Cherry Youth, variety description, characteristics and reviews, cultivation features

Any gardener wants a cherry tree to grow in his garden, even if the plot is very small. An excellent option for summer cottagers will be planting cherries of the Youth variety. It has sufficient resistance to low temperatures, has compact dimensions and does not require pollinators. For such a tree, you can always find a place even on the smallest plot, in the summer to have juicy, refreshing and healthy fruits.

Variety History

Cherry Youth appeared thanks to scientists from the All-Russian Institute of Horticulture and Nursery Kh. D. Enikeev and S. N. Satarova.

Her “parents” were two ancient cherries (Vladimirskaya and Lyubskaya), which are donors of breeding-significant signs of culture. A descendant from Vladimirskaya inherited excellent commodity qualities of fruits, Lyubskaya handed him winter hardiness, short stature and self-fertility. After passing the variety test in 1993, Molodezhnaya cherry was registered in the State Register of the Russian Federation for the Central Region (Moscow Region), where it quickly gained popularity. Also, the variety is successfully grown in many other temperate regions.

Description and characteristics of cherries Youth

Cherry grows low, an adult plant reaches no more than 2–2.5 m, for which it is appreciated by gardeners, as tree care and harvesting are facilitated. The average lifespan of trees is about 15 years, with good care, it can be extended to 20. The tree has the shape of a bush, a tendency to thicken is moderate. Crohn rounded with drooping shoots. Fruit buds are formed on annual growths and bouquet branches. The maturity is medium-late, with cherry reaching consumer maturity in the third decade of July.

Dark maroon fruits exceed the average value and reach 4.5 grams. They have a wide round shape and a wide funnel to which a thin, not very long peduncle is attached. When separated from the stem, the berry is not damaged and remains dry. The stone is small in size, easily detachable. Products are well transported.

Sweet and sour aromatic fruits have a good dessert flavor. Cherries can be consumed fresh and processed. From a dense juicy dark red pulp, an excellent juice of the same color is obtained. Processed products (preserves, compotes, jams, wine, etc.) are of high quality.

Trees begin to yield in the fifth year of life, annual fruiting. On an adult tree, up to 10–12 kg of fruit ripens; on an industrial scale, the yield is 8–10 t / ha. The variety is self-fertile.

Winter hardiness is above average (comparable to Vladimir). In the recommended growing region, the trees do not freeze. Drought tolerance is quite high. Immunity to coccomycosis and moniliosis is insufficient; in conditions of high humidity, plants are affected by these diseases to the level of 2-3 points (from 11 to 50% of the plant surface).

On a scale characterizing the degree of disease damage, the lowest score (0) indicates the complete absence of the disease. The highest (4 points) - for the defeat of more than 50% of the surface of the plant.

Quality products, winter hardiness and stunting are the most significant advantages of the variety, the main disadvantage is the average immunity to fungal diseases.

Do Youth Pollinators Need

The variety is self-pollinated, this property is especially valuable for gardeners who do not have enough space on the site to plant several cherry trees. However, scientists studying the self-pollination property of fruit crops, argue that the level self-fertility can vary in different climatic conditions, as well as vary in different years. Therefore, to increase productivity, specialists recommend planting pollinating varieties not only with trees that require cross-pollination, but also with stable self-fertility.

Neighborhood with the widespread pollinator Vladimirsky cherry will be mutually beneficial for both varieties: Youth is also known as an excellent pollinator. Any other varieties growing nearby and blooming at the same time will contribute to the formation of the ovary.

Features of growing varieties

Agricultural technology for the cultivation of the described variety is applied standard for this crop. There are very few care features, they are mainly associated with measures to protect against fungal diseases.

Landing

In the growing region of Molodezhnaya, spring planting is preferable. If you plant a seedling in the fall, it, not having time to take root, may freeze. It is better to place the tree on a well-lit flat or having a slight slope to the south or southwest. Lowlands with excessive humidity are not suitable for Youth because of reduced immunity to fungal diseases, the steep slopes from which snow is blown away by the winds are also not the best place for planting cherries. Groundwater shall not be present at a depth of less than 1.5 meters to soil level.

Cherries grow well on fertile, well-permeable loams or sandy loams. On poor soils, the size of the planting pit is increased and a larger amount of the fertile mixture is added to it. The acidity of the soil should be close to neutral. The distance between the trees is observed at least three meters, row spacing - 3.5 m. Next, planting is carried out according to the usual scheme: in pre-prepared planting pits (60x60x60) place a mixture of fertile land with organic and mineral fertilizers and plant a plant with subsequent watering and mulching.

What types of cropping are needed

Forming pruning is started in the second year after planting. Since the tree genetically has the shape of a bush, the bush is the most suitable formation for it. When the height of the stem is about 30–40 cm, initially 5–6 skeletal branches are formed. The distance between them should be about 15 cm. Within two to three years, up to 12-15 skeletal branches are left.

Simultaneously with the formation of the crown and after its completion, other types of trimming are regularly carried out, which are as follows:

• During sanitary pruning, dry, sick and damaged branches are disposed of.
• Regulatory pruning (thinning) is necessary - with a thickened crown, favorable conditions for the development of fungal diseases, to which Youth Cherry does not have sufficient immunity.
• Given the moderate productivity of the variety, supporting pruning, which stimulates fruiting, also should not be neglected. When the annual growth decreases to 15–20 cm, and the branches begin to become bare, shorten the shoots of two years over the closest lateral branches.

