Content
A late variety of felt cherry Leto attracts gardeners with its self-fertility and unpretentiousness. The rules for planting and caring for summer felt cherries are quite simple. Adhering to them, you can easily get a healthy, beautiful bush, pleasing to the eye and giving a not very plentiful, but regular harvest.
Breeding history
Felt cherry variety Leto was obtained in the DalNIISH in the middle of the twentieth century. The author of the variety was G. T. Kazmin, who painstakingly worked for this with more than 10,000 seedlings in four generations. Felt variety Leto was grown from the seeds of another crop - sand (bush) cherry through free pollination. And therefore, it combines the features of both felt and sandy varieties.
Felt cherry Leto is included in the list of the State Register. The variety was bred to the elite in 1955.
Description of culture
Felt cherry bush Summer is compact, skeletal branches are straight, branching is typically medium or sparse. The bark of perennial branches is rough. Young shoots are thick, even, brownish-green in color, strongly pubescent.
The leaves of a plant of this variety are tough, ovoid, pubescence is distinguished by its severity.
Fruit buds are small, reddish brown. They adhere relatively tightly to the shoot (only the upper part is raised). They are formed, in addition to annual shoots, on bouquet branches, but the latter are noticeably shortened (3–10 cm). Summer flowers are large, pale pink, medium open, with oval petals.
Felt cherry berries Summer are large (weight 3-4 g). Their shape is characteristically irregular (one side is beveled towards the base), reminiscent of a rounded cylinder. The color is light red, unevenly distributed. The pubescence of the skin is very pronounced. The peduncle is short (0.5 cm), green, thin. Stone mass (on average) - 0.2 g.
The pulp of Summer berries is pale pink, juicy, thick. The taste is sweet, with a clear hint of acid, but at the same time bland. The juice is light pink.
Initially, this variety of felt cherry was zoned in the Khabarovsk and Primorsky Territories. However, later, thanks to the excellent characteristics of Summer, the territory of its distribution went beyond the borders of the Far Eastern region. Felt cherry Leto is very popular today in the Moscow region and other areas of the central strip.
Characteristics
Drought resistance, winter hardiness
Winter hardiness of the Leto variety is considered average - it is slightly lower than that of most other varieties of felt cherries. At the same time, spring frosts are well tolerated by the fruit buds of the plant. And also the bushes of this variety are relatively resistant to a lack of moisture.
Pollination, flowering period and ripening times
Unlike most varieties of felt cherry, Leto is self-fertile, that is, it is able to pollinate with its own pollen. At the same time, the presence of a number of other related plants on the site can increase its yield.Another shrub of the same variety may well become a pollinator for the felt cherry Leto.
Summer blooms relatively late - from May 25 to June 6. In terms of ripening, Summer also belongs to the late varieties of felt cherry. The bushes can be harvested by July 25, but ripe berries can hang on the branches without dropping until the end of August.
Productivity, fruiting
An important characteristic of the Leto felt cherry is a stable, but average yield. The bush of this variety begins to bear fruit in the second year. The berries ripen at the same time.
In the case of a bush growing on a strong rootstock, from a biennial plant, you can collect from 100 to 300 g of fruit. An adult plant, at full strength, is capable of producing 7–8.4 kg of berries per season.
In the pulp of Summer cherry berries, 9% is sugar, 8.5% - tannins, 0.7% - various acids and 0.6% - pectin. Tasters rate their taste at 3.5-4 points out of a possible 5.
Due to the semi-dry separation of the berries from the stalk, the Summer harvest has an average transportability. At room temperature, the berries are able to maintain their presentation for up to 4 days.
Scope of berries
Summer belongs to the table varieties of felt cherries. Berries of this variety are quite suitable both for fresh consumption and for use in recipes for various preparations (jam, jam, jam), desserts (marmalade, pastilles), drinks (including alcoholic ones).
Disease and pest resistance
The work of gardeners in growing the felt cherry of the Leto variety is greatly facilitated by its high resistance to moniliosis (monilial burns). To the "pocket disease" of cherries, another trouble of felt varieties, it is relatively resistant.
The weak point of this variety is the moth, which causes significant damage to the plant.
