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Felt Cherry Alice is a variety widely known for its versatile characteristics. With proper planting and proper care, the few weaknesses of the Alice cherry will not interfere with growing a healthy shrub on the site, from year to year, delighting with sweet berries.
History of breeding
The felt cherry variety Alice was bred by V.P. and N.A. Tsarenko in 1979 at the Far Eastern Experimental Station of VNIIR. It appeared as a result of pollination of the Leto variety with mixed pollen of Ogonyok, Sandy-wool and Damanka cherries.
An entry on the registration of the variety was made in the State Register in 1997.
Description of the culture
The height of the Alice bush, as a rule, does not exceed 1,5 m. It is dense, has an oval shape, and has an average growth rate. The bark of perennial branches is gray in color, covered with many small light horizontal tubercles – “lentils”. The branches of the Alice cherry variety are thick and straight. Young shoots are brown, covered with edging.
The buds are small, pubescent, pointed, slightly deviate from the shoot.
The leaves are dark green, small, in the form of elongated ovals with a pointed tip. The surface of the leaf blade is uneven, folded, with a serrated edge, pubescent on both sides. The petiole is short (0,5 cm), also pubescent, of medium thickness.
The flower is medium (corolla diameter is about 2,6 cm), pale pink, saucer-shaped, has 5 loosely spaced petals.
Alice is a large-fruited variety of felt cherry. The berries weigh 3,3–3,6 g (of which 0,2 g is a stone), in shape they resemble an elongated oval with a slightly beveled top. The skin is dark burgundy, thin, slightly pubescent. The pulp is red, juicy, dense, fibrous. The bone is practically inseparable from it.
The duration of the fruiting of the plant can reach 17 years.
Initially, the Alisa variety was recommended for breeding in the Far East (in particular, in the Primorsky Territory). However, later it became popular in other regions with a milder climate. The variety showed good results when growing felt cherry Alisa in the Moscow region, the Leningrad region, as well as in the central regions of Our Country.
Features
The characteristic of the variety is of no small importance when choosing a suitable cherry variety for cultivation in different regions and different climatic conditions.
Drought resistance, winter resistance
Alice belongs to the varieties of cherries, characterized by high frost resistance. The bush, skeletal branches, and young shoots withstand winter cold well, and flowers withstand spring frosts.
Pollination, flowering period and ripening period
Alice cherry blossoms in mid-May. In terms of maturation, it is considered mid-season. The berries ripen in mid-July.
Precociousness is another significant characteristic of Alice felt cherries. Own-rooted seedling gives a crop for 3-4 years, grafted – earlier, already from the second year after planting in open ground.
Alice variety is self-infertile. In order for the cherry of this variety to please with abundant harvests every year, it is necessary to plant plants next to it on the site that are suitable for it as pollinators. It can be 4-5 bushes of felt cherries of the same or different varieties, the flowering periods of which coincide with Alice.
Some stone fruit trees belonging to other species can also successfully act as pollinators for felt cherries of the Alice variety:
- peach;
- plum;
- almond;
- apricot;
- cherry plum.
yield, fruiting
Felt cherry Alice has a high yield. From one bush can be collected from 6 to 8,5 kg of berries.
The fruits of the Alice variety are distinguished by a harmonious, pleasant sweet and sour taste. The rating given to them by tasters is 4 points out of 5.
Their pulp contains:
- 10,8% solids;
- almost 9% sugar;
- 0,68% acid.
Even though the separation of the berries from the stalk is semi-dry, it is difficult to transport them over long distances. Harvesting Alice cherries in a mechanized way is not possible.
Scope of berries
According to the economic purpose, the fruits of the Alisa cherry variety are universal due to their very good taste. They produce juice and all kinds of drinks, prepare marshmallows and marmalade, cook jam, compotes, jams, marmalade, and also eat fresh.
Disease and pest resistance
Felt cherries of the Alice variety are favorably distinguished by a high degree of resistance to coccomycosis.
Their resistance to clasterosporiasis is average.
Moniliosis is capable of significantly harming the Alice variety. Waterlogging can cause damage to flowers and berries with this dangerous disease.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
Advantages | Disadvantages |
Good resistance to high and low temperatures | Self-infertility |
High yield of the variety, coupled with compactness | Poor transportability of berries |
resistance to coccomycosis | Susceptibility to moniliosis with waterlogging |
large berries |
|
Skoroplodnost | |
Pleasant taste and universal purpose of fruits |
Features of landing
Compliance with the rules for planting Alice cherries is the key to getting rich harvests. It is very important not only to adhere to the recommendations regarding the timing, but also the place for planting, as well as the composition of the soil.
Recommended dates
You can plant young Alice cherry seedlings in the ground both in spring and autumn. Early spring (usually April) is considered preferable, as the seedlings have enough time to gain strength and get stronger before the cold weather.
However, autumn planting (mainly in September) is also quite acceptable. It is important to complete planting work 3-4 weeks before the first frost.
Choosing the right place
Characteristics of a suitable site for growing Alice felt cherries:
- good illumination by the sun;
- light soil;
- neutral (not acidic) soil.
