Sweet cherry Franz Joseph

Sweet cherry Franz Joseph really has such an aristocratic and high name for a reason. It really stands out among other cherries and many professionals recommend it to absolutely everyone who wants to get a tasty and high-quality harvest.

Variety history

In fact, the true history of the Franz Joseph cherry variety is completely unknown. Records about it have not reached us, since the age of this cherry is already quite old, and the information could well be lost in the centuries.

Nevertheless, historians suggest, based on the name of the sweet cherry - Franz Joseph - they suggest that the variety could be bred for or in honor of the Austrian emperor who has the same name.

Presumably, the creator of the variety was the famous breeder Joseph-Eduard Prokhe at that time, who devoted many years of his life to studying the varieties of this particular tree. The sweet cherry variety Franz Joseph was brought to Russia not from Austria, but from the Czech Republic, since it was in this country that by the beginning of the nineteenth century sweet cherry was not the most widespread.

However, from that day another century and a half passed until the variety was officially included in the state register.

Sweet cherry Franz Joseph: variety description

Sweet cherry Franz Joseph: photo of the variety

The cherry tree Franz Joseph has quite impressive dimensions, and its crown has a rather subtle geometric oval shape. At the same time, the density of the crown is average.

The leaves have a typical ovoid shape for fruit plants, and their edges are slightly pointed. The tip of the leaf is also pointed (on both sides), which makes them slightly elongated.

As for the fruits, which are much more interesting for our readers, they have a very beautiful shape, slightly flattened on the sides. Their groove is very well pronounced, and the color varies as flowering from yellowish to bright red. However, the berries never turn completely red, and yellow spots remain on them.

The pulp, however, does not turn red as the berries grow, and therefore, even in fully ripe fruits, it is bright yellow and, at the same time, of course, incredibly juicy and tasty.

The taste itself can be described as the perfect balance of sour and sweet, the absence of which distinguishes bad varieties from good ones.

The plant is cultivated almost everywhere: in Russia, Ukraine, Moldova and throughout Central Asia. However, this variety grows best on the territory of the Crimean peninsula, because it is there that nature has created the best conditions for growth for it.

Sweet cherry Franz Joseph: characteristic of the variety

Sweet cherry Franz Joseph: photo of the variety

Franz Joseph sweet cherries have been specially designed to be the most convenient and useful in the production of an industrial scale, and therefore their characteristics may seem unusual, since they are very different from most varieties on the market.

• Drought and frost resistance

Perhaps the most important advantage of the Franz Joseph cherry variety is precisely its adaptability to changing weather conditions, which include both dry periods and sharp cold snaps.

In fact, it should be noted that the drought resistance of the tree is so strongly developed that even with a lack of moisture, it will not only grow and live normally, but also bear fruit fully.However, moisture is still needed for growth and to maintain the plant's ability to form fruit quickly, which can be damaged by particularly prolonged droughts.

But with frosts, a somewhat more twofold situation emerges, since a tree can no less wonderfully fight cold than with a lack of moisture, however, at the same time, it will have to spend a little more time to recover from a particularly cold winter than some other varieties.

• Sweet cherry pollinators Franz Joseph

Surely, the name of this item scared many gardeners, and for good reason, because most of us like to grow exclusively self-sufficient plants that can stably bear fruit without pollinators.

However, Franz Joseph's cherry is not one of these, unfortunately. After all, given her astounding qualities, one would expect her to have such disadvantages.

Moreover, it is worth noting that without a pollinator, this cherry is absolutely self-fertile, and therefore it will not just give you less fruit, but will not blow them at all, so you will have to take care of the pollinator.

Best of all, varieties such as Napoleon, Zhabule or Drogana Zheltaya are suitable as pollinators for Franz Joseph cherries. These crops have the same fruiting times as the Franz Joseph sweet cherry, and also have other qualities similar to the variety under discussion.

However, there is still an alternative: you can try out a manual pollination procedure that will allow you to get the most out of your cherries without even thinking about planting a pollinator.

Nevertheless, this procedure can be incredibly costly and troublesome, as well as incredibly difficult, and therefore we strongly do not recommend it to you if you have just started gardening and have not yet delved into all the intricacies of the processes.

For those who nevertheless decide to carry out manual pollination, let's say that honey solution is best attracted to bees, and therefore it is advisable to use it.

By the way, about the timing of fruiting: Franz Joseph begins to bear berries only at the end of June, which is a rather late date for cherries. This happens because the plant is very fond of heat and is able to ripen only under the hot rays of the sun.

