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Morel cherry is one of the oldest and most popular cherry varieties among gardeners with many varieties. Morel cherry on the site has a lot of advantages, but you should carefully read its features and growing rules.
Description of Morel cherry
Morel cherry is considered one of the oldest – it was bred back in the XNUMXth century in Holland, from where it came to Our Country. In the twentieth century, breeders did a good job on the variety and brought out several modern subspecies of the plant.
The description of the Morel cherry variety largely depends on the specific variety. But usually the plant is a tree up to 2 m tall with a wide spreading crown and dense foliage. Cherry branches are covered with ash-gray bark, young shoots are brownish with a slight silvery tint. Cherry leaves are medium, up to 7 cm long, flowers are small, up to 3 cm in diameter, bloom in inflorescences of 4 flowers each.
Morel – a delicious cherry variety for the Central Region
Varieties of cherries Morel
There are several subspecies of the variety that are especially popular with gardeners:
- Lotovka. The black Morel cherry variety is distinguished by late fruiting, brings maroon, almost black berries. Lotovka is grown mainly for processing, its fruits are best suited for jams and desserts.
- Bryansk. A very popular variety of Moreli is characterized by especially large dark red fruits with juicy pulp. The Morel Bryanskaya cherry variety is distinguished not only by its dessert taste, but also by its good keeping quality, which is why it is especially loved by gardeners who grow cherries for sale.
- Black crustacean. The description of the black cherry variety Amorel says that Chernokorka brings dark sweet fruits suitable for making jams, tinctures and compotes. Blackbark has good taste, but cannot bear fruit without pollinators, which reduces the value of the species.
- Amorel Early. Pink cherry Amorel bears large fruits with a sweet and sour taste and is highly resistant to pests and fungal diseases. The tree is one of the tallest among the Moreli subspecies and can reach 4 m. The southern regions are optimal for growing the species.
- Nephris. Morel cherries produce dark red fruits with a sweet and sour taste and are classified as dessert. Although the taste qualities of Nefris are highly valued by gardeners, it is rather difficult to grow this plant – cherries do not tolerate cold well and are prone to many fungal diseases.
Among the variety of Morel subspecies, it is easy to choose a tree that perfectly meets the wishes and climatic conditions.
Height and dimensions of an adult tree
The height of the cherry, as well as its shape, are determined by a specific variety. Most often, Morel is a low tree up to 2 m tall with a spreading densely leafy crown about 2 m in diameter. Some types of Morel grow up to 3-4 m in height, in particular, Amorel Early.
Description of fruits
The weight and taste of Moreli fruits are also determined by the type of particular tree:
- Popular Morel Bryansk bears large dark ruby fruits with a thin skin, the mass of individual berries reaches 3 g. The pulp of the fruits is elastic and juicy, the taste is sweet with a slight sourness, dessert. The tasting score of the fruit is high and averages 5 points.
- Pink Amorel brings flat-rounded berries, covered with bright red skin, weighing about 3 g each. The flesh of pink cherries is creamy, with yellow veins, juicy and soft, sour-sweet, and sweetness prevails slightly. The tasting score is on average 4,4 points.
- Black Cherry Morel Lotovka bears fruit in large, dark red almost to black fruits weighing up to 4,5 g. The flesh of the berries is dark red and juicy, the taste is sweet with a slight sour taste. The fruit tasting score is 4,6 points.
The fruits of Morel cherries are characterized by the fact that they do not crumble from the branches for quite a long time, so you can take your time with their collection during the fruiting period. The bright sun also usually does not harm cherry berries, if the plant is healthy, then the fruits do not bake under the sun’s rays.
The yield of a variety depends on the quality of pollination and compliance with the rules of cultivation.
Pollinators for Morel cherries
Morel cherry is considered partially self-fertile – most of its varieties, including Bryansk, are able to create ovaries without pollinators. However, it must be remembered that the harvest in the absence of pollinators will be small – no more than 50% of the possible volume. Therefore, in the area near Morel, it is recommended to plant plants with similar flowering periods. For example, the description of the cherry variety Morel Bryanskaya suggests using Chernokorka and Lotovka as pollinators, as well as pink Amorel.
Cherry blossoms occur in April and May, on average, the variety is considered medium early.
Main characteristics
Before planting cherries in your area, you need to familiarize yourself with its main characteristics. Morel is popular because of its good yields and high hardiness.
Drought resistance, frost resistance
Morel tolerates short-term droughts well – a temporary lack of moisture does not affect the quality of flowering and fruiting. More dangerous for cherries is an excess of moisture, in which case it can suffer from fungal diseases or rot.
Reviews of the Amorel black cherry characterize it as a fairly frost-resistant plant that tolerates temperatures down to -35 ° C. Morel can feel uncomfortable in the conditions of the Siberian winter, however, cold snaps in the Central region endure very well.
The cherry tree is fairly cold tolerant.
Productivity
Morel is considered an early-growing variety; for the first time, fruits can be harvested from a cherry tree as early as 3 years after planting on the site. Berries ripen by mid-July, while up to 10 kg of fruits can be collected from one tree.