Not suitable for this variety
- heavy, clay soil;
- area with low relief;
- soil saturated with moisture.
What crops can and cannot be planted next to cherries
Good neighbors for Alice will be other felt varieties of cherries, sweet cherries, some stone fruits that can become pollinators for her.
Elder will get along well with cherries, protecting them from aphids.
Grapes grow remarkably in the neighborhood not only with cherries, but also with many other trees.
Begonias, phloxes, roses and other moisture-loving flowers cannot grow next to Alice’s felt cherry, since waterlogging of the soil will create serious problems for her.
The roots of gooseberries and raspberries take nutrients from the upper layers of the soil, thereby inhibiting the development of Alice cherries.
Nightshade crops (pepper, tomato, tobacco) can become a source of diseases dangerous for cherries.
Walnut leaves secrete substances that inhibit the growth of many other plants, including Alice cherry.
Coniferous trees strongly acidify the soil, so for felt cherries, which prefer soil with neutral acidity, they are bad neighbors.
Selection and preparation of planting material
It is advisable to purchase cherry seedlings of the Alice variety from trusted sellers, since buying from hand may turn out to be a failure and not bring the desired result.
Planting material should look like this:
- healthy-looking, undamaged root system, the length of which should be at least 20-25 cm;
- powerful, well-developed shoots;
- the presence of well-developed kidneys.
The roots of seedlings should be slightly cut before planting, and then dipped in clay mixed with water with wood ash (you can add a root growth stimulator to this mixture).
Landing algorithm
When planting felt cherries Alice on the site, you must:
- make sure that the distance between the seedlings is at least 1,5 m, and the depth and width of the planting pit for each of them is about half a meter;
- at the bottom of the pit there should be soil mixed with organic fertilizers;
- the seedling is lowered vertically into the pit, making sure that the root neck is not too deep;
- after planting, the soil in the trunk circle is carefully compacted, watered well and mulched with peat.
Culture aftercare
Caring for felted cherries Alice after planting involves pruning, watering, feeding the plant, protecting it from rodents and preparing for winter.
Cherry bushes of the Alice variety are pruned in autumn or spring. This is done:
- for crown formation;
- in order to rejuvenate;
- with strong growth of branches.
For more information on how to properly prune cherries, you can learn from the video
Felt cherries should be watered in moderate portions, carefully making sure that moisture does not accumulate in excess. The plant needs watering, first of all, in the dry period, as well as in the phase of budding and fruit formation.
Top dressing is applied carefully, along the edge of the near-stem circle, during the period when the cherry has already faded. For 1 sq.m you need the following amount of fertilizers:
- organics – 5-7 kg;
- phosphorus-containing – 70 g;
- nitrogen – 30 g;
- potassium – 20 g.
Nitrogen-containing substances and organics should be applied in the spring, and phosphorus and potassium in the fall.
In order to prevent mice and other rodents from nibbling the bark of felt cherries in winter, gardeners advise tying the trunks with artificial covering material, reeds, spruce spruce branches, raspberry shoots, after moving the ground slightly away from the trunk.
In winter, at the base of the trunks, the snow should be tightly trampled down – then the mice will not be able to move along it. However, it will be necessary to remove it from the bushes in the spring.
Diseases and pests, methods of control and prevention
Despite the variety of varieties, there is hardly a culture that will have exceptional immunity to diseases and pests. Each variety has its weak points. Briefly about pests and diseases that can threaten Alice’s cherry can be found in the table.
Disease/Pest | Manifestations and Damage | Warning and fight |
Klyasterosporiosis | Small spots – “holes” on the leaves. The causative agent is able to penetrate into the branches. “Ulcers” on affected fruits | 1. Cutting and burning the affected parts of the plant. 2. Spraying with Bordeaux liquid (3%), biological products |
Moniliasis | Withering of flowers, leaves, drying of shoots | 1. Prevention – treatment with fungicides. 2. Fight – destruction of the affected parts of the bush, spraying with preparations containing copper |
pocket mite | “Warts” on the leaves in the middle of summer – the insect sucks the juice out of them | Watering from a watering can with hot water before the buds open and after the leaves fall |
Felt Cherry Propagation Methods
Reproduction of felt cherry Alice with the preservation of the valuable qualities inherent in the variety is well done with green cuttings. To do this, take twenty-centimeter (or more) cuttings with at least 4 internodes. Before planting, their tips are placed in a growth-stimulating solution for 10-12 hours. Then the cuttings are planted in the ground, where they take root for a month.
In addition to this method, the Alice cherry variety can be propagated:
- woody cuttings:
- layering from the roots;
- vaccination method;
Conclusion
Felt cherries of the Alice variety have long gained popularity among gardeners, which is explained by the large number of advantages inherent in it. Large and tasty berries, high yield, resistance to drought and frost favorably distinguish this variety from many others. Among the few shortcomings are self-fertility and sensitivity to an excess of moisture, but the advantages of the variety more than compensate for them.