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The most delicious cherry plum, called Cleopatra, belongs to crops with an early ripening period and is included in the group of hybrids called the plum. Breeders within the walls of the Moscow Agricultural Academy used a seedling of the Kuban comet variety to breed this species.
Description and characteristics
Modern Cleopatra is a wonderful cherry plum, grown on plots by many gardeners in the country. The description of the variety should begin with the main characteristics.
The culture begins to bear fruit for 4 years from the moment of planting. Productivity is average, fruiting is constant. The tree is partially self-fertile, therefore, in order to get a good harvest in the neighborhood, it is advised to plant 1-2 other varieties of cherry plum. Productivity in the presence of cross-pollination doubles, or even triples. Fruit picking is in September. Winter hardiness is high. Another cherry plum, named Cleopatra, has a strong immunity to diseases.
Externally, the culture is a medium-sized tree – from 3 to 4 m high. The crown is wide-conical and medium thickened. Shoots are straight and thin with brown bark. The leaves are elliptical in shape, coarsely serrated and dark green in color. The fruits are large, leveled and round-oval in shape, the average weight of each does not exceed 37 g.
A side seam is visible on the surface of the berries. The rind is red-violet and rather dark. The top of the fruit is flat, a narrow funnel is medium in size. The stalk is small both in thickness and in length. The pulp has a dense structure, it is cartilaginous and colored red. A small bone is easily separated from the core of the fetus. The taste of the fruit is sweet, there is a mandatory sourness. The composition of the berries includes 3,1% acid, 5,5% sugars and about 9,3% solids.
Peculiarities of growing
Cherry plum with the beautiful name Cleopatra differs from cherry and plum trees in a longer growing season. Spring planting does not always end in successful cultivation – due to the long growth of shoots in the fall, by the time of digging, the seedlings may not ripen. In winter, they often dry up in the pit and are defenseless against low temperatures.
The optimal dimensions of the landing pit are also known – 60 × 80 cm. Its depth should not exceed 50 cm. A peg is placed in it for the subsequent garter of the tree. A mixture of the top layer of earth obtained by digging a hole is introduced with humus, phosphorus and potash supplements. The last two components are added in the amount of 200 g and 60 g, respectively. Instead of potash fertilizers, 0,5 kg of wood ash is sometimes added.
One of the important steps in the care of cherry plum is shaping pruning. After the young shoots stop growing, they should be shortened by 20 cm. When the tree is 8-10 years old, it will need anti-aging pruning. The procedure is no different from that recommended for any fruit plants.
Advantages and disadvantages
The universal type of stone fruit culture combines the high productivity and endurance of classic cherry plum with large-fruited and excellent taste qualities of plum fruits. It is also valued by gardeners for the possibility of obtaining fruits that have not only a pleasant taste and aroma, but also a presentable appearance. The culture tolerates frost well, therefore it is cultivated in areas in the middle lane and the Moscow region. The disadvantages include self-infertility and moderate resistance to diseases.
Video “How to plant cherry plum”
From this video you will learn how to properly plant cherry plum.
