Content
Sweet cherry Fairy tale, one of the large-fruited varieties of this fruit crop, is popular with gardeners. Subject to agricultural technology, it takes root well and allows you to get a stable harvest.
Breeding history
The Skazka variety was obtained as a result of the selection activity of the scientists of the Melitopol Institute. For crossing, two varieties of sweet cherries were used - Drogana Yellow and Valery Chkalov.
The new variety made it possible to improve many characteristics of its predecessors, the main of which is the large size of the fruit.
Description of culture
The early cherry Skazka, due to its good cold resistance, is recommended for cultivation both in the southern territories and in the conditions of the central Russian zone.
Glossy fruits of a rounded, slightly elongated shape are painted in a rich garnet-red color, sometimes very dark, almost black. The homogeneous pulp with a dense juicy consistency has a pleasant sweet taste with a hint of honey. The special value of the Skazka variety is their rather large size and weight up to 12 grams. The bone is small.
The average height of the Tazka cherry tree is 3.5 - 4 meters. As it grows, it forms a dense crown with a characteristic pyramidal shape.
Oval leaf plates with sharp tops and serrated edges have a slightly wrinkled surface. Their various shades provide the tree with a high degree of decorativeness throughout the entire growing season.
Characteristics
The large-fruited cherry Skazka, being a successful result of targeted selection, has received improved characteristics of its predecessors.
Drought resistance, winter hardiness
The tree easily tolerates a drop in temperature to -25˚C, which determines the popularity of the Skazka cherry in areas with unstable climatic conditions in the center of Russia.
For flowering cherries, strong night frosts can pose a danger, which negatively affects the buds.
With good indicators of drought resistance, the culture requires timely watering, which has a beneficial effect on the activation of fruiting.
Pollination, flowering period and ripening times
Since the cherry Skazka is a representative of self-fertile varieties, it should be provided for the placement of varieties in the neighborhood that can provide the pollination necessary for the formation of large berries during its cultivation.
Pollinators suitable for the growing season for cherries Skazka are Tyutchevka, Ovstuzhenka, Iput.
Flowering trees in a warm climate decorate the garden in mid-April. Gardeners are attracted by such a characteristic of the Tale cherry variety as early fruiting. Fragrant ripe berries begin to be removed from the branches in May.
Productivity, fruiting
The planted seedlings of the Skazka variety begin to bear fruit at the age of five. 5 kg of fruit can be removed from young trees.
As the fruit crop develops, the yield increases.From an adult plant of the Skazka sweet cherry, an average of 30 kg of excellent large berries are obtained.
Scope of berries
The collection of fully ripe cherries from the Fairy Tale is carried out with care to avoid deformation of the juicy drupes.
They are consumed fresh, appreciating the spicy honey sweetness. Most often they are harvested in the form of compotes, preserves, jelly, marmalade.
Disease and pest resistance
Sweet cherry Skazka, even under unfavorable conditions with high atmospheric humidity, demonstrates good resistance to infections characteristic of this fruit culture.
This variety is rarely affected by pests, which allows you to get a stable annual yield.
Advantages and disadvantages
Gardeners who have experience in growing the early cherry Skazka appreciate its many advantages:
- winter hardiness;
- great taste of dense honey berries, distinguished by their large dimensions and spectacular dark skin with a pomegranate sheen;
- fairly abundant and stable yield;
- good transportability;
- resistance of berries to cracking;
- rare damage by harmful insects and diseases.
An insignificant disadvantage of this fruit crop is the need to plant a number of varieties - pollinators.
Landing features
Although the Skazka cherry is considered an unpretentious crop, when planting it, it is necessary to take into account the features characteristic of this variety.
Recommended timing
Seedlings of early-ripening sweet cherry Tale are planted in prepared places after winter before sap flow. It is important to choose periods when the night temperature does not drop to minus marks, and the soil is warmed up enough. The advantage is the ability to prepare a young tree for the winter season, therefore, the spring planting season is recommended for the middle Russian zone.
Strong cherry seedlings with well-developed rhizomes Skazka successfully take root during autumn planting in warm southern territories. They have time to adapt to new conditions before the winter cold and get stronger enough.
Choosing the right place
For the cultivation of the Skazka cherries, they select an elevated area that is not subject to flooding. The place should be sunny and protected from the north.
