Cherry plum is a popular fruit tree. It is grown by gardeners and farmers because of the delicious juicy berries that consumers love. Alycha Tsarskaya is a worthy representative of her culture.
Description of cherry plum variety Tsarskaya
The variety was obtained by the breeders of the Moscow Agricultural Academy, not entered into the State Register. Therefore, you have to trust the descriptions of various sources, nurseries and reviews of gardeners.
The tree is not high, up to 2.5 m. The crown is flat-round, medium thickened. The tree has a tendency to form basal shoots. Frost resistance of the roots is low, wood is good (according to reviews, it withstands frosts down to -35 ° C), flower buds are medium. Some gardeners claim that the roots of cherry plum Tsarskaya can freeze already when the soil temperature drops to -9 ° C. Variety early maturity is high - grafted seedlings enter fruiting in the 2nd-3rd year. Productivity is high and regular. The variety has late ripening - the crop is harvested in August - September. Gardeners note a high resistance to major diseases. Drought tolerance is average.
The flowering period is late, which protects the flowers from return frosts.
Alycha Tsarskaya blooms late
Cherry plum Tsar is self-infertile, that is, without pollinators, the fruits will not set. The best pollinators are such varieties of cherry plum:
- Kuban comet;
- Found;
- Traveler;
- Cleopatra
- Pramen;
- Gift of St. Petersburg;
- Mara.
The berries are yellow, round, medium sized. The weight of one fruit is 23 g. The skin is thin, smooth, yellow in color with a slight wax coating. The yellow flesh is dense, juicy, tasty, sweet and with a slight acidity.
Berries of cherry plum Tsarskaya rounded, yellow
Fruits of universal purpose. Shelving and portability are good.
Cherry plum landing
It’s easy to plant Tsar’s cherry plum, but to get a good result you need to strictly follow the rules. Choosing the best place to plant is the fundamental stage on which the future life of the tree depends. Since the roots of cherry plum Tsarskaya are prone to freezing and melting, even a small stagnation of water in the near-stem circle can become fatal. The tree will grow best on the south or southwest slope with deep groundwater. From the north or northeast, protection from cold winds is needed. It can be thick trees, a wall of a building or a fence. The tree should receive a lot of sunlight and be well ventilated, but protected from drafts. The composition of the soil is not critical - the main thing is that it has a neutral or slightly alkaline reaction. But in terms of structure, the requirements are higher - the cherry plum needs well-drained and loose earth.
If cherry plum seedlings have a closed root system, then the planting dates can be any - from April to October.
More often, the gardener deals with an open root system - such seedlings should be planted in a sleeping state. The best time for this is early spring, before the sap flow begins.
Step-by-step landing instructions
Landing rules and sequence of actions:
- In autumn, nurseries begin a massive digging of seedlings, and it was at this time that the future plum tree should be acquired. You should not postpone the purchase until spring - the best copies will already be sold out, so you have to be content with what remains.
- Choose a seedling according to simple criteria:
- Age - 1 or 2 years. In a more mature state, the tree tolerates a transplant worse, takes longer to take root and later enters fruiting.
- The root system is well developed, with fibrous roots, without extraneous growths and cones.
The root system of the seedling should be well developed
- The bark is smooth, without cracks and damage.
- Lay a seedling for storage in one of two ways:
- Buried in the ground. For this:
- Dig a shallow (30-40 cm) pit, the length of which should be slightly less than the height of the seedling.
- A small (10-12 cm) layer of sand is poured into the bottom.
- The roots of a seedling are dipped in a mash of red clay and mullein.
- Lay the seedling in a pit obliquely.
- Fill the roots with a layer of sand and water.
- Fill the pit with earth to the top, leaving only the top of the seedling on the surface.
The seedling is dug in the garden and stored until spring.
- Dipped into the basement. This option is possible if the air temperature in the basement is maintained at 0 ... + 5 ° C. In the basement, a wooden box with sand is installed, in which the roots of the seedling are placed and moistened.
- Buried in the ground. For this:
- A landing pit also needs to be prepared in the fall. Do it like this:
- In the prepared area they dig a hole with a diameter of 70-80 cm. The depth can be the same. The larger the volume of the pit, the more nutrient mixture will be laid in it and the better the future tree will feel. This is especially true for poor, sandy soils.
- If the soil is heavy, clay, arrange a drainage layer. To do this, a layer of rubble, expanded clay, broken brick, etc., is poured onto the bottom. Its thickness is 10-15 cm.
- The rest of the space is filled with a nutrient mixture consisting of equal parts:
- humus or compost;
- grassroots peat;
- chernozem;
- sand.
Planting pit filled with nutrient mixture
- 3-4 l of wood ash and 300-400 g of superphosphate are added. Mix well with a shovel or pitchfork.
- They cover it with improvised materials (film, roofing material, slate) so that melt water does not wash out nutrients.
- When the time comes for planting, they take out a seedling from the shelter and examine it. If damaged roots are found, they are cut.
- Soak the roots in water for 2-3 hours. It will be nice if you add growth stimulants and root formation to the water. These are drugs such as:
- Kornevin;
- Epin;
- Heteroauxin and others.