Advantages and disadvantages
Dignity | disadvantages |
Self-fertility | Moderate yield |
Fruit buds are well resistant to frost | Average frost and drought resistance |
The compactness of the bush | Slow bush growth in the first two years |
Resistance to moniliosis | Significantly damaged by the moth |
Large berries | Average taste |
Landing features
Recommended timing
The preferred time for planting felt cherries Summer in the ground is early spring, before the buds bloom. However, autumn planting is also possible, in September. Seedlings that were bought later should be buried in the ground until next spring.
Choosing the right place
A site for planting felt cherries. Summer is desirable to pick up sunny and dry, if possible located on a slope or hill. Ideally, the soil will be:
- fertile;
- light in composition (sandy or sandy loam);
- well drained.
What crops can and cannot be planted next to cherries
Recommended | Not recommended |
Shrubs and trees | |
Felt cherries of other varieties | Apple tree |
Cherry plum | Pear |
Cherries | Quince |
Plum | Gooseberry |
Elderberry black | Hazel |
Flowers | |
Marigold | Primroses |
Sedum | Dark geranium |
Periwinkle | Irises |
Violets | Hosta |
Vegetable crops | |
Bow | Peppers (any kind) |
Garlic | Tomatoes |
Greens | |
Nettle | Parsnip |
Dill |
|
Parsley |
|
Selection and preparation of planting material
Most often, seedlings of 1–2 years are used as planting material for felt cherries of this variety.
Characteristics of a quality seedling:
- height about 1 m;
- there are several branches;
- the root system is branched;
- leaves and bark show no signs of disease or damage.
Reproduction of felt cherry Summer is made:
- scions (for cherry plum, Vladimirskaya cherry or thorny);
- layering;
- cuttings.
Landing algorithm
In short, the procedure for planting felt cherry Leto is as follows:
- first, a landing pit is prepared with a diameter and depth of about 0.5 m;
- the pit should be filled with a mixture of soil with rotted manure, lime, potash and phosphate fertilizers;
- the roots of the seedling are cut off a little and dipped in clay, loose in water;
- the seedling must be lowered into the pit strictly vertically, observing the same planting depth that it had in the nursery;
- the root circle is covered with soil mixture, compacted, then watered with water;
- it is recommended to mulch the soil around the plant with peat to regulate the moisture level.
Follow-up care of the culture
Pruning of the Leto felt cherry is carried out in several stages:
- unbranched annual seedlings, when planted in spring, are cut to a height of 30–40 cm;
- in the first few years they form a bush, removing weak shoots and leaving 4–6 powerful branches at the base of the trunk;
- by 10 years and later, rejuvenating pruning is regularly performed, maintaining the ability of the felt cherry bush to grow and bear fruit.
Watering felt cherry bushes Summer should be moderate - excess moisture harms it. As a rule, watering is carried out in the event of a prolonged absence of precipitation.
Felt cherries are fed annually, carefully applying fertilizers to the near-trunk circle to a depth of about 5 cm. Spring feeding with nitrogen-containing substances stimulates the growth of shoots. In autumn, on the contrary, in order to avoid growth, the bushes are fertilized with organic matter (humus, manure).
In regions with harsh winters, as well as if the Leto cherry is planted in a lowland, before the onset of frost, it should bend its branches and cover the bush (tops, straw, special artificial material).
The intricacies of caring for felt cherries will be demonstrated in the video https://youtu.be/38roGOKzaKA
Diseases and pests, methods of control and prevention
Disease / pest | Symptoms | Prevention and ways of dealing |
"Pocket disease" | Fungal spores growing on branches and in ovaries. The latter, instead of fruits, form soft pods with spores inside. | Destroy diseased plant parts. Spraying the plant with a fungicide (Fitosporin-M, Skor, Horus) |
Plum moth | The larvae feed on the pulp of the berries. Affected berries stop growing, dry out | Place butterfly traps in the garden (containers with sweet compote mixed with glue). Treatment of bushes with Decis, Alatar, Karbofos or Kinmiks |
Rodents | The bottom of the plant is peeled off, the bark is gnawed | Wrap the barrel with a fine-mesh metal mesh. Spread bait with mouse poison around the bush |
Conclusion
Felt cherry Leto is a variety that combines the features of sandy and felt crops. A compact bush with large berries, unpretentious to care for, was originally intended for northern latitudes. And although Leto does not give large yields, its self-fertility, good frost tolerance and high resistance to moniliosis allowed the variety to quickly win the recognition of gardeners throughout the country.
