Growing Chinese Felt Cherry for Beginners

Meet cherry from China

The popular shrub got its name from its place of origin. Its homeland is China, Mongolia and Korea. There, cherry (sakura) grows everywhere and is a symbol of love. In central Russia, such cherries are often called felt cherries. The term comes from the delicate fluffs that cover the underside of the leaves, berries, and peduncles. It's like soft felt. The photo shows a 5 year old cherry. About 10 kg of berries are collected from it.

Felt cherry is a shrub almost 3 meters high. The leaves are special - corrugated, oval-shaped with a sharp end. The flowers reach a diameter of up to 2.5 cm. The fruits are scarlet; because of this color, the shrub can be called cherry. The berries have a short stalk, which is why they literally stick to the branch and do not fall off when ripe. Their taste is sweet with a slight sourness, like cherries. There is a small bone inside that is difficult to separate. The photo shows how the branch is strewn with ripe berries.

Varieties and varieties of felt cherries

The varieties are divided into 3 groups according to the ripening period: early, middle, late. The color of the fruits is varied, there are even red-black and almost black berries.

Fruiting and decorative

Chinese cherry is often used in landscape design, putting its decorative properties first. Because by planting several varieties near the fence, you can significantly transform the local area. And the healthy fruits will be a tasty bonus.

One of the very beautiful varieties of the crop is the decorative glandular terry cherry. This shrub or dwarf flowering almond is native to China and Japan.

Varietal forms of the species:

• Ferruginous cherry Alba Plena. A plant with a rounded crown up to 150 cm in diameter. Attracts attention with its bright green leaves and blooming double snow-white flowers similar to miniature roses. Pleases the eye for 20 days.
• Lawrence. Terry cherry has luxurious pale pink flowers. The shrub grows up to 1.5 m in height and can reach 2 m in diameter.
• Ferruginous cherry Rosea capta. Shrub up to 2 m in height. It is valued by landscape designers for its densely double flowers of a light pink hue. Flowering duration is up to 10 days. And the flexible, dark red, bluish-tinged branches arch toward the ground, giving the bush the shape of a miniature tent.

Great benefits of a small berry

Felt cherries contain many useful substances and minerals. There are rare ones - rubidium, boron, vanadium. Scarlet berries have a beneficial effect on the body when consumed regularly. They are good for the heart and blood vessels because they reduce the content of bad cholesterol, increase the lumen of blood vessels, allow you to use less drugs - statins, and are an excellent prevention of heart attack, atherosclerosis, and stroke.

Also felt berries:

• fight vitamin deficiency;
• help the liver get rid of excess fat;
• enhance metabolism;
• help the blood cleanse itself of toxins;
• enhance intestinal motility;
• provide prevention of hemorrhoids;
• prevent the formation of intestinal cysts;
• increase stress resistance;
• help overcome insomnia;
• increase the chances of conception in women;
• prevent the development of prostate adenoma in men;
• help rejuvenate the body;
• Help people with diabetes mellitus digest food.

Light sourness increases appetite. Berries are recommended for children to improve digestion of food and enhance the production of gastric juice. These are natural vitamins that are completely absorbed by the body.

Collection and preparation

Chinese cherries reach maximum ripeness in late July or early August. You can pick berries from the bushes from the moment they acquire a rich and uniform red tint and begin to easily come off the stalk.

For harvesting, choose a dry, warm day without rain. Harvesting is best done in the late afternoon, in the absence of bright sun or morning dew. The berries are manually picked from the shoots and placed in a clean container, and then washed to remove dirt and dried to remove moisture.

The shelf life of felt cherries is very short - it is too tender and soft, not suitable for transportation. You can keep the berries in the refrigerator for no more than a week. For long-term storage, the fruits of the plant are usually frozen in plastic containers in the refrigerator. In this form, cherries retain all their valuable properties, juiciness and pleasant taste. The fruits can also be dried at a temperature of no more than 50 °C and used to make jam or compote.

Store fresh Chinese cherries in the refrigerator so that the fruits are less in contact with each other

Landing rules

Felt cherry is planted in spring or early autumn. You need to get there before the buds open. To get a good harvest, you need to plant at least 3 bushes nearby. This will help self-pollination. Reproduction in cherries occurs by seedlings that have reached the age of 1-2 years.

Soil preparation

For felt cherry, the best soil is loamy, sandy loam, fertile soil with good drainage. The root system of bushes is sensitive to excess moisture, so when planting it should not be deepened too much. This will contribute to the formation of diaper rash on the molar neck. It must be above the soil level so that the plant does not die.

