Everything new is well forgotten old. This applies not only to inventions, but also to varieties of fruit-bearing trees. A hundred years ago, cherry orchards could be found at every step. Now their number is decreasing. But in the gardens and in personal plots, slender beauties with sweet red berries always flaunt. Breeders are constantly inventing new hybrids characterized by frost resistance and abundant fruiting. Cherry Shpanka belongs to the old, time-tested varieties. There are different types of this variety, adapted for cultivation in different regions of the country.
Historical reference
The Shpanka variety was first mentioned 200 years ago. He combined the qualities of several plants growing in different regions. The first trees of this type appeared in the gardens of Ukraine. They appeared due to the natural cross-pollination of cherries and cherries.
Sprouts began to gain popularity in the southern regions. In a short time, the variety began to be cultivated in Moldova and the Krasnodar Territory. Currently, trees can be found in regions with a harsh climate: in the Moscow region, in Siberia, in the Urals. This relocation was made possible thanks to the improvement of the hybrid. He acquired frost resistance and endurance.
Find a spot on your plot for a hybrid Spunk cherry
If you are not trying to collect a decent harvest of cherries as soon as possible, you should try growing the Shpanka cherry variety in the garden. This cherry appeared thanks to Ukrainian folk selection as a result of crossing cherries and cherries, therefore, in the description of the Shpanka cherry variety and in the photo, there are common signs of both. Most often, Shpanku can be found in Ukrainian gardens, but the variety has also gained recognition in Russia and Moldova.
Characteristics of the variety
Due to the fact that the species has existed for several centuries and has repeatedly undergone breeding changes, it is called a "folk variety". The tree can be up to 6 meters high. It has a round, not very thickened crown.
Spanka belongs to the category of dukes, as it is a hybrid of cherry and sweet cherry. It retains the specific distinctive features of these plants.
The variety does not belong to the category of early-growing. The first crop appears only 5-6 years after planting. If you make a stock, then the berries will be tied by the 3rd year of cultivation. The bark is dark brown on old branches and light on young ones. The outgrowths are located at right angles from the trunk. They often break off. The reason may be: a bountiful harvest, inaccurate berry picking, or strong winds.
The plant has large dark green leaves with a pink stem. They are pointed to the edge, and a slight bloom is noticeable along the edge. In the spring, the tree is covered with large white flowers, collected in inflorescences. In the fall, they grow into large, juicy, maroon-colored berries. Their skin is thin, but elastic, and the flesh is firm and sweet.
Since the Shpanka cherry variety comes from one of the types of cherries, it bears fruit in the form of a bunch. Berries appear on annual shoots. Breeders are constantly improving the variety. Now there are trees that can easily withstand the harsh climatic conditions. Shpanka does not grow only in the Far North.
The yield of the plant rises every year.It reaches a special bloom and a record number of berries by the age of fifteen.
Plant endurance
Regardless of the Shpanki variety, it tolerates drought well and is not afraid of a prolonged lack of moisture. There are differences between species. Some plants can survive frost of forty degrees, while others are able to grow and develop only in the southern regions. Shpanka is not afraid of pests and diseases that other plant varieties are susceptible to. To avoid problems, you can treat the trees for preventive purposes.
From flowering to harvest
The plant has below average self-fertility, so it is recommended to plant pollinators nearby. For this role, varieties such as: Resistant or Griot Ukrainian are suitable. Cherries begin to bloom and bear fruit early, but this depends not only on the variety, but also on the climate. In the southern regions, the trees are covered with inflorescences and bear fruit at the end of June. In the middle lane, the berries ripen in the last days of July. Harvesting must be carried out in large quantities, as soon as the fruits reach ripeness, otherwise they will fall off.
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Yield
The first berries begin to appear on young trees 5-7 years after planting. One plant is capable of producing 35-50 kilograms of fruit. The yield depends on the variety and age of the tree. A plant that has reached 15-18 years old is capable of producing about 60 kilograms of berries per season.
What are cherry fruits used for?
Spanking is sweet enough to enjoy fresh. Also, the berries are suitable for canning. They make jams, compotes, jams and even homemade wines. Due to their weak skin, cherries cannot be transported over long distances.
