Where do cherries and cherries grow? Is the cherry tree a tree or a shrub? Cherry fruit (photo) What a cherry looks like at different times of the day.

The Cherry Orchard since time immemorial it has been a symbol of family, unity and native land.

The smell of Cherry blossoms in the spring awakened tender memories and gave a sea of ​​emotions in the summer, when the ripe berries no longer held on to the branches.

Cherries were a sign of the purity and softness of female nature, as evidenced by paintings of the 18th century.

In Christianity, cherries, like apples, are the fruit of paradise. The cherry tree itself is the tree of knowledge.

Cherry blossoms were a symbol of the bride in many regions. The Cherry Orchard was a favorite place for unmarried girls.

In Ukraine, the Cherry Orchard protected the house from evil spirits. It was believed that the inhabitants of dark corners and swamps would avoid such a house. As long as the Cherry Orchard lives, friendship and love will reign in the family.

In Japan, the blossoming Cherry Sakura marks the beginning of a new cycle in the life of the village. At this time, rice sowing began.

Cherry names

There are several versions of the origin of the word “cherry”.

According to another version, the word “cherry” comes from the Latin “viscum”, which meant “bird glue”. The fact is that the trunk of the Cherry tree secretes a sticky, aromatic sap-resin, which can be found on the wounds of the tree.

The Latin name for the tree is Cerasus, which actually means “cherry.” The name comes from the city of Kerak (Kerasunt) - the birthplace of this beautiful tree.

Where does Cherry grow?

There are about 130 species of this plant, distributed throughout the world.

The common cherry is cultivated plant and grows in gardens and parks. Due to their high nutrient content, Cherry and Cherry are valuable fruit and berry crops in many countries.

Wild Cherry species are found in the Himalayas, on Far East, in Japan and China. This species is resistant even to severe frosts.

Steppe wild Cherry is found in Siberia, Kazakhstan, Bashkiria and the Volga region. It can also be found in the North Caucasus and the European part of Russia.

The homeland of the common cherry is the Black Sea coast. From these places the tree came to Rome and gained worldwide fame.

The tree is undemanding to soil conditions. Can be found in ravines and thickets near forest edges.

What does Cherry look like?

Cherry is a low tree or shrub.

The common cherry can reach 10 meters in height with a trunk diameter of up to 40 cm, while its wild fellow shrub reaches only 2 meters in height.

The Cherry root system is very powerful, so even the most strong winds are not capable of causing serious harm to the Cherry Orchard.

The age of some tree representatives can reach 100 years. Steppe wild Cherry lives only 15-20 years.

During flowering in April or May, Cherry is dressed in a snowy blanket of flower umbrellas.

In summer, in July, fragrant dark red berries ripen on the branches. The fruits have a sweet and sour taste and contain a huge amount of microelements.

Medicinal properties of cherries

The fruits, bark, leaves and even flowers of Cherry are used for medicinal purposes.

In addition, the fruits will help strengthen intestinal motility and cope with constipation.

Cherry juice is used as an effective antipyretic.

Dried cherry tree sap is a good enveloping agent. A decoction of the stalks has an identical effect.

Cherry pits are dangerous if consumed orally, but the dried and ground product is used as compresses for gout.

Cherry leaves have antiseptic properties, so they are used when storing berries and other fruits.

Cherry water, obtained from cherry blossoms using steam, is an excellent remedy for treating eye inflammation.

Contraindications

Everything is good in moderation. And Cherry fruits in this case are no exception. You should not overuse berries when diabetes mellitus and problems with the intestines and stomach.

When using Cherries in the treatment of any ailments, you should consult with specialists.

Application of Cherry

The powerful roots of Cherry allow the plant to be used to strengthen slopes and dumps.

The wood is widely used in the production of high-value furniture and many joinery products and accessories.

The wood is processed into veneer and used in intarsia and marquetry.

Cherry fruits are widely used in cooking and modern medicine as a flavoring agent and as a food additive.

Thanks to the huge number of flowers, cherry orchards are valuable honey plants.

Cherry masks are used in cosmetics.

The fruits are consumed in fresh. IN industrial scale Jams, wines, syrups and other products are made from the fruits.

In England there is a long-living tree, more than 150 years old and almost 14 meters high.

To calm your sleep, you need to eat about two dozen fruits. The sedative effect is due to melatonin contained in cherry berries.

Like green apple, Cherry fruits can relieve headaches.

The cherry that people are used to seeing in gardens has scientific name“sour cherry”, although it can taste sweet. At the same time, sweet Cherry has the name “bird cherry”.

Japanese Cherry Sakura is an inedible species. The blossoming of this Cherry Tree is a sign for the Japanese, as it symbolizes the beginning of rice sowing.

