Bird cherry of Colorat and Maak: fragrant guests of the spring garden

Bird cherry (Prúnus pádus) - a species of low trees (or shrubs) of the genus Plum of the family Pink (Rosaceae). In recent times, such varieties of culture as Colorata and Maaka have been increasingly used in home garden landscaping.

Comparative characteristic and description

Colorata (Colorata) is one of the most interesting and spectacular bird cherry varieties selected in Sweden. but in our country, many gardeners prefer the variety of Maak (Padus Maaki). The description and botanical characteristics of these popular varieties are very favorable for growing them in the soil and climatic conditions of Russia.

Landing rules

As a rule, bird cherry planting is not difficult even for beginner gardeners. To get a highly decorative and healthy plant with medicinal properties, it is enough to adhere to a simple technology:

• Bird cherry is very sun-loving, but it is quite easy to take root in areas with some shading.
• For the full development of the root system and the crown of the plant, sufficient space is required.
• Planting nearby several bird cherry plants will ensure their cross pollination.
• The standard distance between plants when planting is 4.5-5.0 m.
• Together with fertile soil, a small amount of mineral and organic fertilizers is poured into the planting pit. If there is a lot of organics, the plant may die.

Bird cherry can be planted both in spring and early autumn: it depends on soil and climatic conditions in the growing region. Watering is carried out immediately after planting, and if necessary, the plants are shaded from direct sunlight. A good result is mulching trunks circles peat or sawdust.

Breeding technology

There are several simple ways of self-propagation of bird cherry. In home gardening, the following are most often used:

• Propagation by green cuttingschopped at the end of shoot growth. 2/3 of the leaves are removed from harvested cuttings 12-15 cm long and soaked for 24 hours in water into which a growth regulator is added. When planting, the cuttings are immersed 2-3 cm in the nutrient mixture of peat, humus and topsoil. To root use greenhouses. In the early autumn period, cuttings with a formed root system are transplanted for growing in open ground.
• Propagation by seedlings, in excess formed around adult plants as a result of self-seeding. For planting use the most powerful and well-developed seedlings about two years old.

• Reproduction by root shoots. The method is best suited for all varieties of bird cherry Virginia. For the fastest and highest quality rooting of the shoots, in early spring it is isolated from the parent plant. Then in the fall, the strongest and well-rooted plants are planted.
• Reproduction by layering. In the spring, they prepare planting holes with a depth of 10-12 cm and lay the shoots of an adult plant in them, pinning them for fixation with wooden pegs or metal studs. During the summer, plants spud 3-4 times. In autumn, the neat shoots are separated from the parent plant and transplanted to a separate place.

Bird cherry can be propagated by vaccination - in winter and early spring. To do this, it is recommended to use an improved or simple copying. It is also allowed to conduct budding in July - about a couple of weeks earlier than on apple trees. As a stock for grafting or budding, you can use the seedling of bird cherry ordinary: this will achieve almost one hundred percent survival of the plant.

Care Tips

Almost all types of bird cherry are unpretentious and sufficiently resistant to adverse external influences. However, plant care has its own characteristics.

• The undoubted advantage of the berry culture is the absolute undemanding nature of the soil, so it can be grown in almost any area.
• In the first year after planting, young plants need sufficient watering.
• To form a neat crown and improve indicators of the overall development of the plant, bird cherry requires regular pruning, during which weak, diseased and dry branches, as well as strongly growing shoots, are removed. After any, sanitary or forming, trimming of the crown, the slices are necessarily processed by garden var.
• Relatively rarely, a plant is affected by aphids, bird cherry leafworms and bird cherry mining moths; for protection, during the growing season, bird cherry should be sprayed with 0.2% Fitoverma working solution or treated with Lepidocide crown.

Bird cherry: useful properties

On the territory of our country bird cherry is very common. In addition to decorativeness, the plant is also distinguished by medicinal berries. Planting and caring for an unpretentious culture are not difficult, due to which the bird cherry is able to decorate your site for a long time.