During processing, it is necessary to take into account that a large amount of hydrocyanic acid is concentrated in the cherry pits. It is recommended to remove them before preparing winter blanks.
Growing features
Choosing a place and time of boarding
The planting time of the tree depends on the growing area. In the south, it is usually planted in September or October. Until the winter period, the plant has time to adapt to new conditions. In regions with moderate weather, planting is done in the spring, in particular in April or May. The seedling must be given more time for rooting and collection of nutrients before winter. For a variety, a site is selected in such a way that in the north the tree is hidden behind a fence, part of a building or a special man-made structure. This is necessary to protect against strong drafts. In winter, this design will not allow the wind to blow off the snow, which protects the root system located at the surface of the earth from freezing. When constructing a structure, keep in mind that it should not block light and heat. Spanke needs a light and nutritious soil. When grown in clayey soil, prepare for gum flow and bark cracking. Cherries do not like acidic soils, preferring neutral acidity. With the help of dolomite flour and lime, you can make the soil alkaline and achieve the desired indicator. If underground sources approach the water surface closer than one and a half to two meters, there is a possibility of decay of the root system. If it is not possible to find another place in the garden, make a hill in which to plant the cherry. A distance of four meters is left between the trees, if you create a cherry orchard, then a distance of four and a half to five meters is required. To save space, a number of trees are staggered. If the soil is too poor in nutrients, burns and inclusions resembling resin form on the trunk and branches - it seems that the tree is "crying".
Planting process
First, they dig a hole and add the necessary fertilizing to it. If Shpanku is planted in the spring, then the hole is prepared in the fall, and if, on the contrary, it is planned to be placed in the ground in the fall, then the hole is prepared in two to three weeks.The cherry root system does not penetrate to great depths, so it is enough to dig a hole fifty centimeters deep and ninety to one hundred in diameter. Ten to fifteen liters of compost or manure, one hundred grams of double superphosphate and ninety grams of potassium nitrate are added to the soil taken out of the pit.
The mixture is poured back into the well, making a mound, which is then covered with a material that does not allow moisture to pass through. Planting Shpanki is carried out in the same way as planting any other fruit crops. Remove dry or rotten parts of the seedling root system two days before planting. Leave the roots in the root stimulator for twenty hours. A little potassium permanganate can be added to the solution. Three hours before planting, place the roots in a mixture of cow dung and powdered clay.
Pour twenty liters of water into the planting hole and wait until all the liquid is absorbed. Place a peg-shaped support at the bottom of the hole, which will be thirty centimeters higher than the tree. Lower the seedling into the hole and spread the roots. Make sure that the peg is in the south of the plant. Gradually fill the hole with soil, constantly checking the location of the root collar. At the end, it should rise five centimeters above ground level.
Gently compact the soil. At a distance of thirty centimeters from the tree, make a water groove where you pour twenty liters of water. If the soil has settled, top it up. At the final stage, mulch the ground around the trunk with grass, peat or humus and cut the main shoot to a third of the height. Plant Shpanku away from apple trees and choose a place carefully, since cherries do not tolerate transplants.
Pollinators
Spanko is considered a self-fertile variety, but the level of self-pollination reaches only five to ten percent. For this reason, it is still necessary to plant pollinating trees next to it - cherries or cherries. For this purpose, cherry varieties are suitable: Griot Ostgeimsky, Griot Ukrainian, Steady, Brunetka, Flame, Shokoladnitsa, Lyubskaya.
Care
Spanka is a relatively unpretentious variety with which the gardener has no problems. However, some features must be observed. The root system of the tree is close to the surface, so it especially needs top dressing, loosening and watering. If these measures are not given attention, the plant will quickly wither. Loosening is necessary for cherries monthly. important Cherry tree varieties withstand cold weather better and withstand attacks by bacteria and parasites than shrubs.
