Cherry duke: description, varieties
Cherry “Duke” is a hybrid of cherry and sweet cherry. For several centuries, breeders have tried to combine the taste of cherries with the winter hardiness of cherries, but all attempts have ended in failure. The hybrids refused to bear fruit, but only bloomed profusely. The earliest successful hybrid May-Duke was obtained by chance in the XNUMXth century in England, from which all hybrids were named duke.
Popular varieties of cherries “Duke”
Only a hundred years after the breeding of “Duke” new varieties appeared. The first steps in this area were made by I.V. Michurin.
The Duke cherry has large sweet fruits
There are the following types of ducks:
- English Early – good yields, but irregular. The fruits are dark red, juicy, sour-sweet. Average winter hardiness.
- “Krasa Severa” – the most winter-hardy hybrid, can grow in northern latitudes. The fruits are large, light red.
- “Black consumer goods” – the fruit is small, almost black. The yield is weak and irregular, which is why the variety did not take root.
- “Spectacular” – winter-hardy cherry, but does not live long, as it is very sensitive to sunburn. The fruits are red, sweetish.
- “Surprise” – a large sweet and sour fruit with a strong cherry aroma.
- “Excellent Venyaminova” – winter hardy, medium late, fruitful. The fruits are red.
- “Miracle Cherry” is the newest hybrid, which quickly won the trust of gardeners due to its very high yield and the ability to pollinate cherries.
Dukes themselves do not pollinate, they need a pollinator, which in most cases can only be a sweet cherry. Therefore, they need to be planted in the company.
All varieties are distinguished by large berries of good taste. They have the characteristics of both sweet cherries and cherries. The fruit looks more like a cherry, but is larger and sweeter. The leaves are similar in size to a cherry, but denser and have a luster similar to that of a cherry. The best qualities adopted by the ducs from their ancestors:
- The trees are relatively short, they grow like cherries, no more than 3 meters in height.
- The winter hardiness of the variety was adopted from the cherry.
- Disease resistance was obtained from sweet cherries.
Modern breeding offers new duke hybrids every year. And every time their quality improves.
When growing a tree, remember that the cherry needs a pollinator neighbor. The best varieties for this are “Donchanka”, “Annushka”, “Sister”. During flowering, pest control cannot be carried out, pollinating insects will die along with them. Without them, the plant will not yield. Dukes bear fruit well when there is an apiary nearby.