Many gardeners, both beginners and already experienced, are often interested in the question: can a cherry be a pollinator for a cherry and vice versa. First of all, such concern is associated with the fact that very often the tree blooms profusely, and the harvest is very small or absent at all.
The thing is that cherry is a tree that needs "company", that is, a pollinator from which bees and insects will carry pollen to form ovaries.
Useful and harmful properties
Like any natural fruit, both products are beneficial in their composition. In addition, the calorie content of foods is about the same. However, in some aspects, they affect the human body in different ways.
Did you know? A hybrid of cherry and cherry is called a duke.
Cherries
Cherry glycemic index - 22... This is a dietary product, because it contains 2 times less sugar than cherries. Cherries are preferred for weight loss. Cherries should be consumed for insomnia and depression.
This product normalizes hormonal balance and improves well-being. However, the product can be harmful. It should not be used for allergies, ulcers and hyperacid gastritis in acute form.
Sweet cherries
Cherries contain more sugar, so they are used with caution when losing weight. At the same time, the product is useful for iron deficiency in the body. Also, daily consumption of a handful of fresh berries helps to cure skin diseases.
It is necessary to refuse the product in case of an allergic reaction, exacerbation of stomach ulcers and gastritis with high acidity.
Leningrad black
This variety has a very high yield and average winter hardiness. As you can already judge by the name, such cherries will feel best in the Leningrad region. Planting and caring for this variety is usually carried out according to standard technology, which will be discussed in detail below.
The advantages of this variety, in addition to unpretentiousness, also include partial self-fertility. Early ripening berries with a very sweet tender juicy pulp are also what distinguishes the Leningrad black cherry. Planting and caring for this variety - the operations, although not too complicated, are quite responsible. In any case, the plants will need to get quite a lot of water. The fruits of this variety are not only juicy, but also very large. Individual berries can reach a weight of 12 g. The pulp of the Leningrad black fruit has a deep burgundy color.
What is the difference between cherries and sweet cherries
The fruits of these trees are very similar in appearance, but differ in many ways. There are differences in appearance, taste, composition, origin and ripening time of the crop.
Did you know? In the Republic of Belarus, in the city of Glubokoe, the Cherry Festival is held annually. In 2013, a monument was erected here in honor of the berry.
Fruit differences
The fruits of the two plants are very similar. Nevertheless, there are some differences between them.
| Differences | Cherry | Sweet cherry |
| The form | spherical | rounded, elongated, or heart-shaped |
| Weight of one fruit | 5-10 g | 15-20 g |
| Diameter | up to 1 cm | up to 2.5 cm |
| Pulp | juicy | dense |
Color and smell
The color of cherry fruits ranges from bright red to almost black.Cherry color can be light yellow, yellow, light red, red or burgundy. Cherry scent is distinguished by tart sour notes. Sweet cherry aroma.
Taste differences
The fruits are easy to distinguish by their taste. Cherry is sour, with a light sweet note. People who do not like sour foods cannot eat a berry without a sweetener. Cherries are mostly sweet, with practically no sourness.
Chemical composition and nutritional value
The nutritional value of unprocessed berries is about the same. The table shows data for comparing KBZhU and the amount of water in the composition per 100 g of the product.
| The nutritional value | Cherry | Sweet cherry |
| Protein | 0.8 g | 1.1 g |
| Fats | 0.2 g | 0.4 g |
| Carbohydrates | 10.6 g | 10.6 g |
| Water | 84.4 g | 85,7 g |
| Calorie content | 52 kcal | 52 kcal |
| Cherries also contain: | Useful substances contained in cherries: |
| vitamins A, B1, B5, B9, C, E; | vitamins A, B1, B2, C, E; |
| calcium; | calcium; |
| iron; | iron; |
| magnesium; | magnesium; |
| phosphorus; | phosphorus; |
| potassium; | potassium; |
| sodium; | sodium. |
| copper. |
Applications
Both types are used primarily in cooking. Their fruits and leaves are also used in folk medicine and home cosmetology.