Watering
Watering is organized four times during the whole season. Each watering should moisten the soil by forty centimeters. To achieve the goal, grooves are made thirty centimeters deep around the tree. For efficiency of watering, another groove ten centimeters deep is dug at a distance of fifty centimeters from the tree. Important. Fruits ripened during a period of severe drought lose their taste and aroma, becoming dry.
You can pour water into the trunk circle, first removing the top ten centimeters of soil. After the procedure, the earth is returned to its place. After watering, the trunk circle is mulched with peat or sawdust. In the fall, Shpanku is watered before the onset of winter, making it possible to store water.
How to water Spanku cherries
Cherry, which is already well-rooted, does not require regular watering. In general, it refers to drought-resistant crops. But with timely watering, the yield and quality of berries increases.
1st watering: completion of flowering;
2nd watering: the beginning of the formation of berries;
3rd watering: completion of harvesting;
4th watering: September-early October.
In dry summer, the 5th watering can be carried out.
Water consumption rate: For a young cherry tree, 15-20 liters are enough for watering.For adults, the rate of one watering increases and is 30-40 liters.
Top dressing
There is no need to fertilize the plant during the first season. During this period, the cherries have enough nutrients that were introduced into the hole during planting. From next year, fertilize seasonally. Trees up to four years old require nitrogen fertilization to help develop green mass.
Table: when to apply top dressing
| Application time | Fertilizer type |
| mid april | ammonium sulfate, urea |
| flowering period | infusion of fresh manure, chicken droppings |
| mid June | complex fertilizer for cherries or other stone fruit crops |
| fall | superphosphate and potassium nitrate |
Pruning
Most often, fruits appear on bouquet branches and shoots one year old, therefore, during pruning, they are left unchanged. Skeletal branches are shortened. In the spring, damaged branches are removed and the crown is given the desired shape. In the fall, sanitary pruning is necessary to remove dead, dried and clogging shoots. The procedure is carried out with a sharp, sterile object. Places of cuts are treated with copper sulfate and garden varnish.
Preparing for winter
In winter, rodents and lagomorphs like to feast on the bark of Shpanki. The tree needs to be secured. Before the first branching, the trunk is whitewashed. The resulting crust cannot be gnawed by hares and mice. You can wrap the trunk with burlap and coniferous branches.
Before winter, be sure to clean the trunk circle, removing leaves, broken branches, fallen berries and weeds. The earth is well loosened and mulched with a layer of ten centimeters. Be sure to carry out abundant watering if a dry autumn stood out. When snow falls, they form a good snowdrift around the tree.
Breeding varieties
The Shpanka variety is propagated by seedlings of the coppice type or by grafting. Plants are planted with a strong and developed root system. Cherries can even be grown from seeds, but this method is not common among experienced gardeners.
Varieties of varieties
There are a large number of varieties of Shpanki, bred in a selective way. Before making a choice, you need to understand the characteristics. The main attention should be paid to frost resistance and yield. Description of Shpunk cherry and its varieties allows you to make the right choice.
| Name | Characteristics |
| Shpanka Bryanskaya | This species begins to bear its first fruits 6 years after planting. The trees grow tall and have a rounded crown. The berries reach four grams. The harvest can begin as early as early July. With proper care, gardeners get up to 30 kilograms of berries from one tree. The taste of the fruit is bright and rich with a slight sourness. The berries are red. They are ideal for winter harvesting and short distance transport. The variety is frost-resistant and is not afraid of diseases that the species is susceptible to. |
| Early | Trees reach heights of up to four meters. The first crop is harvested 5 years after planting. The fruits reach full maturity at the end of June. The berry reaches 5 grams each. From an adult tree in a season, you can collect 40-50 kilograms of fruit. Average frost resistance, therefore, the variety is widespread in Moldova and in the south of Ukraine. The fruits tolerate transportation well. |
| Large | This variety belongs to the category of dessert. Large berries reach 6 grams. The pulp is firm and sweet. The berries are not suitable for transportation. They can be eaten fresh or canned. |
| Kursk | A frost-resistant variety that easily tolerates temperatures as low as -40. The fruits are lightweight, 2 to 4 grams. They are bright red with a sweet taste. The usual sourness is completely absent in the berries. |
