Bird cherry for a long time grown in Russia. This tree is famous for its beautiful appearance and unique aroma during flowering.

Various parts of this plant have healing properties. Therefore, they are often used in traditional medicine, they are able to best influence the state of human health. The variety of Colorat (or it is also called Virginia Schubert) is highly popular and boasts not only the appearance, but also tasty fruits.

Description of bird cherry

Bird cherry varieties Colorate was bred in Sweden. Enjoys high popularity among Russian gardeners. This is due to the fact that its characteristics are at the highest level. The young tree quickly grows and develops. Fruit ripening occurs in late July - early August.

Colorate refers to the ornamental varieties with red flowers and green leaves is able to decorate any garden area with its appearance. This is not a shrub. This bird cherry looks especially good not on the shore of a lake or a pond. Due to the high winter hardiness it is possible to grow such a tree in any region of Russia. With proper care, the Colorat produces a high, annual crop. Also, the variety has partial self-fertility.

Characteristic view

The bird cherry of Colorate is a tall tree (5-6 meters) with a thick, ovoid crown. The bark and shoots of the tree are painted in an unusual purple color, with both light and dark shades.Young leaves are similar in color to the shoots, and at a more mature age they become bronze-green.

Inflorescences are usually collected in the brush. The flowers of bird cherry are very beautiful and fragrant, painted in light pink color. It is thanks to them that culture is used in landscape design to create various compositions.

The berries of the bird cherry of Colorate are edible, have a pleasant, tart taste, when mature, are painted black, the skin of the fruit is shiny, glossy.

Pros and cons of a bird cherry Colorate

• the bird cherry of Colorat is a rather unpretentious tree and requires much less maintenance than other cultures growing in the garden;
• beautiful appearance bird cherry and aroma during flowering is able to decorate any, even the most dreary terrain;
• the tree also tolerates frost and drought, which allows it to grow in any region;
• berries in this variety are edible and quite tasty, which allows them to be successfully used for various types of processing.

And now the cons:

• tree has low resistance to pest attacks and requires ongoing preventive measures;
• Colorata also takes up a lot of space, which makes it impossible to grow a tree in a small area.

Landing Colorate or Virginia Schubert

Planting time often depends on the location of the garden plot. In the southern and central region, the Moscow region is preferable to autumn planting, which is held in September.

Residents of the northern regions, the Urals and Siberia are recommended to carry out this procedure in late March-early April.

Choosing a place for bird cherry with red flowers

1. HPear tree is an unpretentious crop and can grow on almost any soil. But it is best to plant a tree on loamy soil with a neutral or slightly acid reaction;
2. If only acidic earth is present at the site, it must be preliminated with lime or dolomite flour;
3. You can not plant bird cherry in places with high groundwater levels;
4. Another prerequisite is the presence of sunlight, growing in the shade may not be the best way to affect the health of the tree.

Seedlings preparation

Before you plant a small tree, you must prepare it for this procedure and perform the following steps:

• seedlings with an open root system are allowed to soak for 8-10 hours in a solution with a growth stimulator. An example of such a drug can serve as root, epin, etc .;
• seedlings with a closed root system soaked for 20-30 minutes;
• also, before planting, check the condition of the seedling and remove all dry and damaged branches;
• the same procedure is carried out with the roots of the seedling, and in any case, it will be necessary to slightly trim each root.

Preparation of the landing pit

The pit should be prepared in advance to make the soil more fertile and nutritious. When spring planting a pit is prepared in the fall, and in the autumn in about 2-3 weeks. The depth and diameter of the hole should directly depend on the root system of the seedling. Most often, these figures are 40-50 centimeters.

During the preparation of the pit, the upper 20 centimeters of earth are mixed with:

• bucket of peat;
• bucket of humus or rotted manure;
• sand bucket;
• 80-100 grams of mineral fertilizer.

The resulting mixture is poured into the pit and left to infuse until planting.

Landing technology

Plant bird cherry on the following technology:

• the seedling is placed in a pit so that the root neck is 1-2 centimeters above the level of the soil;
• it is also necessary to gently straighten the roots;
• then the pit is covered with soil, while periodically shaking the seedling to avoid the formation of air pockets;
• at the end of the work, the trunk circle is carefully watered and mulched using compost or humus.

Tree care

Immediately after planting, it is necessary to cut the tree so that its height is 60-70 centimeters, and remove all lateral branches, leaving 4 of the most developed escape. This procedure has a beneficial effect on the formation of the crown of the bird cherry. Next year, in this way, it will be necessary to form the second tier, then the third, and so on.

Prunus colorate tolerates drought well, but timely application of moisture will help improve the health of the tree.

An obligatory procedure is regular loosening of the trunk circle and removal of weeds.

In order to avoid the development of diseases and the proliferation of bacteria in early spring (immediately after the snow has melted) and in late autumn (after leaf fall), sanitary pruning is carried out. During this procedure, dry, frozen or affected branches are removed. In adulthood, thinning pruning should be performed. You also need to carefully monitor the direction of growth of shoots and in time to trim the branches growing inside the crown.

Top dressing of a bird cherry ordinary

The first 2-3 years, the tree does not need to feed, it will be enough nutrients introduced during planting.

Then bird cherry fertilized 2 times a year. Compared with other cultures, the bird cherry does not require the mandatory introduction of abundant dressings. This feature is associated with a powerful and developed root system of the tree, which can independently exist and get the necessary nutrients. Experienced gardeners recommend the following:

1. In the spring, before flowering, complex mineral fertilizers are sprinkled in the root zone, then the bird cherry must be watered carefully so that the product dissolves and can properly affect the health of the tree;

2. In the autumn, humus or rotted manure is introduced under the digging. If the soil at the site is fertile, then such feeding can be done once every two years.

Diseases and pests

The bird cherry is a very beautiful tree, which also produces unusual, tart fruits and has many healing properties. The variety of Colorate is perfect for Russia, it is not whimsical to the soil, the climate, besides, does not require complex care.