Origin and timing of ripening
Both plants belong to the Plum genus. By taxonomic division, cherry is a subgenus. Sweet cherry is also called Bird cherry and is considered one of the types of Plum. Botanists believe that sweet cherry is the oldest form of cherry. In the 9th century BC. e. this fruit tree was grown by the ancient inhabitants of modern Switzerland, Denmark and Asia Minor.
Sweet cherry gives its first fruits in the first decade of June.
Cherries were popular in ancient Assyria. According to Herodotus, in the VII-V centuries BC. e. syrup was most often prepared from the fruits of this tree. I brought the berry to Europe from Asia Minor in the 1st century. BC e. Lucullus, ancient Roman general. Their ripening dates differ.
Cherries ripen by the end of June.
Botanical description
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| Botanical illustration from the book by K. A. M. Lindman "Bilder ur Nordens Flora », 1917—1926 | ||||||||||
Sweet cherry is a woody plant belonging to the trees of the first size. It is characterized by rapid growth, especially at a young age. The crown is ovoid, however, depending on the growth conditions, its shape can change from ovoid to conical. A characteristic feature of sweet cherry is the presence of two types of shoots: brachyblasts and auxiblasts. The bark at a young age is brown, reddish or silvery in color, with numerous stripes, for a long time covered with brown lenticels, and sometimes it can peel off with transverse thin films.
The root system is predominantly horizontal, but under favorable conditions, well-branched vertical roots can also form. The taproot is formed only during the first - second years of life, and over time it branches out.
Three types of buds are characteristic of sweet cherries: generative, vegetative and mixed, which are respectively located on fruit and growth shoots.
Leaves are short-pointed, obovate, elongated-ovate or elliptical, serrate, slightly wrinkled. Petioles with two glands at the base of the plate, up to 16 cm long.
The flowers are bisexual, white, as a rule, appear on the shoots shortly before the leaves bloom, forming a few-flowered, almost sessile umbrellas. There are five sepals and petals, many stamens, one pistil.
The fruits are real drupes, with a fleshy, juicy pericarp, oval, spherical or heart-shaped in shape, and from light yellow (almost white) to dark red (almost black) in color, wild fruits are smaller than cultural ones, up to 2 cm in diameter. The stone is spherical or slightly elongated, with a smooth surface. The seeds are composed of the rind, embryo and endosperm. The color of the peel is yellowish-brown, sometimes with a dark red tint.
Cherry is characterized by several methods of reproduction (seed, stump and root suckers), but under natural conditions seed reproduction predominates.
It differs from cherry in a tall, straight stem, with a rather light bark, whorled branches, color (light green), shape (oval, long, strongly serrated) of its hanging leaves, as well as a rather limited area of distribution, depending on the large requirements for heat. Sweet cherry is a plant of the temperate climate of southern Europe.
Spheres of use of cherries and sweet cherries
Most often, berries are used in cooking. Also, both products are used for the preparation of cosmetics and folk medicine.
In cosmetology
Cosmetologists advise preparing face masks and hair rinses from the fruits and leaves of cherries.
Important! Apply a drop to the bend of your elbow before use. If the slightest signs of an allergic reaction appear on the skin, it should not be used.
Acne mask
To prepare the mask, combine cherry juice and potato starch. The product should have the consistency of thick sour cream. Apply the mask to cleansed skin for 15 minutes.
Mask for the skin around the eyes
Remove the pits and skin from the fruit. Chop the pulp until smooth. Add an equal amount of sour cream, stir. Apply the product to the skin around the eyes for 10-15 minutes.
Video: Cherry Nourishing Mask
Hair rinse
Pour 0.5 liters of water over a handful of cherry leaves. Insist the remedy for half an hour. Rinse your hair with the resulting broth after washing.
Sweet cherry has a beneficial effect on the skin of the face. Effective masks can be made from berries at home. Cosmetologists offer the following three recipes.
Mask for oily skin
Peel and seed fruits. Grind the pulp to a pulp and mix in equal parts with sour cream. Apply to face, avoiding the eye area. The mask should be washed off 15 minutes after application.
Also learn about the uses of cherry leaves.
