Columnar cherry - decoration of a small garden

The range of compact fruit trees is expanding. Columnar cherries are still a rarity in the gardens near Moscow, and there are few varieties. The varietal properties of the column are transmitted by the seeds. Therefore, cherries can be propagated by a seedling on a cherry stock and sowing seeds. A tree grows up to 3 meters in height. Fragile wood may not withstand, it is required to provide a support.

Features of columnar trees

Columnar cherry is a trunk that grows only upward due to the guide. Skeletal branches are short, together with fruit branches, they create a crown, the shape of a vertical cylinder. When buying a seedling, you need to make sure that the upper bud is alive, otherwise the column will not be able to grow.

Columnar cherries require better lighting and wind protection. They do not require pruning, but do not tolerate drying out of the earth and close standing of groundwater. The compact tree shelters easily from the cold. In industrial gardening, cherry orchards from columnar varieties of cherries are preferred.

Advantages:

• the early maturity of the tree is high, fruiting in the year of planting the grafted seedling, but it is blinded;
• the taste of berries is excellent, not inferior to trees of ordinary formation, often self-fertile;
• compactness makes it easier to care for the column, only light sanitary pruning is required;
• decorativeness is high - columnar cherries are still a rarity; in landscape design they create an unexpected accent.

Despite the declared self-fertility, several cherries of different varieties need to be assembled, the yield will increase significantly if the CEM variety is used as a pollinator.

Columnar varieties of cherries in industrial gardens

The creation of columnar varieties of sweet cherries is a requirement of industrial horticulture. Scientific methods of influence when obtaining a variety are used:

• selection in biological form;
• chemical;
• agrotechnical techniques;
• surgical and mechanical influences.

As a result, the early maturation and productivity of orchards increases. Industrial cherry orchards are formed everywhere with the prospect of a yield of 8-10 kg for each column. Schemes are used:

• planting density up to 13,300 trees per hectare:
• landing schemes - 2.0x1.5 and 3.0x2.5 meters;
• column height up to 2 meters.

Special compact trees are grown that can be cultivated in containers and trays to protect trees in winter and to promote industrial gardening north.

Sweet cherry in the gardens of the Moscow region

The best for the Moscow region are considered Helena varieties and Sylvia. Cherry Sylvia is very fruitful, has large ruby ​​berries with the same taste as Iput. The tree is of medium frost resistance, but in the conditions of the Moscow region it is better to protect it from frost and wind. The berry ripens on June 12-18.

The Helena variety has the same resistance and yield. But her berries are tougher, the flesh is red, with pink veins. The harvest ripens a week later. Dessert variety. Columns grow under 3 meters in height, in a section up to a meter. Fruiting lasts 15-25 years.

Variety Sem is a pollinator, has berries weighing 10-12 grams, but tasty. The trunk is the same height as the large boat. Fruiting for 15 years. In addition to the already recognized varieties, Queen Mary, Little Sylvia, Black columnar are becoming popular. These varieties are less tall - up to 2.5 meters.

Planting and leaving

Columnar cherry seedlings are grown on a cherry rootstock in containers or with an open root system.When choosing a seedling, you should make sure:

• the kidney of the superior conductor is alive, not broken;
• the trunk is even, the bark is smooth, without damage;
• roots without rot, living - not visible in the container, the seller must be reliable;
• leaves are healthy, characteristic color without tonal stripes.

Several trees must be selected of the same age.

When choosing a place for trees, remember that you cannot plant cherries in the lowlands, in the wind and in the shade. Each tree should be planted in fertile soil, without nitrogen fertilizers. Planting of columnar cherries is carried out in the spring, and the fruit pit is prepared in advance. The soil should be fertile, loose, neutral.

Planting in a flower bed will give the roots more heat, the ground on the mound warms up earlier. With prolonged heavy rains, there will be no stagnant dampness. The flowerbed should be sown with cultivated grasses, mowed and mulched around the trunk circle.

Care columnar cherry loves easy. The earth must be kept moist. Pruning is not necessary, the plant itself only grows upward. The trunk must be chalked in autumn. The main thing is to prevent diseases. Where the columns grow, there should be no weeds, all plant residues are harvested in autumn to a clean field. The earth is loosened, saturated with oxygen. In the spring, protective measures are carried out as for all fruit trees.

Fruiting of a young columnar cherry - video