Cherry Alice

Cherry Alice is popular among summer residents due to its versatility. And also - pleasant to the taste, fragrant berries. If you follow all the rules of cultivation, then you can forget about some of the shortcomings of this species, the tree will grow healthy and give a considerable harvest.

If you plunge into the history of the variety, then it dates back to 1979 at the experimental gardening station VNIIR (Far East). The culture owes its appearance to the breeders V.P. and N.A. Tsarenko. The variety was created by pollination of the Leto variety with a mixture of pollen of different varieties of cherries Peschanovoilochnaya, Ogonyok, Damanka. In 1997, the plant joined the ranks of the State Register.

By nature, this variety has a relatively low growth - about one and a half meters. The bush is dense. It is oval in shape. Growth rate is average. If the plant is many years old, then the color of the bark of the branches is gray and covered with pale small bumps - "lenticels". The branches themselves are powerful and straight. The shoots of the bush are brown, fluffy. The kidneys are tiny, with a sharp end. Leaves are oval and elongated, dark in color. The size of the flowers is medium, the petals are pale pink, similar in shape to a saucer.

The berries are characterized by an oval shape with a slightly cut off top and a beak visible. Cherries ripen large, weigh about 3.3 grams. The skin is colored in dark burgundy tones, has an edge and is extremely thin, which impairs the transportation of fruits. The pulp is dark red, with a high density and juiciness. It is almost impossible to disconnect the bone.

Cherry Alice tastes like a mixture of sour and sweet. Tasters give her an assessment of 4.5 points out of 5. Berries of this variety make it possible to make anything from them - jam, marmalade, marshmallow, drinks.

Since the described variety is felt, it is fast-growing. When planting young cherries, you can expect them to harvest in the third or fourth year.

Alice cherry blossoms occur in May, around the middle of the month. The described variety can be considered medium early in terms of ripening, the fruits ripen in the second decade of July.

The cherry variety in question pleases gardeners with a bountiful harvest; an average of 8.5 kilograms of berries can be removed from the bush.

The geography of growing Alisa cherries is wide, this is her homeland - the Far East and the Urals, as well as the North-West, Volgo-Vyatka, Middle Volga, Siberian and other regions.

This variety manifests itself as self-infertile. For this reason, to obtain a crop, it is required to keep pollinating plants next to it.Their role can be played by other varieties of felt cherries blooming at the same time, or trees such as cherry plum, apricot, plum, peach, almond.

It is allowed to transfer young cherries to open ground both in autumn and spring. However, spring (April) is more suitable for such a process, since the seedlings have enough time to grow stronger before the cold months.

When choosing a landing site, a number of conditions must be met:

• the territory is not deprived of sunlight;

• the soil is not sour;

• the composition of the soil is light.

You can understand that the seedling is ready for planting by its appearance, it must have:

• impressive shoots in size;

• perfectly developed kidneys;

• long root system with no damage.

On the eve of planting, the roots of the plants are slightly shortened and dipped in a mixture of ash and clay (you can add a growth-stimulating solution)

When planting cherries, it is necessary to ensure that the distance between the seedlings is one and a half meters, and the width and depth of the hole is half a meter. The bottom of the hole should be covered with a mixture of natural fertilizers and soil. The plant is placed in a hole in an upright position, without covering the root collar with earth. After that, the soil must be well moistened, compacted and mulched with peat.

After planting Alice cherries, it must be cut off, watered, fed, protected from rodents in a timely manner.

The pruning procedure is carried out in spring or autumn, they do this in order to:

• rejuvenate the tree;

• prevent excessive growth of branches;

• form a crown.

Watering is best served in small portions so that there is no excess moisture. It is necessary to feed cherries after the completion of the flowering process and at the stage of bud and fruit formation.

As a rule, in the spring the soil is fertilized with nitrogen, and in the autumn with potassium and phosphorus. In order to protect against rodents, it is recommended to tie the cherry trunk with reeds, raspberry shoots, spruce branches.

Cherry Alice is characterized by high resistance to such well-known diseases as coccomycosis and clotterosporia. However, the plant is at risk of infection with moniliosis (in the presence of excess moisture).

This variety tolerates winter frosts and spring frosts with honor, and also has considerable drought resistance.Dislikes swampy or heavy soil.

For the most part, gardeners speak positively about the Alice variety, they are attracted by the harmonious taste of cherries and the plant's good ability to adapt to the climate.