The ending. The beginning is in the article Cherry sliva is no longer a cherry, but not a cream either.
American and Canadian varieties
- Opata... Bred at the South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station (Brookings) by N. Ganzen. The most common cultivar in the gardens of the former Soviet Union. The bush is vigorous, broadly spreading, with large dark green shiny leaves and thick red cherry shoots. The branches of the bush are difficult to bend to the ground for the winter. Even if this work is done carefully, they sometimes break off. Fruits are oval, maroon, with a lilac shade, with an average weight of 14-16 g, maximum - up to 25 g, densely cover the branches. The pulp is tender, juicy, greenish, sweet-sour, with a good or quite satisfactory taste. The fruits ripen in late August - early September, suitable for fresh consumption and for processing. The average long-term yield per bush in my conditions was 5-10 kg, in years with favorable wintering it reached 20 kg.
- Miner... Obtained at the experimental station of the University of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (Saskatoon). The variety has a dwarf growth of bushes and natural stanza, which saves the gardener from the work of preparing them for wintering. The shoots of the bush are thin, drooping, easy to bend if necessary, but more often this is not necessary. The leaves are small, elongated, lanceolate, gray-greenish in color. Fruits weighing 12-14 g, maximum - up to 20 g, regular, slightly elongated rounded shape, maroon color, ripen at the end of August. The pulp is juicy, maroon, quite satisfactory in taste. The fruits are good for fresh consumption and for processing (very beautiful compote and jam). Productivity from a bush in my conditions: average - 7 kg, maximum - 16 kg. It is believed that this variety can replace the Opatu variety.
- Beta... The origin is the same as that of the Miner variety. The variety has a dwarf growth and a compact crown shape. Small, shiny leaves distinguish Beta from other cherry plum varieties. In size, color and shape, the fruits are similar to those of the Opata variety, but somewhat smaller and, unlike the latter, have juice and pulp that are densely colored in burgundy color. The fruits ripen at the end of August, with a satisfactory taste. Productivity from a bush in my conditions: average - 6 kg, maximum - 18 kg.
- Hiawatha... Received from the State Research Center of the Northern Great Plains, North Dakota (Mandan). The variety also has a dwarf growth and a compact crown. Leaves and fruits are similar in size, color of skin and pulp, shape, taste and ripening time to the Miner variety. Productivity from a bush in my conditions: average - 6 kg, maximum - 16 kg.
Domestic varieties
- Dessert Far East... Received by N.N. Tikhonov on the Primorsky experimental field (Ussuriysk) from crossing the Opata variety with the Manchurskaya Krasavitsa plum variety. In terms of fruit size (average weight 16–20 g, maximum - 28 g), color (dark red with a bluish bloom) and especially for their excellent dessert taste, this is the best variety among the cherry-plum hybrids obtained to date, but, unfortunately , and the least winter hardy. In my garden, the bushes of this variety bore fruit only 3 times during 10 years of their cultivation. The variety is of great value for further breeding. On the basis of this variety, cherry plum varieties were obtained: Lyubitelsky, Yenisei, Samotsvet, Zvezdochka and plum varieties: Rassvet Ranny and Rassvet Pozdny.
- Amateur... This is a natural hybrid of Dessertnaya Far East with the Ussuri plum, obtained by V.S. Putov at the Chemal strongpoint of the Siberian Research Institute of Horticulture. Dwarf, growing in the form of a compact bush, winter-hardy enough in our conditions. Differs in high winter hardiness of fruit buds. Annual growth has a characteristic dark brown color.The leaves in color and shape resemble the leaves of Dessertnaya Far East. Fruits with an average weight of 10–12 g, maximum - 18–20 g, pale green, with a slight reddish blush, ripen in the third decade of August, dessert taste, with tender, juicy greenish pulp and very thin skin. Due to their thin skin, they very quickly lose their presentation and are not suitable for transportation. The average yield per bush in my conditions is 8 kg, the maximum is 20 kg. The cultivation of the variety is possible only in amateur gardens, which explains its name. This variety was preferred by my family and me over all the many other varieties of cherry plums and plums grown in the garden, because of the excellent taste of its fruits. Some seedlings of this variety inherited a very good taste of the fruit. At present, only one seedling has survived, which is a powerful, winter-hardy, 30-year-old bush 2.5–3 m high. Fruits are similar in size and color to those of the parent variety and have a good taste, but fruiting is very weak. Most likely, this seedling is a triploid.
- Chulym... Received by N.N. Tikhonov at the Krasnoyarsk Experimental Gardening Station (Krasnoyarsk). A dwarf plant with a semi-flat bush shape, quite winter-hardy in our conditions. Fruits are small (3-5 g, maximum - 7 g), rounded, almost black in color. The pulp is tender, sweet-sourish with a slight astringency of taste. Ripening in the second half of August, the fruits are suitable for preparing good quality compote and for fresh consumption. Productivity in our conditions is up to 12 kg per bush.
- Bee... The origin is the same as the Chulym varieties. A dwarf, round-shaped bush, quite winter-hardy in our conditions. Fruits are small (3-4 g, maximum 5 g), dark, almost black in color, with a bluish bloom. The pulp is tender, juicy, good taste. The fruits ripen in the second half of August, suitable for fresh consumption and processing into compotes. The yield in my conditions was up to 11 kg per bush. An interesting feature of the Pchelka and Chulym varieties is the resistance of their flowers to frost (up to -7 ° C).
My long experience in growing various American, Canadian and domestic high-quality varieties, but not winter-hardy enough for open cultivation in our climatic conditions, showed that with the annual bending of their branches to the ground before wintering and proper shelter, taking into account measures to protect them from snow cultivation becomes more reliable and fruiting more regular and stable than most plum varieties. This is true even for a fairly winter-hardy domestic cherry variety like Lyubitelsky.
Troubles with such a method of growing insufficiently winter-hardy high-quality varieties of cherry plums can arise only in years with harsh winters with little snow, when it is necessary to protect the branches of their bushes bent to the ground with heat-insulating materials. To exclude the complete death of cherry plum plants in years with such winters, it is required to grow only their own rooted plants.
"Ural gardener", No. 8-9, 1918