- They take out part of the soil from the pit so that the root system of the seedling can freely fit.
- A small mound is poured, on top of which a seedling is placed, and the roots are spread on the slopes.
Sapling roots need to be spread on the hillsides.
- They fall asleep with the extracted nutrient mixture in 3-4 doses. Each layer is tamped. They make sure that as a result, the root neck is on the same level with the ground or a couple of centimeters higher.
- Using a chopper or a ploskorez form a near-stem circle.
- Water the tree with plenty of water so that the entire volume of the pit is moistened. This is necessary so that the soil is well adjacent to the roots and there are no air sinuses around them.
Water the tree with plenty of water so that the entire pit volume is wetted
- After 1-2 days, the soil is loosened and covered with a layer of mulch. To do this, you can use hay, spruce branches, humus, etc.
- They begin to form the crown - cut the tree to a height of 60-80 cm. If the branches have already grown on the trunk, they should be cut in half.
Features of cultivation and subtleties of care
In the process of growing cherry plum, Tsarskaya use the usual agricultural methods and techniques.
Watering
Drought tolerance in cherry plum is low, so you need to water it regularly. They usually start watering during flowering and then repeat them every month. Young trees, whose root system is still underdeveloped, may need more frequent procedures, especially in hot, dry summers. Watering is completed in the fall - in October - November, the so-called water-charging irrigation is carried out. During irrigation, the depth of soil moisture is controlled - it should be within 25-30 cm. Each time after drying of the soil it should be loosened and mulched.
Top dressing
The fertilizers laid in the planting pit are enough for the tree in the first years of life. Their additional introduction will be required after entering fruiting, when nutrients will be actively spent on the formation of berries.
Table: composition and frequency of cherry plum top dressing
| Name of fertilizer | Dates and frequency of application | Dosages and methods |
| Organic (compost, peat, humus) | In spring or autumn with a frequency of 2-3 years | Close up into the soil of the trunk circle at the rate of 5-6 kg / m2 |
| Liquid organic | Field of dropping flowers. 2-3 times with a frequency of 2-3 weeks | Pre-insist in one bucket of water for a week 2 kg of mullein. Can be replaced with 1 kg of bird droppings or 5 kg of freshly cut grass. Used for irrigation, diluting with water in a ratio of 1 to 10. Consume one bucket per 1 m2 trunk circle |
| Nitrogen (ammonium nitrate, urea, nitroammofosk) | In the spring of each year, except for the year of applying organic fertilizers | Scattered on the surface of the soil 20-30 g / m2 fertilizer and dig |
| Potash (potassium monophosphate, potassium sulfate) | After flowering. If there was no flowering - do not contribute | Dissolve in water when watering at the rate of 10-20 g / m2 |
| Phosphoric (superphosphate) | In the fall of every year | Sprinkle on the surface of the soil 30-40 g / m2 fertilizer and dig |
| Integrated | Apply according to the attached instructions | |
Trimming
Alyche Tsarskaya needs regular pruning. They are of the following types:
- Forming pruning is most important to create the right crown. For the undersized tree of Tsar cherry plum, the formation of an improved "bowl" type is more appropriate, which allows you to well illuminate the inside of the crown and provide ease of care and harvest. They will carry it in the early spring in the first 4-5 years after planting.
For the undersized tree of Tsar’s cherry plum, the formation of an improved “bowl” type is more appropriate
- Adjustment pruning is applied when necessary. If the crown is thickened, shoots growing inside, as well as tops, are cut. Carry out the procedure in early spring.
- Maintenance pruning is needed to maintain a high level of yield. It is carried out in the summer by shortening young shoots by 10-15 cm. This technique is called chasing.
- Sanitary pruning involves the removal of dry, damaged and diseased branches. It is carried out in late autumn and (or) early spring.
Video: how to trim cherry plum
Root warming
Due to the low winter hardiness of the root system, cherry plums need to be covered for winter with tree trunks with a mulch layer of at least 10 cm. You can apply straw, lapnik, husks of sunflower or buckwheat, rotted sawdust, etc. With the onset of winter, cover the trunk circle with additional snow with a thickness of up to 60 cm.In early spring, during the first thaws, the shelter is removed to avoid root and stem shedding.
For the winter, the root system of the cherry plum Tsarskaya is insulated with a layer of mulch
Cherry plum diseases and pests
Cherry plum is resistant to major diseases and pests, but preventive and sanitary measures that help to avoid infection by fungi and insect attacks should not be neglected.