| Shimskaya | The tree reaches four meters in height. The first crop can be harvested after 4 years. The berries have a deep burgundy color and pink flesh.They are quite large, up to 5 grams. The fruits are sweet and sour with a fresh taste. The tree has a high frost resistance, so it takes root and bears fruit in the northern regions. It produces berries up to 25 years of age. Each tree is capable of producing 50 kg of fruit. |
| Donetsk | Already 3 years after planting, Donetsk Shpanka begins to bear fruit. She is not afraid of frost and drought. The berries reach 10-12 grams and have a dark scarlet color. The annual harvest can reach 50 kilograms from each tree. The berries grow in bunches. They have a slight sourness. |
| Dwarf | The height of dwarf trees is only 2 meters. They can withstand frosts of thirty degrees. The plant produces large scarlet berries. With proper care, up to 35 kilograms of fruit can be harvested from each tree. The plant has found distribution in central Russia. |
| Krasnokutskaya | Most often, Shpanka Krasnokutskaya can be found in the North Caucasus. The plant begins to bear fruit only 7 years after planting. The berries reach a weight of 4 grams. They cannot be transported, they must be immediately recycled. |
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
The variety description includes both positive and negative characteristics. For those who decide to start cultivating cherries, you need to know exactly what to expect from the plant.
The positive qualities include:
- not afraid of prolonged lack of moisture;
- berries have a pleasant sweet taste with a slight sourness;
- consistently high yield;
- resistance to specific diseases;
- early ripening of berries;
- long fruiting period, up to 25 years.
Spunk has a number of minor drawbacks. Trees begin to bear fruit only after 6-7 years. In the case of stock, the harvest can be obtained in 2-3 years. Berries are not suitable for long-term transportation. They must be recycled immediately after removal. The tree is very fragile, and branches can break from the severity of the fruit, strong wind, or careless collection of berries.
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Watering
When cherries are sufficiently rooted, there is no need to water them, they can be safely attributed to drought-resistant crops. However, timely watering will increase the yield and quality of the berries. Watering must be carried out according to the following scheme:
- the first watering is done after flowering is complete;
- the second at the beginning of the formation of berries;
- the third after the completion of the harvest;
- make the last watering in late September or early October.
Water consumption for 1 irrigation should not exceed 20 liters of water, but it makes no sense to make less than 15 liters. At the same time, a mature tree requires from 30 to 40 liters for one irrigation.
How to plant correctly
In order for a tree to grow strong and healthy, several factors must be taken into account at once: lighting, saturation of the soil mixture and proximity to other plants. The timing of planting and the correct care are also of great importance.
Features of the choice of planting material
The plant must be chosen healthy, without visible damage and with a developed root system. One or two year old seedlings are best suited for planting. In order for the tree to take root well, it must be placed in cold water for several hours. The growth stimulator added to it will strengthen the roots and give them a good start.
Cherry care
It is recommended to water the cherry abundantly during flowering. If there is not enough rainfall in the region, then at least 4-5 buckets of water must be poured under the root. It must be defended and placed in the sun to warm up.
The tree needs feeding. The best time for this is early spring, when the snow has just melted. Cherries are great organic. It is recommended to water it with a solution of water and chicken droppings or mullein. This mixture will allow the plant to give green mass and fortify. Before and after flowering, you also need to water the trees with a potassium-phosphorus mixture.
Cherries need to be specially prepared for winter.It is huddled, watered heavily, and then the soil in the root zone is abundantly mulched with humus. In winter, trees are threatened by rodents. So that they do not harm the plant, the trunks must be wrapped with roofing material or covered with spruce branches at ground level. Also, a mesh is often used for protection. Many gardeners set traps or leave poisonous substances behind.
In the spring and autumn, it is imperative to do pruning, ridding the trees of dry, broken or damaged branches.
How to protect a plant from diseases and pests
Spanka is quite resistant and is not afraid of diseases that other cherry varieties are susceptible to. But so that problems do not arise, it is necessary to carry out prevention at the first signs of disease. To do this, you need to remove the fallen leaves in the fall and burn them so that the infection does not spread. Damaged or infected shoots are pruned. Before the sap begins to move in the spring and after the leaves fall in the fall, trees need to be treated with fungicides.