Mask for dry skin
For this type of mask, yellow-fruited varieties are suitable. Remove the seeds from the berries, grind the pulp until smooth. Add olive oil in equal proportions and stir. Apply the resulting mixture to your face for 15 minutes. After the mask, it is recommended to moisturize the skin with a cream.
Facial moisturizing mask
It is better to use dark colored fruits in this recipe. Peel the berries and squeeze the juice out of the pulp. 2 tbsp. l. juice, mix with 2 tbsp. l. peach oil and 1 tbsp. l. liquid honey. Insist the product under a closed lid for 48 hours. The mask should be applied to the face for 10-15 minutes.
Video: Cherry mask
In medicine
The fruit of the cherry tree is widely used by naturopaths for the preparation of medicines.
The berry can help with the following diseases:
- hepatitis;
- impotence;
- diseases of the genitourinary system;
- profuse bleeding, including during critical days.
Important! For the treatment of any disease, berries are used as an auxiliary therapy. The main drug treatment is prescribed by a doctor.
Cherries are advised to be used for other diseases.
Among them:
- diarrhea;
- constipation;
- hypertension;
- joint pain;
- anemia.
Both types of berries are undoubtedly beneficial for the digestion of a healthy person. During the season, nutritionists strongly recommend including them in your diet.
In cooking
In cooking, the fruits of both trees are used in about the same way.
So, cherries and cherries are used for cooking:
- juices;
- compotes;
- jelly;
- jam;
- dried fruits;
- conservation for the winter;
- desserts;
- dumplings;
- wine.
Read more about the features of using cherry jam.
For long-term storage, berries are frozen... The frozen product does not lose its original characteristic taste, therefore, after defrosting, it can be used in most of the above variations.
Video: Cherry smoothie dessert with frozen cherries
Planting seedlings
Planting cherries is similar to planting other fruit crops. The best time for this is early spring. If you plant the Miracle cherry in the fall, there is a possibility of freezing of the buds in winter, especially in the middle lane. Gardeners prepare seedlings in advance. The plant should be resilient and flexible, healthy in appearance. Stains and cracks on seedlings, traces of rot or pubescence are unacceptable. All this speaks of improper storage of planting material or disease. Gardeners recommend purchasing seedlings only in proven places.
Planting instructions
The landing site must be warm. They dig up the earth in the fall, clean it of grass and leaves, add compost or manure for the winter. To improve the condition of the soil, clean sand or sawdust is added to the soil. Further landing instructions:
- Pits 60 cm deep and 50 cm in diameter are made in the ground.A minimum distance of 5 m is left between the holes.
- A seedling is dropped into the hole, sprinkled with earth, a wooden peg is placed next to it.
- A seedling is tied to a peg, the near-stem circle is watered abundantly with water at room temperature.
- The seedling is mulched with sand, hay, sawdust or leaves.
Cooking recommendations
Pay attention to the advice of culinary specialists, which will not be superfluous when processing berry raw materials:
- Do not use fruit that is damaged, such as rot. It is safer to throw away the product than to cut out the damaged area.
- Cherries are often sprinkled with juice when the seed is taken out of them. To avoid an unpleasant situation, try removing the bone from a whole fruit using a boiler tube.
Cherries and sweet cherries have a lot in common, but the difference between them is quite large. Knowing about the characteristics of berries, you will always figure out how best to use them and in what areas to use them.
Reviews of gardeners about Duke Miracle cherry
Reviews about Miracle Cherry are both positive and negative.
Tamara Konstantinovna, Krasnodar Territory: “The miracle cherry is truly a miracle! I have never met such large and tasty fruits. I have been harvesting for the fourth year in a row, I am very happy. The plant does not cause trouble, does not get sick. Last year I collected 12 kg of fruits from the tree. Recomend for everybody".
Pavel, Moscow region: “The miracle cherry has been growing on my site for a long time. The harvest is different every year, the maximum figure was 8 kg. I like the taste, pleasant, cherry-cherry. I eat cherries only fresh, as they are not suitable for storage and transportation. Occasionally the plant gets sick with coccomycosis, especially during the times of frequent rains.