Video: simple cherry pruning rules

Watering and feeding

In a season with regularly falling rainfall, Molodezhnaya cherry is watered infrequently. The norm of watering young trees is 30–40 l per plant, with the beginning of fruiting they use twice as much water. The variety is quite resistant to lack of moisture, four watering will be enough for the trees in the following periods:

• before flowering;
• during the formation of the ovary;
• two weeks before harvesting;
• a month before the first frost.

The feeding pattern for Youth is normal, as for any other cherry. In spring, plants have a great need for nitrogen. When the trees bloom and the fruit begins to flow, the cherry needs potassium and phosphorus to form the crop. These fertilizers are fed 3-4 times with a frequency of 3 weeks. In the fall, under digging, organic fertilizers are applied in combination with mineral fertilizers (potash and phosphorus).

Variety Diseases

In the Youth growing region, coccomycosis and moniliosis pose a serious danger to cherries. Diseases are highly contagious; they can spread rapidly during the cool, wet season. The damage is caused to the crop and the trees themselves, which become weakened and lose their winter hardiness. Youth cherries are not sufficiently resistant to coccomycosis and moniliosis, therefore, special attention should be paid to protecting plants from these diseases.

Prevention measures will help minimize the likelihood of infection. Landings should be well ventilated, for this they are thinned out in a timely manner. And also carry out preventive treatment with biological products.

Coccomycosis

The disease begins to spread in early summer. Scattered small spots of brownish color appear on the upper side of the leaves, and white-pink seals of sporulation of the fungus are visible on the lower side at the lesion sites. With the intensive spread of the disease, premature leaf fall begins.

In early spring, before the start of the growing season, plants are treated with 3% Bordeaux fluid. When the trees bloom, they are sprayed with one of the fungicides: Hom, Skor, Fundazol, Horus and others. If necessary, the treatment is repeated another 1-2 times with an interval of two weeks. Autumn sprayed with 3% Bordeaux liquid.

Moniliosis

The disease has a second name - monilial burn. It first appears on branches and leaves that become brown, dry out and blacken, taking on the appearance of being burnt. Then signs of damage begin to appear on the fruits in the form of grayish-black growths. The spread of the fungus leads to decay and shedding of cherries.

Trees from moniliosis are treated in the same way as from coccomycosis.

Video: the fight against moniliosis and its symptoms

Possible Cherry Pests

The sources do not mention the resistance of the variety to pest damage. There is a possibility that the most common harmful insects will not bypass the Youth Cherry.

Table: most likely cherry pests

Photo Gallery: Common Cherry Pests

The following preventive measures will help prevent the spread of harmful insects:

• Autumn digging of the soil (autumn plowing).
• Removal from the site of affected plant residues.
• Protective whitewash of boles and branches.
• Installation of sticky belts on boles for catching pests.
• Processing with biological products (Fitoverm, Aktofit and others).

When large-scale colonies of pests appear, insecticides are used: Fufanon, Alatar, Spark and others.

Gardeners reviews

Youth is a good variety, there were complaints about winter hardiness, but I know that according to reviews, it has been living in the Moscow Region for quite some time.

Youth - the berry is tasty, sweet, with a little astringency, dark cherry, not small.

In my garden grow: "Youth" - self-fertile, very productive, low (great merit!). "Chocolate Girl" in my last year just bloomed in frost (((. The harvest was minimal... But the "Youth" was all in berries

Ripe (or almost ripe ...) Cherry Youth. I liked it very much! The berries are sweet and sour, even more sweet (those who managed to ripen to dark red). I am very pleased! And how pleased son! It is a pity that the cherry is only half a meter tall. And already such a burdock stands! Tell me, pliz, experts - are they cutting the cherry now? In the sense - do they form a crown? It’s so small with me that the word “crown” is hardly suitable for it... But it’s clear that I have “thrown back” branches by half a meter in all directions. A climbing rose sits next to it - so the nature of the bush is one and the same. Only the cherry from one trunk fluffed up. Cutting it all off is a pity, but you can't leave it ...

According to the results of three years, I did not like youth. Planted this variety, because in the official description it was indicated "the most reliable variety for the Moscow region." Practice has not confirmed this statement - in my area he was sick more than Vladimir. Coccomycosis has finished off one seedling (dropped leaves in the summer, did not survive the winter). The second seedling is still growing, since it is unfair to remove it without creating equal conditions for it with the rest of the cherries - it was obscured. Now the sun has opened to him, plus so far I have not tried berries (one or two pieces do not count). But stability is clear to me, and the crown is ordinary, big-eyed, drooping.

Thank you so much for the advice on bottle traps for wasps on diluted jam. The first time I gathered whole cherries, no bites. Indeed, Youth cherry is very good - large and tasty, but it ripens so gradually that it did not have time for wasps, and other cherries are on the way.

Many summer residents opt for the Molodezhnaya cherry. The variety is not perfect, but has its advantages: a high level of winter hardiness and excellent quality of fruits. Productivity is not the highest, but the size of the tree is quite modest, which is also an advantage for gardeners. The self-fertility of the variety allows you to have one cherry tree on the site. If you are not lazy and protect the trees from fungal diseases, you can get a decent harvest of juicy fruits.