Most often, cherries are subject to several major diseases:
- If dark spots begin to appear on the berries and then spread, then they are damaged by fruit rot. The fungicide Topaz can help with this disease.
- The appearance of yellow spots on the leaves is an indicator of scab. From this disease, the berries do not develop and fall green. Spraying with Bordeaux liquid will help get rid of the infection.
- Anthracnose appears as multiple white spots on the fruit that darken quickly. The tree needs to be treated with Poliram fungicide.
- If the leaves twisted and began to fall off, then the plant was struck by a black aphid. We urgently need to process it with Fitoverm.
- Holes in the fruit and damage to the pulp indicate the presence of a cherry fly. Will help from this pest "Kemifos".
- Spoiled buds, flowers and leaves are the work of the weevil. The beetle must be shaken off the branches and collected, and the tree must be sprayed with "Fufanon".
Plants should be regularly examined for diseases and pests in order to take adequate measures in time. Feedback from experienced gardeners suggests that preventive spraying avoids problems and preserves the harvest.
The benefits and harms of fruits
Not every cherry can be called healing, but Shpanka is distinguished by these qualities. It contains a large amount of useful vitamins and minerals. Spanka serves for rejuvenation, thanks to its ability to improve blood circulation and strengthen the capillaries.
It is recommended to introduce cherries into the diet for exacerbation of bronchitis and problems with the cardiovascular system. Berries are low in calories, so they are suitable for diets. A contraindication to the use of cherries can only be personal intolerance or the presence of diathesis in a child. The benefits and harms of this product are incomparable. It is highly fortified, tasty and differs in healing properties from representatives of a similar species.
It is not recommended to cook compotes and preserves with seeds. They must be cleaned and thrown away so as not to harm the heart.
Shpanka is stored in the refrigerator for about a week. It must be dry. Washed berries spoil much faster. Spanking can be dried and frozen for the winter. It makes excellent compotes and jams. You can defrost berries only before use. It is suitable for desserts, baking and fresh consumption.
Why Shpanka is useful
Shpanki berries contain fructose, pectin, tannins, almost all vitamins, and a number of trace elements. Spanky is better than a pill! Raises the tone of small blood vessels, helps the heart muscle, slows down the aging of the whole body, is used in diets and in the treatment of chronic bronchial diseases.
This berry is the tastiest and healthiest in its raw form.... In addition, cherries are dried, jams, compotes, preserves are made, wine and liqueurs are made.Cherries are frozen, canned in their own juice. For many housewives, this is a favorite filling for dough products. And cherry juice in winter is just a sip of summer. However, preserving, one should not forget that the bone contains poison - hydrocyanic acid.
The best treat in winter
Testimonials
Alexander, Novgorod Oblast Shpanka Shimskaya has been growing on our site for a long time. Cherry is frost-resistant, grows better and bears fruit on loamy soils. Fruits are large, red, beautiful-looking, with good taste. What is also important - the variety is early ripe, the berries ripen in early July.
Alena, Smolensk Usually there are a lot of Shpanki, it is early, light, it tastes sour to us, especially if it grows in the shade, in rainy weather it is watery, rots on the tree. You won't eat a lot of it, but for the blanks - just right, I cook compotes and jam from it.
Eugene, Kursk I like Shpanka for its unpretentiousness and resistance to disease. The first harvest had to wait a long time - 6 years, but it bears fruit every year, the berries ripen very early - already at the end of June.
Harvesting
Cherry Prima
In the Shpanka variety, cherries ripen at the end of June.
Important! The main enemy of the crop is birds. Gardeners are advised to protect the berries from them with a net so that damage to the fruit does not take on a huge scale. A tree is covered or a frame is first placed, a mesh is pulled over it.
You need to pick berries with a stalk on clear sunny days, so it will last longer. At room temperature, dry intact fruits are stored for no more than a day, in the refrigerator - up to 2 weeks. Ripe fruits crumble, so you need to collect them every day.
