Cherry Zhukovskaya

Cherry Zhukovskaya is an old, proven variety, known to gardeners since Soviet times. It is grown in different climates, showing consistently good results at harvest. Fruits of universal use are suitable for canning, juicing, freezing for the winter.

The variety was obtained by specialists from the All-Russian Research Institute of Genetics and Breeding of Fruit Plants named after V.I. I. V. Michurin. It was taken out in the late 40s of the XX century. In the process of selection, varietal seeds of free pollination were used.

Cherry Zhukovskaya forms medium-sized trees with a trunk height in the range of 1.5-3 m. The crown is of medium density, not too spreading, round in shape. The shoots in it are curved, red-brown in color, covered with dark green large leaves, shiny, oblong-oval in shape. During flowering, the tree is covered with white buds, 5 per inflorescence. The average lifespan of a tree is 18-20 years.

Cherries of this variety are dark red, with the same bright pulp. Each fruit weighs an average of 4 g, has an oval-heart-shaped shape and a rounded base. The pulp is firm and juicy, with a medium-sized bone inside, well separated from the tissue. Cherries look attractive, have excellent potential for commercial use, and can be mechanically harvested.

The fruits are sour-sweet, very pleasant to the taste. Receive high tasting marks, up to 5 points for fresh cherries.

The first cherries appear on the tree at 4 years old. In terms of ripening, the variety is medium, bears fruit from the 2nd decade of July. The yield of the crop occurs simultaneously. Fruiting is concentrated on bouquet branches, partially affecting the growth of the previous year.

The recoil volume of fruits increases with age. At 10 years old, the tree provides an average yield of 12 kg, then doubles these indicators. In general, the yield is assessed as good.

The variety is suitable for growing in the regions of the Middle and Lower Volga regions. And also he is planted in the Central Black Earth Region and the central regions.

Zhukovskaya is a self-fertile cherry. For the appearance of fruits on it, planting nearby other varieties with the same flowering time is required. These can be cherries Vladimirskaya, Consumer goods black, Molodezhnaya.

Cherry varieties Zhukovskaya are planted in the spring months, but seedlings can be purchased in the fall. In this case, they are stored in the ground by digging at an angle of 45 degrees, and then covered with cardboard, rags, spruce branches. And also storage is possible in a cold cellar, while the roots will have to be wrapped in a damp cloth.

Plants are transferred to the ground in April. The choice of location is very important for Zhukovskaya. A sunny area is suitable, not shaded by large-sized, well-ventilated. If the groundwater is closer than 2 m to the surface, the seedling is placed on a specially constructed embankment. It is necessary to purchase the material in the nurseries of your region so that it is well acclimatized.

The pit is formed with a diameter of 0.8 m and a depth of 0.5 m - these are approximate indicators, if the root system is highly developed, they can be increased. Since autumn, acidic soils are dug up with dolomite flour. Dense clayey is loosened with sand - 1 bucket per 2 m2.

When planting, young cherries are set with the root collar slightly below the soil level. The roots will have to be straightened so that they do not break when buried. The soil extracted when digging a hole must be mixed with superphosphate, organic fertilizers must be applied. The planting hole is filled with this substrate, gradually compacting it. The seedling is watered with 2 buckets of water, then the moistened soil is mulched, if necessary, a garter is performed to a peg or on stretch marks.

Cherry Zhukovskaya is not very demanding for care, but it needs some attention. It is necessary to regulate watering starting immediately after flowering, and then repeating after the formation of fruits. Before winter, in mid-November, they make a water-charging fluid supply, introducing up to 4 buckets of water under the root, into a specially dug groove.

It is not necessary to loosen the soil too intensively. During the warm season, loosening is carried out 2-3 times a year. Before winter, the soil in the root zone is dug to the depth of a shovel bayonet with fertilizers of the potassium-phosphorus group. The rest of the time, feeding is carried out 2 times during the season. Immediately after the snow melts, the trees are fertilized with ammonium nitrate.

Zhukovskaya is a cherry variety with high resistance to coccomycosis. But it is affected by clasterosporium disease, in which holes appear on the leaves, and they themselves acquire a red-brown color. If signs of this disease are detected, it is necessary to apply treatment with copper-containing chemicals.

Gray rot is also quite common in cherry trees.Outwardly, the signs of the disease are similar to those of thermal burns. Having found gray spores of fungi on the shoots, you should immediately begin treatment with fungicides. All affected areas of the crown, fruits and leaves are removed, destroyed in fire.

Of the pests, the most dangerous are cherry fly, sawfly, Californian scale insect. In the fight against them, suitable insecticidal preparations are selected.

Cherry trees of this variety have an average winter hardiness. It is not recommended to grow them in cold climates with harsh winters. And also the plants do not tolerate return frosts well. Flower buds crumble when the atmospheric temperature drops below zero. The variety is resistant to drought.

According to summer residents, although Zhukovskaya cherry is one of the oldest breeding varieties, it is still not inferior to newer options. Large, sweet fruits are especially good when fresh. Gardeners notice that they can be used to make juices, preserves, cherries in syrup that are excellent in taste. The variety is highly praised for the amicable ripening of fruits, abundant and beautiful flowering, aesthetic appearance of the plant, which looks very decorative in the garden.

There have also been a lot of negative reviews over the years. Gardeners mention that Zhukovskaya is prone to shed berries, and the wood on the growths freezes strongly. Without pollinators, it will not be possible to get harvests worthy in terms of volume either. Their volumes are unlikely to reach 5% of the projected harvests.