To plant cherries, you need to dig a hole half a meter deep and 70 cm wide. Prepare the planting mixture separately. It should contain (per 1 meter2 of land):

• 30 g potassium;
• 700 g lime;
• 3 buckets of rotted manure;
• 50 g phosphorus.

Pour the prepared mixture into the hole. Trim the roots of the seedling, leaving only 20 cm. Dip it in a clay solution to prevent diseases. Next, immerse it in the prepared hole, leaving the root collar above the soil. Cover with soil, compact, and water generously. Mulch the area around the bush with peat.

The right purchase is the key to a good harvest

So, the place has been chosen, it’s time to purchase seedlings. Experts advise buying them not from hand or at the market, but from nurseries.

In specialized places, the felt cherry is grafted; after planting and with proper care, it will quickly take root and the fruits on it will be large. When bargaining at the market, you are not insured against buying a wild bush that has grown from a seed. The berries of such a sprout will be small, 1-2 cm, no more.

If you made a purchase in the fall, do not plant the sprout in open ground for the winter. It is better to plant it in a large bucket with loose soil or sand, and put it in the basement for the winter.

When purchasing a seedling in the spring, pay attention to the absence of awakening buds on it. If the purchase occurred in the fall, then the cherry tree should not have leaves.

Best place in the garden

To plant felt cherries, choose a sunny, level place. If water collects under it, the roots will begin to rot. For fast growth and a good harvest you need a lot of light. In the shade, the berries will be small with a sour taste. Fertilization of cherries occurs with other varieties; it is good to have other cherry trees nearby. But coniferous trees nearby are undesirable. For self-pollination, you can plant 3 felt cherries side by side at a distance of 2 meters from each other. These shrubs are often planted on slopes. They hold the soil well with their powerful root system.

Choosing a sunny location

Before you have a berry beauty on your plot, decide on the choice of location. Cherry bushes do not like soil where groundwater comes close to the surface. Excess moisture will lead to rotting of the roots.

But if the area is very wet, choose elevated places for planting, or arrange drainage and outflow of excess water.

The bright beauty does not like heavy soil. If the soil is not suitable for it, but you really want to plant a flowering miracle, the heaviness of the soil is diluted with baking powder.

Felt cherry prefers to grow in sunny places for a reason. If the summer is rainy, the tender cherries of the bush will rot in a dark corner of the garden.

Features of care

To properly care for Chinese felt cherry, you need to know its weaknesses:

• rapid thickening of the crown;
• overheating of the root system;
• increased risk of infection with fungal diseases.

All these properties are taken into account when selecting a location, watering, and pruning shrubs.

Basic rules of care are presented in the table.

Felt cherry is called one of the most unpretentious shrubs. It does not require much attention and responds with a large harvest.

Felt or Chinese cherry - what are the features

There are two reasons why Chinese cherry has this name. Firstly, the plant is native to central China. And the second reason is due to the similarity of its berries to ordinary cherries. Also, the Chinese cherry is called felt because of the spreading bush, the branches of which are covered with gray pubescence, which resembles felt.

This is a small bush cherry with red fruits with a pleasant tart taste. The trees are distinguished by their decorative appearance and lush flowering, which occurs at the end of April.

Information! The white and pink flowers are a source of nectar, allowing you to attract many beneficial insects to the garden.

How does it differ from ordinary cherries, advantages

The Far Eastern felt cherry blossoms a week earlier than usual, and its fruits also ripen faster. The first harvest can be harvested at the end of June. In addition, ripe berries do not fall off and can stay on the tree for a long time.

Felt cherry is early-fruiting. Plants can form a harvest already in the 2nd year after planting the seedling, and those grown from seeds - in the 3rd-4th year.

Also, the culture is not afraid of coccomycosis, unlike common cherries.

Among the undeniable advantages of Chinese cherries:

• decorativeness of bushes;
• excellent taste and beneficial properties of the fruit;
• early ripening and lush fruiting;
• resistance to frost and drought;
• resistance to fungal infections;
• ease of cultivation;
• possibility of use as a rootstock for cherry plum, plum, sloe;
• convenient harvesting.

Thanks to these advantages, felt cherries will not only decorate the garden, but will also become an indispensable ingredient for preparing culinary masterpieces, as well as a medicinal remedy that helps against many diseases.

Advantages of cherry tree

Watering and fertilizing

You need to water the felt cherry carefully. She doesn't like stagnant water. If there is insufficient precipitation, the need for additional moisture arises during the growing season and the formation of berries. To allow air and water to penetrate to the roots, you need to loosen the soil next to the cherry tree. Excess moisture will lead to rotting of the root system, which will negatively affect the entire plant and harvest.