Table: basic sanitary and preventive measures
| Name of events | Dates | Scope of work |
| Cleaning plant debris and dry leaves | Autumn after leaf fall | In order to destroy fungal spores, all cut branches, weeds and dry leaves are burned. The resulting ash is stored for use in top dressing. |
| Sanitary pruning of trees | Autumn and spring, in the absence of sap flow | |
| Examination and treatment of bark | Fall spring | If bark damage is detected, the cracks are cut into healthy tissues, disinfected with a 1% solution of copper sulfate and covered with a layer of garden varnish |
| Lime whitewash of trees | Autumn | Trunks and thick branches are whitened with slaked lime solution with the addition of 1% copper sulfate |
| Digging of the soil of tree trunks | Late fall | Carried out as late as possible, preferably with the onset of the first frosts. In this case, pests raised on the surface wintering in the soil will die from the cold |
| Spraying crown and soil with copper sulfate | Autumn, early spring | Use a 3% solution of copper sulfate or Bordeaux fluid |
| Installation of hunting belts | Early spring | Hunting belts are made of thick film, roofing felt, etc. |
| Spraying with powerful universal pesticides | Early spring before sap flow | Use DNOC once every 2 years and Nitrafen (annually) |
| Systemic fungicide spraying | After flowering, then with an interval of 2-3 weeks | Well-proven drugs:
Apply them alternately no more than 3 times per season due to the plants getting used to them |
Likely diseases
The main possible diseases of cherry plum are fungal. It will be useful to know their signs and methods of treatment.
Red leaf spot (polystigmosis)
The disease is expressed in the appearance on the leaves, and then on the fruits of red-brown spots. Subsequently, the leaves dry and fall, the fruits become unhealthy, their taste is deteriorating. Timely treatment with fungicides will help to cope with the disease.
Polystigmosis provokes leaf fall
Kleasterosporiosis (perforated spotting)
Polystigmosis-like disease. The difference is that after the appearance of brown-red spots on the leaves, they increase in size and then form holes. But the result is the same - the leaves crumble, the fruits are covered with scab. The treatment is similar to the previous one.
With clasterosporiosis, holes form on the leaves
Moniliosis (monilial burn)
Infection with moniliosis occurs through flowers, on which bees spore the fungus during the collection of nectar. After them, leaves and shoots are affected, they fade, curl and take the form of charred. In summer, the fungus infects berries with fruit (gray) rot. In case of disease of the shoots, they should be immediately cut with the capture of 20-30 cm of healthy wood and burned. Then treatment with fungicides is necessary.
In summer, moniliosis affects berries with fruit rot.
Possible pests
Most of the caterpillars on cherry plum emerge from eggs laid by insects in the spring. If the gardener finds larvae inside the ripened berries, it’s too late to fight. Treatments with insecticides before and after flowering contribute to the destruction of pests before they have time to lay eggs. Apply drugs:
- Decis;
- Fufanon;
- Iskra-Bio, etc.
The most common pest plums such as:
- Plum moth. Butterfly lays eggs on flowers. Larvae eat a sweet, juicy pulp of berries. Small holes with dots of gum are visible on the surface of the fruit.
- Plum sawfly. The butterfly also lays eggs on flowers and leaves of cherry plum. Larvae eats unripe berries from the inside.
- The Thorax. A small black bug, the larvae of which eat out the kernels of the seeds, after which the fruits fall off.
- Aphid. It feeds on juicy pulp of leaves.
Photo gallery: probable cherry plum pests
- A plum sawfly lays its eggs on the leaves and flowers of cherry plum.
- The plum sawfly larva eats unripe berries from the inside
- Plum moth lays eggs while cherry plum blossoms
- Holes on a plum berry indicate the presence of a codling moth
- Tolnotozhka - a dangerous bug for cherry plum
- Larvae of the centipedes eat out the kernels of cherry plum
- Aphid settles on the leaves of cherry plum
Reviews gardeners about cherry plum varieties Tsarskaya
This year I really liked the cherry plum Tsarskaya, the taste is honey (for me), the bone separates easily, it’s beautiful and tasty, the Comet is also good, but ... I’m just waiting for normal fruits from Sonya and Mary, until fruits 1-2, I really can’t taste it .
michael
//forum.prihoz.ru/viewtopic.php?t=430&start=1590
The Tsar’s vaccination in the crown of local plum, where the second, the third year, begins to produce vaccines a year after the vaccination, laid out the photo, here is another :-) I am very pleased with this variety, I advise everyone that winter hardiness is still under question in my conditions, although the last three winters were not indicative. It ripens in early August. The cutlery was sent from Mich. The garden.
michael
//forum.prihoz.ru/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=430&sid=5ab06a2af247ab8e9effff43d345701f&start=1605
This year was the first fruiting of my plums. It was mostly a few pieces.I liked the cherry plum Tsarskaya - the fruits are bright yellow, juicy and tasty, the seed is easily detached, ripened by the end of July, there were probably 10 pieces on the tree. The tsarist in my conditions freezes every year (the top of the tree), but in the spring it grows again, the crop was on the lower branches, which were under the snow. In terms of taste I put Tsarskaya in first place.
Korneva
//www.vinograd7.ru/forum/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=407&start=125
Alycha Tsarskaya has some drawbacks - poor frost resistance of the root system, self-fertility and a tendency to form basal shoots. But if it is possible to create favorable conditions for it (shelter for winter tree trunks, the presence of pollinating plants in the neighborhood), the advantages of this culture will outweigh the insignificant disadvantages. The taste of sweet, juicy, truly royal berries will delight the gardener who has grown this beautiful tree on the site.
