Cherry-cherry hybrids: variety description, pollinators, planting and care

Seasonal fruit and berry crops grown in gardens and garden plots, there is a huge amount. However, along with the trees familiar to our eyes, you can find unique plants obtained by breeding. These include a hybrid of sweet cherry and cherry, which is called the Duk.

Many amateur gardeners and experienced breeders regularly grow crops for individual cultivation and wide distribution. Modern gardens have a huge range of fruit and berry crops, among which are apples, pears, it is also quite difficult to find a plot without cherries and cherries, represented by different varieties. Quite an unusual plant is a chapel, the cultivation of which is a standard process that includes the usual for any gardener and gardener activities.

However, the cultivation of such a tree still requires an acquaintance with its features and characteristics, as well as the rules of agricultural engineering and the available varieties. Cherry-cherry hybrids are berry crops that have the distinctive features of both plants. According to experts, the most successful from the mother plants are the properties of cherries.

In our country, similar garden trees have been planted not so long ago, as for European countries, they have been successfully cultivating ducks there for several centuries. It is in these areas that such a plant has grown for the first time.

The formation of the hybrid occurred unplanned, but by further selection of the most viable plants, a variety called “Duke” was obtained, which means “Duke”. This is far from the only name of a culture, in everyday life and in the subject literature one can find such definitions as miracle cherry, chapel, etc.

In Europe, varieties of the hybrid “Queen Hortensia” or “Empress Eugenia” were in great demand. As for domestic cultivars, the gardeners are obliged to the breeder Michurin, who called his plant the “Krasa of the North”, the appearance of the first crop.

This species, in addition to external attractiveness, stood out among the other trees for its colossal resistance to negative temperatures, since the Russian winters were always famous for their frosts. As for the foreign dukes, their similar characteristics were largely inferior to Russian cultures. “The Beauty of the North” did not stop at work, so today gardeners can choose a variety of cherry-cherry hybrid from an impressive list of berry plants, recommended for both southern and northern regions with fairly harsh climatic conditions.

Culture has the following features.

• As for the biological origin, the duck belongs to deciduous berry trees from the stone tree family.
• In appearance, the plants are distinguished by their excellent height, the crown of the hybrid forms a pyramid, and as it grows it expands. However, the shape of the crown of the tree depends on the variety. The best species can form an oval or spherical root.
• In a favorable and warm climate of southern latitudes, the Dyuk grows into a fairly extensive culture, in northern latitudes gardeners recommend forming a cherry-cherry cherry hybrid closer to the size of a shrub. Similar adjustments in the dimensions and appearance of the culture are achieved by regular pruning.
• The skeletal branches of the duke are very massive, in most cases they are located at an angle of 60 degrees relative to the trunk. And the base branches, in turn, grow straight or curved shoots with smooth bark.
• Most often, hybrids grow up to 2.5 meters, but in gardens there are specimens whose height can be 4 meters. This characteristic depends on the selected variety.

• The branches of the trees are fairly abundantly covered with foliage, according to external signs, it is close to the leaf plate of a cherry, and in size resembles a green mass of sweet cherry. Foliage has a green color, it is slightly elongated in shape, with a pointed end at the top. Its standard length is about 14 centimeters, but there are plants with smaller leaves, the size of which does not exceed 10 centimeters.
• In addition to the beauty of the fruit, the ducks have another advantage - the flowers that adorn the spring culture with white or white and pink buds. However, the flowering period directly depends on the region in which the hybrid is grown - in the south, as a rule, the flowering phase occurs in the last weeks of May, and in the central and northern regions the duck blooms near the end of the first summer month. Flowers are collected in lush inflorescences, and already one-year plant of cherry-cherry hybrid is able to bloom with good care.
• According to reviews, the culture is skoroplodnoy, so that in the third year of life, a young tree produces a crop. Fruit formation occurs in pollinated flowers. Berry Duca large, round shape, as a rule, its weight is about 5-10 grams. The skin is smooth and glossy. With regard to taste, the cherry has a new berry inherited a little sourness.

• The most significant disadvantage of the hybrid is self-infertility, which necessitates planting a pollinator nearby for duck yields. Proceeding from this feature, the purchase of a sapling of a hybrid should be associated with the acquisition of young maternal cultures that are planted nearby. As practice shows, it is best to stop the choice on sweet cherry, which will be a more efficient pollinator plant.
• Berry culture has excellent resistance to frost, but in a harsh climate plants cover for wintering.
• Hybrids are inherently immune to most diseases - plants show resistance to such ailments as coccomycosis and moniliosis, which often affect plants in the garden. Some varieties are not of particular interest to the common pest - the cherry fly.