• Productivity and fruiting varieties Franz Joseph

Since the variety was bred for production purposes, of course, its yield should be superior to other varieties. However, the figures shown by the Franz Joseph variety of sweet cherry are simply incredible, because on average, one of its trees is not less than two, or even three times more berries than others.

However, such numbers are, of course, achieved with hard work, good care, and also due to some random factors such as weather conditions.

Nevertheless, you will be able to get such stunning harvests in at least four years, since only after this time the variety reaches the fruiting age, and you will also have to wait a couple more years for the trees to be at their peak of fertility.

So, summing up, we can say that you, with enough effort, can get a truly royal harvest only after eight, or even seven years.

• The use of berries varieties

As you already know, the fruits of this cherry variety have exceptional taste, and therefore they are suitable both for eating them raw and for using as an ingredient for preparing dishes and preparations for the winter.

Also, many gardeners claim that the method of preparing berries by drying is not only original, but also very effective, since the result is incredibly tasty and even better than dried apricots and raisins.

Nevertheless, there is also a field of application to which this cherry is completely not adapted, and this is freezing.Unfortunately, the berries, passing through a long cold treatment, completely lose their sugar content, juiciness and taste.

• Disease and pest resistance

In fact, not only this variety, but also the cherry in general, is much less susceptible to attacks by insects and pests than, for example, the same cherry.

In addition, the Franz Joseph variety itself has an innate resistance to a variety of fungal diseases, but this still does not mean that this plant is invulnerable. He, of course, has weaknesses and can get sick, and therefore we strongly recommend that you carry out preventive spraying.

Sweet cherry Franz Joseph: advantages and disadvantages

Sweet cherry Franz Joseph: photo of the variety

As you may have noticed, Franz Joseph cherries really got their status for a reason, because their taste really exceeds all expectations, and also its physiological characteristics are ideal for breeding crops on an industrial scale.

However, growing Franz Joseph cherries at home in small quantities is also a great idea, and the fruits can go both for treats to relatives and for sale, which will significantly expand the family budget.

Nevertheless, of course, this plant also has disadvantages, the main of which is the fact that cherries are not capable of self-pollinating, and therefore you will have to either plant a pollinator or resort to a rather difficult manual pollination procedure.

Also, the plant is in dire need of pruning, since the natural shape of the crown eventually becomes extremely deplorable. In addition, no one canceled sanitary trimming either.

Sweet cherry Franz Joseph: planting varieties

Sweet cherry Franz Joseph: photo of the variety

Of course, if you want your tree to grow efficiently and be as healthy and strong as possible, you will need to put a lot of effort into planting it correctly. After all, it's not for nothing that professional gardeners say that a good planting is half the success of a tree.

Therefore, we suggest that you read the detailed instructions on how to plant this tree, as well as give you a couple of useful tips. Let's start, of course, with the landing time.

• Recommended timing

Most often, like any other fruit plant, cherries are planted in spring. This is done so that before the onset of cold weather, the tree has time to form a powerful root system, which will allow it to calmly survive the winter.

In addition, as well as in the coming summer, good weather and bright sun will have an extremely positive effect on the tree, and therefore the tree will be able to develop and grow much better, preparing for future fruiting.

• Choosing a landing site

Sweet cherry Franz Joseph is a plant that cannot tolerate excess moisture, and therefore, in no case should it be planted on the lowlands, since it is in them that absolutely all water will be collected during the rains.

Therefore, for planting, hills or flat surfaces, which will certainly be found on your site, are best suited.

Care should also be taken to ensure that the plant gets enough sunlight, as this is the most important factor in the early years of the cherry tree, when the tree has yet to grow.

Do not forget and the fact that you will have to choose the right soil, which means that clay or sandy soil should in no case prevail in the place where you plant cherries.

Instead of such unsuitable soils, it is advisable to use exclusively fertile and high-quality soils, which will also be neutral in terms of acidity, since only under such conditions the plant will be able to prove itself one hundred percent.

Exactly like high humidity, the use of an excessive amount of fertilizers will very badly affect the tree, and therefore, introducing them, you need to carefully calculate the dosage.

• Cherry Neighbors Franz Joseph

As you probably know, neighborhood is quite an important aspect of growing a large number of different crops in the same area. In the case of such resettlement, it is necessary to take into account absolutely everything, as well as the fact that some cultures will absolutely not co-ordinate with each other, and some may form "cooperation".

In any case, as you already know, you will have to plant a pollinator along with this cherry variety. We have already talked about which varieties are suitable for this role.

