Cherry Lyubskaya

Cherry variety Lyubskaya is distinguished for its compactness, high yield and undemanding care. Berries are suitable for preparing compotes, preserves, liqueurs, wine, they are dried and frozen. The plant is suitable for industrial cultivation and the creation of landscape compositions in the backyard. Another name is Lyubka.

This is a culture of folk selection, it was planted in the 19th century. It was first described by N.I.Kichunov in 1892 as a cherry growing in the gardens of the Kursk province. The variety was entered in the State Register in 1947. Now, the Moscow All-Russian Institute of Selection and Technology of Horticulture is tasked with monitoring the safety of the culture.

The bush is weak, it can reach 2.5 m. The shape of the crown is rounded, spreading, it can droop and take a weeping look. The bark is silvery brown, cracking. The branches are curved, the leaves are dense, elongated, obovate with a serrate edge, dark green, slightly shiny. The flowers are white or pale pink, slightly corrugated, collected in inflorescences of 3-4. Blooms for 5-8 days. The tree lives for about 15-25 years. Photophilous cherry, differs in weak shoot formation: root shoots almost do not appear.

The variety is prone to spontaneous kidney mutations. The resulting varieties differ in appearance, ripening time, yield, properties of berries. There is Lyubskaya late, Lyubskaya bouquet, Lyubskaya productive and others.

Berries of medium size, weighing 4-5 g, heart-shaped, round, dark scarlet with subcutaneous dots, the skin is glossy, thin and dense. The pulp is dark red, juicy, soft, with a delicate aroma. The bone is small, easily detached. They are well transported, stored at zero temperature for about 10 days.

Sweet and sour taste, sugar content - 9.5-10%, vitamin C - 11-20 mg per 100 g.

Cherry begins to bear fruit 2-3 years after planting, it is considered late in terms of ripening, the harvest ripens at the same time: in late July - early August. The berries are not prone to shedding, they ripen together.

An average of 10-12 kg can be removed from one tree in a temperate climate; in the presence of pollinators in favorable years, the yield reaches 35-50 kg.

Suitable for planting in the middle lane and southern regions of Russia, planted in the Urals and in colder regions.

Self-fertile variety: no additional pollinators are required. When planting a number of other species, fruiting increases by 2-3 times. Cherries are suitable: Anadolskaya, Vladimirskaya, Zhukovskaya, Lotovaya, Fertile Michurina, Early Shpanka, Molodezhnaya.

The variety is planted in the spring; in the fall, the seedling may not take root. For him I choose the sunniest place, protected from the winds. Since autumn, the earth is dug up and 10 kg of manure, 100 g of superphosphate and 100 g of potassium sulfate are introduced. A planting hole is dug 60x80 cm in size: garden soil mixed with humus and phosphate flour is poured onto the bottom, after planting, it is watered with 2 buckets of water.

Culture is appreciated for its unpretentiousness. Watering is recommended several times per season: during the formation of buds, during flowering and in the initial stage of fruit ripening. At one time, 30 liters of water are poured, the earth is loosened, mulched with sawdust or peat. In the fall, water-charging irrigation is definitely recommended.

They begin to feed the shrub in the 3rd year after planting: in the fall, after digging up the soil, organic fertilizers are applied, nitrogen compounds will not interfere in the spring, and in the summer they are fed with an infusion of wood ash or potassium chloride with superphosphate.

Pruned in the spring during the budding period, removing old and damaged shoots, healthy branches are removed only with strong thickening. Forming a tree, they leave a stem 35-45 cm high, 7-10 skeletal branches at a distance of 10-15 cm from one another, very long branches are cut to a lateral branch.

Cherries can be affected by coccomycosis. For treatment, spray with fungicide "Abiga-Peak" after swelling of the kidneys. At the time of the appearance of the buds, they are treated with "Horus". After the end of flowering, the affected shoots are cut off and burned, spraying with the "Speed" agent is carried out. After harvesting, they are sprayed with a Bordeaux mixture of 1%. When moniliosis appears, it is treated with Quadris.

From pests attack weevil, cherry sawfly. As a preventive measure, they dig up the soil around the tree, remove the old mulch, cover the trunk with lime, and spray it with Karbofos.

The variety is prone to gum flow - the sap of the tree begins to stand out and thicken in those places where cracks have appeared on the bark. Lyubskaya is prone to cracking the bark in winter and summer, in order to protect against this, it is recommended to whitewash the trunk and skeletal branches to the very top.

Frost resistance of this species is high: it can withstand temperatures from –30 degrees.The tree is covered only in the northern regions: the young one is covered with agrofibre, and the adult one is covered with spruce branches. The bark suffers the most from frost; generative buds have the best frost resistance. The trunk circle is mulched with 30 cm peat. Prefers sandy loam soils with neutral acidity.

According to gardeners, the variety has a good survival rate, but the harvest of young bushes is different for everyone. From the berries of this variety, a very tasty jam is obtained: moderately sweet, with delicate and aromatic cherries in syrup.