and plums, but in cold climates during damp summers they are affected by moniliosis and other fungal diseases. The Rondo variety is even more hardy than the average cherry, however, it will not prevent it from spraying with Bordeaux liquid before the leaves dissolve, if the summer is expected to be cold and rainy. Disease prophylaxis, usual for fruit crops, is carried out: all damaged branches, leaves, fruits are removed, and fallen leaves are raked in the fall.

Varietal cherries are used as a stock, for example, Vladimirskaya. Clonal rootstocks are good, they will ensure the short stature of the tree and the convenience of harvesting.

Sweet cherry is still a rare guest in Russian gardens. There are very few reviews of the Rondo variety. Its advantages: winter hardiness, vitality, unpretentiousness, early maturity, taste. The flowers of this cherry are very cold resistant. A noticeable disadvantage is low transportability. Such berries must either be eaten immediately or sent for processing. In an ordinary garden, one tree of this variety is enough; it is more than enough for the needs of one family. The Rondo variety is worth considering for those who want to find an improved version of the Leningradskaya yellow with larger dessert berries.