Yellow cherries are not as common in gardens as traditional burgundy berries. However, yellow-fruited hybrids have enough admirers - such cherries are well suited for dietary meals. One of the most common varieties of this crop is Drogana yellow.
Content
The history of the origin of the variety Drogan yellow
The expansion of sweet cherries with amber-yellow large berries covered the orchards of Western Europe, Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, as well as southern regions of Russia: Astrakhan and Volgograd. All of these regions know the sweet cherry, named after the German breeder Drogan. In Russia, this crop has been cultivated since the middle of the last century, and it maintains a stable position among the best varieties of sweet cherry until now.
Delicate amber berries of yellow Drogan cherry - great dessert
Description of the variety
The tree is tall, with a wide spreading crown. The berries are even, their average weight ranges from 6 to 8 g. The pulp is dense, juicy. Due to the slight acidity, the taste is not cloying, but very pleasant. The berries are poorly transported.
The average weight of Drogan yellow cherries is from 6 to 8 g
The average period of active fruiting of Drogan yellow cherry is 25 years. The first berries appear 4-5 years after planting. This variety gives a stable yield - up to 80 kg of berries per one hundred square meters.
Advantages and disadvantages
Drogan yellow sweet cherry has clear advantages over other varieties:
- late flowering, due to which the generative buds are not damaged by recurrent frosts;
- matically ripening berries do not fall from the tree, which is very convenient for summer residents who do not have the opportunity to visit the site every day;
- drought-resistant;
- does not suffer from fungal diseases.
Problems that gardeners can face in rainy years are cracking of the bark of cherries and damage to the gray mold of berries. And of the pests, the cherry fly is especially annoying.
Planting cherries
For planting cherries, sunny areas are required. It is advisable to think in advance how to protect the trees from the cold wind. The plant prefers neutral or slightly acidic soils, therefore it is necessary to periodically lime the soil. At the same time, the plant's need for calcium is also replenished, which cherries, like the rest of the stone fruit crops, are necessary for normal development.
For planting cherries, you need to choose a place well-lit by the sun.
Drogan yellow cherry does not tolerate stagnant moisture, therefore, when planting, they avoid low-lying areas, ensure that they are at least 2 m away from groundwater. The best soils for cherries are light sandy or sandy loam. When planting, it must be remembered that the Drogan yellow variety is self-fertile. To get a permanent generous harvest of berries, there must be pollinators nearby. The best for this role are Gödelfingen, Napoleon Rose and Franz Joseph.
Nearby cherries also improve fruit quality, although they are not formally pollinators.
For good fruiting, Drogan yellow cherries need pollinators
Cherries are planted both in the spring (before the buds swell) and in the fall (a month before the onset of cold weather).To do this, you need to dig planting holes at a distance of 4–5 m from each other. The crown of Drogan's cherry is yellow spreading, and the roots, as a rule, are located in an area corresponding to the projection of the crown.
For planting cherries:
- Dig a hole 80x80x70 cm in size.
- The top fertile layer is separated and mixed with compost or humus in equal proportions.
- Lime gravel is poured at the bottom of the planting pit to ensure drainage.
- A bag of dolomite flour is added to the gravel layer (to reduce the acidity of the environment and increase the calcium content in the soil).
- The fertile mixture is poured into a mound. A peg is fixed on it, and a seedling is placed next to it, after which the roots are straightened, trying not to leave voids, the soil is covered.
- The soil is compacted around the tree, forming an irrigation hole. At the same time, they make sure that the root collar rises slightly above the soil level.
- Tie the seedling to a peg.
- Water abundantly until no more water is absorbed.
- The trunk circle is mulched with dry peat or rotted sawdust.
- The primary pruning of the seedling is carried out (at a height of 60 cm), lubricating the cut with garden pitch.
Video: planting cherries
Features of caring for cherries of the Drogan yellow variety
Proper care is the key to a healthy tree and a good harvest.
- It is preferable to arrange the crown in tiers, which will provide it with better lighting and nutrition. In the early years, more intensive pruning is carried out in order to form the skeleton of the tree. If the seedling was cut off during planting, then over the summer it already gives several strong shoots. In the spring of the second year, powerful lateral shoots are cut in half at the outer bud. In the future, they maintain the shape of the crown. Weak shoots, branches directed vertically, crossing and thickening the crown are removed.
The formation of a sparse-tiered crown in a tree has a beneficial effect on the harvest
- Planting cherries from the harmful effects of frost is protected by whitewashing the trunks and nearby branches. Whitewashing is carried out both in autumn and early spring.
Whitewash will protect the stem and branches from rodents, pests, sunburn
- To protect against cherry flies, do not sow the spaces between the cherry and cherry plantings with lawn grass. It is necessary to keep the near-trunk circle free of weeds.
Cherry fly prevention - clean trunk circle
- To avoid damage by gray fruit rot, it is recommended to take preventive measures using copper preparations. If you treat cherries with Bordeaux liquid before flowering, and repeat the treatment after harvesting, you can hope that the plants will be protected. Destruction of anthills around cherries will eliminate possible aphid infestation.
Processing cherries with Bordeaux liquid will save the tree from the spread of gray rot
- Despite the fact that the Drogan yellow cherry variety is drought-resistant, so that the berries that have tied up do not fall off, the cherries are watered abundantly. For all stone fruits, watering is important during flowering, the formation of the ovary, immediately after harvest and in the fall, three to four weeks before the expected frost.
Sweet cherry especially needs water during flowering, ovary formation, after harvest
- To save ripe berries from feathered thieves, gardeners are advised to cover the crown with a net.
The most effective way to scare away birds is a tree net
Reviews
Drogana yellow was with us, very productive, and most importantly - birds do not peck it so, apparently, it is difficult to see, unlike the black one, which is pecked, barely begins to blush.
Drogana yellow is self-fertile, late - in our zone begins to bear fruit in late June - early July. For pollination, another variety with the same flowering time is needed, for example, Franz Joseph. However, you don't have to worry about the flowering period - all cherries, early, middle and late, bloom almost at the same time, and even the earliest Valery Chkalov and Aprilka can be pollinators for Drogana.
For six years I was waiting for a normal (or at least some) harvest from her. Then Mazur P.A. “Gladdened” that she would begin to bear fruit only from the eighth year of her life. During these 6 years, the bark has come to a terrible state. Moniliosis grabbed 2 times. Saved, fought. In short, he waved his hand and uprooted it.
Nowhere did I find a description of an interesting feature of Drogana yellow: if during the flowering period there is unfavorable weather (rain, cold, strong wind), then JJ, unlike other varieties, is tied very well, and specifically - about 90% of berries are obtained from 100% of flowers , which is not bad for cherries without bees. I suspect that this variety is partially self-fertile.
In horticulture, as well as in fashion, they develop modern trends, create ultra-fashionable varieties and keep the classics. Drogan's yellow cherry belongs to the latter: reliable, bright and tasty.