Productivity is determined by the quality of pollination and compliance with the rules for caring for cherries. If Lotovka, Amorel early or other varieties grow in the garden near Bryanskaya, then the plant bears fruit abundantly. If there are no pollinators, and the conditions for watering and fertilizing are not observed, then the tree gives only 50-60% of the maximum yield.
The transportability and keeping quality of Moreli fruits depend on the variety of the plant. So, Bryansk black cherry tolerates transportation well and retains its presentation for a long time. Pink Amorel is stored less, so it is usually used for home purposes.
The scope of the cherry fruits of the Morel variety is universal. Berries can be consumed fresh, or you can make compotes and sweet desserts from them, make jams for the winter and prepare fruit drinks and juices.
Advantages and disadvantages
Reviews of Morel Bryanskaya cherry note the following advantages:
- high yields with simple cultivation rules;
- precocity, allowing you to get fruits already in the third or fourth year;
- versatility of berries;
- the ability to partially self-pollinate;
- general unpretentiousness of the plant;
- resistance to cold and most fungal diseases.
High yield is one of the advantages of Morel
The disadvantages of Morel can be considered the low transportability of individual varieties, for example, pink cherries. Some subspecies of the variety are sensitive to frost and are only suitable for cultivation in the southern regions.
Rules of landing
In order to successfully grow the Amorel cherry variety in your country house, you need to properly root the seedling in the ground. This is easy to do – the requirements of the variety for planting and care are standard.
Recommended dates
It is best to plant Morel in the country in early spring, before the buds begin to bloom on the trees. In this case, it will take root better and faster than during the autumn landing.
Site selection and soil preparation
Morel prefers well-ventilated loose soils – sandy or loamy. On heavy soils, the tree grows worse, and groundwater should not be allowed to pass in the immediate vicinity.
It is best to plant cherries in the western or southwestern corner of the garden, in an area with good lighting. Before planting for Morel, they dig a hole about 50 cm deep and half fill it with soil mixed with humus, mineral fertilizers and 2 kg of wood ash.
How to plant
Immediately before planting, it is recommended to hold the cherry seedling in water for a couple of hours so that the roots are saturated with moisture. After that, the plant is carefully lowered into the prepared pit and covered with earth to the end.
You need to plant a plant in early spring before the start of the growing season.
To make the cherry grow straight, it can be tied to a support. After planting, the seedling is watered abundantly, having previously formed a small earthen shaft in the near-trunk circle, it will help retain moisture. It is also recommended to immediately mulch the near-trunk circle with sawdust or hay.
Features of care
When growing a variety, it is enough to follow the basic rules of care. They consist in timely top dressing, tree cutting and warming for the winter.
Watering and fertilizing schedule
Morel cherry is a drought-resistant species, so it needs to be watered infrequently, about 3 times a year. For the first time, watering is carried out during the flowering period, the second – during the formation of fruits. The last time the tree needs to be watered abundantly in the fall after leaf fall in order to saturate the soil with moisture for the winter. If the summer turned out to be very hot, then the frequency of watering can be increased, but in general, Morel tolerates the lack of moisture well.
As for top dressing, Morel’s standard fertilizer requirements are:
- In spring, the tree is fed with urea or ammonium nitrate with nitrogen content, do it immediately after flowering, and then after another 2 weeks.
- In summer, you can fertilize cherries with phosphorus and potassium, they will contribute to a good harvest and strengthen Morel’s health.
- In autumn, the plant is fertilized with organic matter – humus or compost. Also in the fall, you can once again add a little potassium or superphosphate to the soil, which will strengthen the cold resistance of the plant.
Morel can be fed in the fall when digging the soil or during warming for the winter. Organic fertilizers can serve as mulch to protect the tree from freezing.
Fertilize the plant usually three times a year.
Trimming
Morel cherry shaping haircut is required infrequently, as the plant thickens, old branches should be removed in the spring, gradually replacing them with new shoots.
A sanitary haircut for a plant is carried out annually in the fall. The procedure includes the removal of all dry and diseased branches, it is also recommended to shorten the fruiting shoots by a third – this allows you to improve the yield.
Preparation for winter
Although Morel belongs to the cold-resistant cherry varieties, it is recommended to warm the cherry with the onset of autumn. In preparation for winter, it is necessary to dig up the soil under the trunk of the plant by 8-15 cm and insulate the roots with mulch with a layer of about 10 cm.
Diseases and pests
Description of the black cherry variety Morel says that the plant is quite resistant to most fungal diseases, but is affected by coccomycosis and moniliosis. In the first case, the leaves of the plant are covered with small dark dots and fall off, in the second case, the entire cherry begins to dry and looks as if burnt.
To protect against ailments, Morel must be treated annually in spring and autumn with copper sulphate, Bordeaux liquid and popular fungicidal preparations. To protect against aphids, cherry flies, weevil and other insects, popular insecticides are used – Karbofos, Iskra, Aktar and others.
Conclusion
The Morel cherry is a fairly undemanding fruit plant that produces both black and pink berries with a dessert flavor. The characteristics of the variety and its subspecies make it possible to grow cherries in many regions of Our Country.
Reviews