For good development and fruiting, regular feeding is needed. The first time it is done immediately after flowering. Must be present:

• phosphorus;
• nitrogen;
• potassium;
• minerals.

Nitrogen is not needed in autumn fertilizing. It stimulates the emergence of new shoots; in cold weather they will die.

Protection from diseases

The main diseases of felt cherries are moniliosis, clasterosporiosis, and pocket disease. To protect the plant from them, perform the following procedures:

1. Before the buds open, the bush is sprayed with a 3% solution of Bordeaux mixture. This is a universal remedy for many diseases of garden crops;
2. After flowering, the felt cherry is treated with 1% Bordeaux mixture or 0.4% copper chloride solution;
3. These measures are sufficient for prevention. If signs of disease are found on the plant, the treatment is repeated every 10–14 days up to 4 times.

Rodents, especially hares, pose a threat to cherries. The most effective protection against rodents is a mesh around the trunks.

Diseases and pests

After harvesting the fruits, treatment against pests and diseases is carried out. Among the dangers, felt cherry is susceptible to coccomycosis. The causative agent is a fungus that attacks foliage. Its premature shedding is observed. The plant approaches the winter period unprepared and weakens. May die in severe frosts.

Another injury is called monilial burn (moniliosis). The causative agent is a fungus that infects the plant during flowering. The spores penetrate the flower, germinate, and develop in the peduncle and inside the wood of the branch. It dries up and looks like it has been burned.

Among the pests, the felt cherry is loved by:

• aphid;
• plum moth;
• scale insect;
• leaf roller

To destroy aphids, you need to use the drugs “Iskra”, “Admiral”, “Commander” and others. Spraying with the drug “Profilaktin” can serve as prevention against leafworm. But when infested with pests, you need to use other drugs - “Accord”, “Fatrin”, “Alfatsin”.

Traps with sugar syrup can get rid of the plum moth. It is necessary to constantly add bait so that the butterflies fly to the scent. After flowering, you need to treat the cherry with Decis and Alatar. This will help get rid of the first moths. To destroy the second arrival of pests, treatment is carried out in late July.

Use in cooking

Chinese cherries are widely used in cooking. Most often, berries are used to prepare delicious and healthy desserts. In particular, the fruits of the plant serve as the basis for:

• for marmalade and candied fruits;
• for preserves, jam and marmalade;
• for compotes and fruit drinks.

Cherries are added as a filling to pies and cakes, decorated with pieces of pulp on ice cream and cakes, and combined with chocolate. Freshly squeezed fruit juice is used to prepare strong and non-alcoholic cocktails.

We recommend reading: Goji berries: beneficial properties and contraindications, application, photos

Dried felt cherry berries can be added to black tea. They give the drink an interesting taste and bright aroma, increase its benefits and provide anti-inflammatory properties.

Advice! You can combine cherries in cooking with currants, apricots and apples, as well as cloves, bay leaves and cinnamon.

Reviews and advice from gardeners

Experienced gardeners speak positively about felt cherries. It contains many useful substances in fruits and preserves them during canning. Caring for it is simple and does not require special skills. According to the description, it is easy for beginners in gardening to plant seedlings and grow cherries.

Tips from growing experience:

Alexander. It is very important to protect the roots from waterlogging. Mulching, applying organic fertilizers and pouring peat into the tree trunk helps with this.

Svetlana Arkadyevna. The berries are tasty and nutritious, but they are stored only for 2 days. They need to be processed or frozen quickly.

Semyon. To prevent ants from spreading aphids to trees, boiling water must be poured into their nests. Spray the leaves with soapy water. Grate half a piece of laundry soap and mix with a bucket of water. A solution with ash is also used.

The positive properties of felt cherry have made it popular in garden plots. With simple care, this shrub will delight you with a beautiful snow-white outfit in the spring and a delicious rich harvest in the summer.

Chemical composition and calorie content

Photos, descriptions and benefits of felt cherry are of interest due to its chemical composition. The fruits of the plant contain:

• organic acids;
• vitamins B1, B2, B5 and B6;
• calcium and magnesium;
• ascorbic and nicotinic acids;
• beta-carotene;
• sodium and phosphorus;
• potassium;
• malic and citric acids;
• vitamin B9;
• iron and zinc;
• vitamins A and E;
• chlorine, sulfur and iodine;
• fructose and glucose;
• cobalt, chromium and fluorine;
• tannins;
• manganese, copper and nickel;
• pectins.

The nutritional value of the product is very low - only 52 calories per 100 g. About 10.5 g of the composition are carbohydrates, another 0.8 g and 0.2 g are proteins and fats, respectively.