The main difficulty for breeders in obtaining new varieties of duck was the presence of a different set of chromosomes in cherry and sweet cherry crops. Such a nuance led to the fact that the range of hybrids of Russian production for a long time could not offer gardeners a large selection of plants. Today, in addition to French varieties, there are domestic hybrids in the list of leaders, the characteristics of which are presented below.

Among the middle ducks are the following:

• "Saratov baby" - remarkable for its large fruits and good yield index;

• "Wonderful Cherry" - A hybrid that endures a lack of moisture, frost and is immune to the pathogenic bacteria;

• grade "Rubinovka" rarely in height more than two meters, however, despite its compact size, it stands out for good yield and partial self-fertility;

• Duke "Pivon" popular thanks to juicy and tasty berries.

The list of crops with medium maturity is headed by such plants:

• "Nurse" - the demand for the variety is due to the high taste of the crop;
• "Hodosa" - A plant that bears fruits with rather large berries;
• "Theanna" - A hybrid, whose crop has received the maximum praise for the external characteristics and taste;
• "Spartan" - frost-resistant plant, recommended for cultivation in the Moscow region and in the northern regions;
• "Torch" - variety, giving large-sized berries, from one tree you can get about 15 kilograms of juicy harvest;
• "Dorobnaya" - cherry-cherry hybrid, remarkable for its size and weight of fruits.

Medium late house is represented by low-growing crops, with berries, which are also not allocated large size. In the range of hybrids it is worth to highlight the following varieties:

• "Excellent Venyaminova";
• "Night";
• "Ivanovna".

Given the peculiarity of cherry-cherry hybrids with respect to the inability to bear fruit during development alone, they need growing nearby mother cultures. It is quite possible that this property was partially transferred from cherries, which, when planted separately, will hardly give good yields, therefore, in gardens, the place for planting is selected near other pollinating varieties.

As for the Dyukov, almost all bred varieties are self-productive. Another reason for this characteristic is the fact that plants, during their life cycle, face significant temperature fluctuations. Therefore, only 1% of the total mass of variety types can be self-pollinated. This category includes culture "Shpanka Donetsk".

Usually, the dyuks are planted near the pollinators at a distance of 3-5 meters from the side where the wind often blows. In the role of pollinating plants are cherries and cherries, cultivation of cherry-cherry hybrids near the self-bearing varieties of these plants gives good results. It is these crops, regardless of weather conditions, act as reliable and good pollinators. Among the fully or partially self-fruited cherries, the following should be noted: “Dawn of Tataria”, “Dessert Volga”, “Brunette” and others.

A favorable climate and good weather will increase this period. Similar phenomena can be noted in self-fertile cherries.

For Central and Central Russia pollinators for hybrids can be the following varieties of cherries: "Bulatnikovskaya", "Youth", etc. With regard to cherries, it is necessary to allocate the variety "Iput". As practice shows, when planting several hybrids with cherries and cherries in one area, you can get a regular harvest from the ducks.

For the southern regions, excellent cold-resistant duck specimens were obtained by breeding. The main ones are "Saratov baby", "Melitopol joy." In addition, especially for regions with a mild climate, Ukrainian breeders developed the variety “Miracle Cherry”, which was widely spread among summer residents and owners of household plots.

The optimal time for planting seedlings will be early spring, however, the ground by this time should be well warmed. For hybrids, a very important point is well-prepared and fertilized soil, as well as the observance of the optimal distance between pollinating plants. The rest of agrotechnology does not differ from the standard works in the cultivation of berry-stone crops.

Works with insufficiently frost-resistant hybrids brought their results in the form of a new plant capable of bearing and developing in the northern regions. This applies to the variety "Beauty of the North", which is successfully cultivated in the Moscow region, Moscow and the Leningrad region.

For Western Siberia, there are hybrids "Spartanka" and "Ivanovna", with regard to the middle band, such zoned varieties are distinguished, such as "Nurse" or "Zhukovskaya." Winter-hardy cultures retain their viability at -35 ° C, as well as during the period of fluctuation of the thermometer in the spring-autumn period.

Hybrids can not be planted in the lowlands, because in the winter in this place there will be accumulation of cold air masses, and in summer, most likely, there is accumulation of moisture. On the north side, trees must be protected from drafts. The ideal site will be a place with diffused light and sandy substrate.

As for care, ducks, unlike other garden plants, do not need additional feeding, the main nuances of agricultural engineering in a harsh climate are the formation of a crown and the treatment of tree trunks. Mulching of the area near the trunk will make it possible to prepare the culture for the winter; for the harsh climate, the above-ground part of the trunk for the winter is covered with dense polyethylene. This is especially true for plants under 5 years old. Experienced gardeners to protect the tree from frost and rodents wrap it with hessian or lapnik.

More information about the varieties of hybrids of cherry and sweet cherry can be found in the following video.