This culture prefers fertile and loose soil. Sweet cherry Skazka develops poorly on clay soil and poor sandy loam.
What crops can and cannot be planted next to cherries
To ensure the predicted yield, you should carefully select the plants adjacent to the fairy tale.
Cherries, which can participate in the pollination process, bring undoubted benefits. Such crops as mountain ash, hawthorn do not hinder the development.
It is not recommended to grow raspberries or thorns next to cherries. They create unfavorable conditions for apple, plum, pear. These fruit trees must be at least 6 meters away from the cherries.
Selection and preparation of planting material
Cherry seedlings Skazka are carefully examined at the stage of acquisition. They should be free of signs of disease, damage to shoots and bark, dry branches.
Trees with elastic developed roots take root well. The buds on the branches should be well defined and dense. The site of vaccination is examined. On a viable cherry seedling Skazka, it is neat, without sagging and rough cracks.
On the eve of planting, if necessary, the roots are slightly shortened, dry shoots are cut out. The planting material is kept in a growth stimulant solution for two hours.
Landing algorithm
If you plan to plant several Skazka cherry seedlings, mark the selected area so that there is a gap of at least 3 meters between the trees.
Planting algorithm:
- Before planting cherries, planting pits with a diameter of about a meter and an average depth of 80 cm are prepared in 14 days.
- The excavated soil is mixed with rotted compost in equal volumes. The same volume of sand is added to heavy loam. Sandy loam is enriched with organic matter and mineral complex.
- A wooden or metal support is strengthened at the bottom. Drainage is laid and a little soil substrate is poured in, forming a mound.
- A cherry seedling is placed vertically, straightening the roots, and filling the hole with the prepared soil mixture with layers, lightly tamping them. Control that the root collar is above the surface.
A young tree is tied with a soft twine to a support and watered. Mulch with dry humus or leaves.
Follow-up care of the culture
Organized as part of the care of cherries Fairy Tale, timely watering at least four times during the entire growing season:
- before the swelling of the kidneys;
- half a month after flowering;
- 14 days before the planned harvest;
- in early November.
Each tree needs about 10 liters of water.
The young plantings of the Skazka variety are fed with a mineral complex in April. In June, phosphorus-potash types of fertilizers are applied. In addition, loose compost is poured under mature trees in the fall.
Pre-winter preparation of cherries includes whitewashing of skeletal twigs and trunks. Repeat it after the snow melts. To protect young cherries from freezing for the winter period, plantings are laid with spruce branches. The salvation from rodents is the compaction of the snow cover around the base of the trunk.
Formative pruning with about one-third shortening of the shoots is practiced annually until the buds spill out. Sanitary removal of dry, damaged branches is regularly required.
Diseases and pests, methods of control and prevention
If serious violations are committed in the organization of care, the Skazka cherry can be affected by pests and diseases. In such a situation, effective action should be taken quickly.
Characteristic diseases of sweet cherry Fairy tale
Type of disease | Signs | Control methods | Prophylaxis |
Clasterosporium disease | Brownish specks appear, turning into holes, scattered throughout all parts of the tree. | Irrigation with a 1% solution of Bordeaux liquid. | In the spring, the crown is sprayed with Nitrafen until the buds open. |
Moniliosis | The buds dry up, the berries rot. | Treatment with 1% copper oxychloride solution. | In April, after flowering and harvesting the fruits, the crown is irrigated with Bordeaux liquid (0.5%). |
Coccomycosis | Brownish-red spots fill the surface of the leaf plates. | Spraying trees during the period when the entire crop is harvested with a Topaz solution. | Before spilling the buds, trees are treated with Bordeaux liquid (0.5%). |
Pest control of the Skazka variety
Name | The harm done | Pest control |
Black cherry aphid | The larvae suck out the juice. The sheet plates roll up and dry. | Processing by Confidor. |
Cherry fly | The larvae destroy the buds and damage the berries. | Spraying with Actellic. |
Leaf rollers | The caterpillars eat the foliage. | Chlorophos processing. |
Conclusion
Cherry Skazka is popular due to the excellent honey taste of incredibly large dense berries. With proper care and provision of pollinators, each tree will delight you with a fairly high yield.
Testimonials
Analyzing the reviews of summer residents about the fairy tale cherry, it is possible to more fully clarify the merits of this culture.