But unsuitable neighbors for Franz Joseph's cherries can be such fruit plants as apple or pear. Plum can also have a strong negative effect.

• Selection and preparation of a seedling

Perhaps it should not be explained that only a good tree can grow from a good seedling, and therefore you will have to carefully choose the planting material.

First of all, you should understand that sellers should be treated with at least a share of skepticism, since there are a lot of fakes and ordinary wild cherries on the markets, but after three or four years, when the truth is revealed, you will not be able to prove the deception. ...

Therefore, the best way to make sure that the seller provides you with a really high-quality product is to ask him to provide his documents for this plant. If there are such, then already in this case you should find out more about the seedling itself.

After making sure that the product you are buying is indeed varietal, you also need to pay attention to the age of the seedling: it should be about three years old, and it should also have a relatively large number of branches.

It is also advisable to abandon the seedling in the event that you patch up obvious damage on the root, which are physical or obtained as a result of a disease.

Also, after the purchase, you should remember to follow the transportation rules, as this process can be incredibly stressful for the tree.

• How to plant cherries?

Now that you have chosen the timing of planting, the planting site and even the seedling that will soon be in the ground, there is still the most difficult procedure to come - the planting itself, during which you must be most careful and concentrated.

It is not necessary to start preparations in the fall: the soil in the place where you are going to plant the plant must be fertilized with a compost bucket and, if possible, chemical fertilizers. Also, if you have excessive acidity of the soil, it must be treated with wood ash.

Already in the spring - directly during planting - it is necessary to dig a hole, the diameter of which will be eighty centimeters, and the depth - fifty centimeters. In this case, it is necessary to loosen the bottom a little so that it is easier for the roots of the tree to take root in it.

The seedling must be placed in the hole in such a way that its roots are evenly distributed along the bottom.

After that, the roots are covered with soil. At the same time, care must be taken to ensure that each layer that you swell is thoroughly milled, as otherwise air bubbles can form, which can cause suppuration of the roots.

All branches of cherries already planted should be shortened by one third to control crown growth.

After all the above tips, you need to water the seedling well.

And, of course, the most important thing is to be careful throughout the entire process. And in order not to make unnecessary mistakes, you need to relax and not strain.

Sweet cherry Franz Joseph: variety care

Sweet cherry Franz Joseph: photo of the variety

Pruning is an incredibly important procedure that should be done regularly. Formative pruning will be especially important in the first few years.

It consists in shortening all the forming branches by one-fifth, and after that, thoroughly process all the cuts with garden pitch.Keep in mind, however, that pruning is a process that involves deliberately harming the plant, and therefore only well-sharpened tools must be used to mitigate the damage.

As for watering, they should be discarded only in rainy weather. The rest of the time, in spite of its resistance to drought, the plant must consistently receive the moisture it needs. This is done when the near-stem circle around the plant dries out very much. In this case, you will need about two buckets of clean and slightly heated water.

Also, in addition to water, it is necessary to introduce fertilizers into the ground, which will stimulate proper growth and development. The most important thing is not to exceed the dosage recommended by the manufacturer, and also try not to mix mineral fertilizers with organic ones.

Nevertheless, it is still desirable to use both types of fertilizers, however, alternating them, since the tree must receive absolutely all the elements it needs.

• Preparing for winter

We have already told you that the Franz Joseph cherry variety, although it tolerates frosts, has huge problems with recovery to a healthy state after long winters. That is why it is simply necessary to thoroughly prepare for the winter season.

the best protection of the root system from cold weather, as well as the simplest and most affordable, will be the whitewashing of the trunk, which must be carried out in spring and autumn. Also, in addition to the trunk, it is desirable to paint the scleal branches, since their bases are also very strongly exposed to the cold.

In addition, do not forget that immediately after winter, whole hordes of rodents will begin to appear from under the ground, from which you will need solid protection.

Also, in protection from cold and frost, phosphorus fertilizers can greatly help you, which will make this period far less painful for the tree.

Diseases and pests

As we already told you, Franz Joseph cherries are quite well protected from the most dangerous diseases. Nevertheless, she still gets sick, which, unfortunately, is inevitable, and therefore you will have to take care to protect her with preventive methods from all kinds of infections.

This is especially true during periods of excessively humid weather, when diseases are most severe.

• Moniliosis

This disease manifests itself as follows: leaves and flowers begin to gradually become covered with brown spots, as a result of which they become completely brown and dry. This leads to irreversible decay and decay.

