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Cherry Leningradskaya: description of the variety
Cherry “Leningradskaya” bred by breeders specifically for the central and more northern regions. If you know how to choose and plant a seedling, you can get a harvest of tasty and healthy fruits.
Description of the “Leningradskaya” cherry
For such a thermophilic tree, the southern regions are more suitable, but specialists from St. Petersburg have obtained a line of varieties with high frost resistance, well tolerating drought, and undemanding to care. They are not very tall, which makes harvesting easier, and are resistant to pests.
The advantages of the Leningradskaya cherry are its frost resistance and high yield.
Among the varieties of “Leningradskaya” there are options with different ripening periods, differing in color and taste:
- Pink. This mid-ripening cherry produces a harvest in July. She has rather small, no more than 3 g, yellowish berries with a pink side with tender pulp. The yield is average, up to 15 kg is obtained from one tree.
- Yellow. It belongs to late ripening, ripening in August. Fruits are golden amber in color, rather large. The pulp is juicy, sweet, with a slight bitterness.
- Black. These berries ripen unevenly from mid-July, but can hang on the tree until September, retaining their properties and not crumbling. The weight of dark red, almost black fruits reaches 5 g, the yield is up to 20 kg per tree. The pulp is burgundy, juicy, very sweet.
All varieties are self-fertile, therefore they should be planted in groups of several trees. It is not necessary to use the same plants as a pollinator; you can combine cherries of different colors or cherries with the same ripening period.
Growing varieties of sweet cherries “Leningradskaya”
These trees are best planted in well-lit, wind-protected areas, avoiding lowlands. Cold air accumulates in them in spring, frost is more likely, groundwater is located closer. This variety does not tolerate stagnant moisture, but through well-developed roots it easily extracts it from the ground.
Light, neutral, fertile soils with good air permeability are suitable for cultivation. In the spring, you should feed the tree with mineral and organic fertilizers, you do not need to water it very often, as the soil dries out.
These varieties begin to bear fruit in the 3rd year after planting.
To protect the tree from sunburn caused by the difference between day and night temperatures, you should whitewash it with a lime mortar. You can wrap up for the winter, but not necessary. Regular pruning with shortening of shoots will help withstand frosts, making cherries stronger. Cooling after the appearance of the ovary and during flowering is likely to lead to the death of the crop.
This variety has many advantages and is versatile in use. It is well cultivated in Russia, giving a consistently high yield.