In order to completely prevent the occurrence of this disease, it is necessary at the planting stage to make sure that the place where you plant the plant is well ventilated. Good pruning also helps prevent disease. Harvesting the soil, along with fertilizing it, will not be superfluous.

If the disease has already arisen, and you need to get rid of it immediately, all the affected parts of the plant are completely removed and destroyed. It is also necessary to treat the cherries with Bordeaux liquid, which will prevent the return of the disease.

• Clasterospirosis

The disease begins to progress in the same way as the previous one: spots appear on the leaves and other vegetative parts of the plant, which grow over time and progress into holes. As a result, the affected part of the plant dies off completely.

In order to avoid this unpleasant disease, it is enough just to fertilize the plant well, and also to be very careful to ensure that weeds do not spread around.

If it was not possible to prevent infection, then you will have to resort to processing the plant with Bordeaux mixture and, as in the previous case, to the complete destruction of all infected chat rooms.

• Coccomycosis

This fungal disease manifests itself with the same signs that we can only observe in the two previous cases: small brown spots appear on the leaves of the plant, which over time grow strongly and eventually capture the cherries.

Despite the strong similarity, it is this disease that is the most dangerous, since it is because of it that plants most often die.

In order to protect yourself from coccomycosis, you have to constantly remove the fallen leaves from under the cherries so that an infection does not start in them, and also loosen the soil in which the fungi may be dormant.

Also, a preventive method is to add copper sulfate to whitewashing products, which will become another layer of protection for your tree.

In case of infection, if it is not too late, you can fight the disease by treating the cherries with a solution of copper sulfate (about a hundred grams per ten liters of water)

• Black aphid

It is aphids that are one of the most irritating insects, which, nevertheless, are undoubtedly present in absolutely every garden.

In order to protect your plants from it, you will have to timely remove the weeds that form in the near-stem circle, and also loosen the soil well.

If the parasite has already wound up on your tree, it is necessary to take measures: in the case of a weak attack, you can do with an absolutely safe soap solution, but if the aphid attack is massive, you will have to use an insecticidal preparation. Also, some plants can cope with aphids, which repel it with their secretions.

• Cherry fly

Despite its name, this small insect can also bring a considerable amount of weight to cherries, and therefore, in order for it not to give you absolutely any trouble, it is necessary to collect them as the fruits fall, and also to loosen the soil well.

However, if a cherry fly starts up, it will be quite easy to defeat it, since it is afraid of ordinary insect traps and simple insecticides.

• Tubevert

This insect can also be very annoying for those who are going to grow Franz Joseph cherries. In order to prevent it from appearing, you will have to constantly get rid of the weeds that appear around the plant, as well as pick up fallen berries.

These insects are the easiest to fight against, despite the fact that, in comparison with the previous ones, they represent a great danger to kuja in the absence of proper supervision. In order to temporarily get rid of pipe wrenches, you just need to shake the tree well, and in the long term, they are disposed of by chemical means.

By the way, the use of mulch may turn out to be a lasting tip, since it significantly reduces the risk of getting sick with any diseases, since it does not allow weeds to develop normally under their thickness.

However, when using mulch, remember to change it periodically.

Sweet cherry Franz Joseph: gardener review

Antipin Sergei Alexandrovich

“In fact, I probably would not have found out about this cherry, if not for my neighbor, who constantly treated children to berries. Naturally, they constantly asked me to plant the same tree. As I did not explain to them that the trees do not grow as fast as they want, but I still planted the cherries. And, to be honest, I have never regretted it. The Franz Joseph cherry tree is really just excellent: it is very easy to care for it, but it rewards with a fantastic harvest for good care. When in the fourth year we received the first berries, we were very happy, because they were no less tasty than those of a neighbor who periodically helped me with advice. Of course, there were not many of them, but we even had enough for a certain amount of preparations for the winter. Of course, I was told that soon there would be more berries, but I could not even imagine how much more there would really be.Now - in the eighth year of the tree's life - we are simply not able to process even a third of what we collect, and therefore I decided to start selling Franz Joseph cherries. Of course, if you are ready for all this, then the tree will become real heavenly manna for you. Well, for me, it was an interesting and useful, albeit a little unexpected experience. "

Conclusion

Sweet cherry Franz Joseph, as you have seen, is really not in vain that it bears its royal name. It is amazing in everything: yield, resistance to diseases and droughts, as well as exceptional ease of maintenance.

We hope this article helped you, and also that you will never have any problems with growing Franz Joseph cherries again. It remains only to wish you good luck.