In Switzerland, there was a sign according to which it was believed that a tree would bear fruit better if the first fruits went to the woman who gave birth to her first child.

The Latin name of the genus comes from the name of the city of Kerak, now Kerasunt, on the Black Sea coast of Asia Minor, from where, according to legend, it was first brought to Rome.

Contains about 150 species native to East Asia, Europe and North America.

Deciduous trees or shrubs with oblong-ovate leaves; white, sometimes pink, fragrant flowers collected in umbrella-shaped inflorescences. The fruits are drupes, juicy, mostly edible, red or black. Most species are cultivated for food and medicinal purposes. Due to their high decorative value during flowering and fruiting, they can be widely used in ornamental gardening.

They grow quickly. Photophilous, drought-resistant, tolerates urban conditions well. Wild species reproduce by seeds and root suckers, while garden forms reproduce by grafting. When propagating by seed, sowing is done in the summer, immediately after collection, with washed, undried seeds, as well as in autumn and spring. When sowing in spring, stratification is required throughout the winter. Used singly or in small groups in well-lit areas.

Bessey's cherry. Comes from the southern states of North America.

Grows as a low shrub up to 1.2 m with a spreading crown; bare, reddish shoots; with graceful, oblong, dense leaves up to 6 cm long. In autumn, the leaves turn bright red, attracting attention. The flowers are white, up to 1.5 cm in diameter, decorate the plant for 15-20 days; the fruits are purple-black, edible.

Fast-growing, cold-resistant, low soil requirement, drought-resistant shrub, decorative throughout the season. It is used on sandy, dry slopes, in group plantings, forms beautiful borders, and looks colorful on the edges, especially against the background of conifers. In culture since 1805.

Felt cherry. Grows on mountain slopes in Japan and Northwestern China.

A tree or shrub up to 2-3 m tall with a broadly ovate, dense crown. The bark of the branches is grayish; annual shoots are densely pubescent. The leaves are oval or obovate, pointed at the apex, grayish-green above, tomentose below, corrugated, on small, gray-tomentose petioles. In autumn, the leaves turn reddish or yellow. The flowers are pink-white, fragrant. Flowering is very colorful and abundant, lasting 7-10 days. The fruits are spherical, scarlet-red, on short stalks, pubescent, with a pleasant delicate taste. Bears fruit from 3-4 years. When fruiting is good, the branches seem to be covered with fruits. During this period, it is difficult to compare with its decorativeness.

It is winter-hardy, surpassing ordinary cherries in this indicator. Propagated by seeds, summer cuttings, varieties - by grafting. Thanks to its early and abundant flowering, beautiful and tasty fruits, it is of undoubted interest for both landscapers and amateur gardeners. Good in single and loose group plantings, on the edges. Widely cultivated in middle lane Russia and the Far East. Has several garden forms. In culture since 1870.

Ferruginous cherry. It grows among bushes, singly or in small groups, in the south of Primorsky Krai, in Northern China, Korea and Japan.

Shrub up to 1.5 m tall. Flexible, thin, smooth, dark red or brownish, sometimes with a bluish bloom, the branches, arching towards the ground, give the bush the shape of a miniature tent. Graceful, oblong, with a strongly elongated apex, bare above, sparsely pubescent below, the leaves turn yellow-red in autumn. Flowers up to 2 cm, light pink, white at the end of flowering, single or 2-3, bloom simultaneously with the leaves. Flowering duration is 6-8 days. Fruits up to 1 cm, spherical, dark red, turning black when fully ripe, edible, decorative.

Prefers nutritious soils and well-lit places. Propagated by seeds and root shoots. Looks good in parks and on garden plots in single and group planting. Decorative due to the nature of its flowering, the shape of the bush, and its edible, dark-colored fruits. It has been in culture for a long time.

Dwarf cherry (sand). Grows wildly in North America.

Shrub up to 1-1.5 m tall, growing upright in youth, with outstretched branches in old age. The shoots are thin, bare, reddish. The leaves are oblanceolate, pointed up to 5 cm long, dark green above, grayish-white below; in autumn, painted in bright, orange-red tones, creating spectacular spots against the background of dark conifers. It blooms very profusely for 18-23 days. The flowers are white, fragrant, up to 1.8 cm in diameter, 2-3 in bunches. The fruits are purple-black, spherical, up to 1 cm in diameter, edible.

It grows quickly, is photophilous, frost-resistant, very drought-resistant, undemanding to soil, and tolerates urban conditions well. Decorative throughout the season, used in single and group plantings, in hedges, for landscaping slopes, rocky and sandy areas in gardens and parks. In culture since 1756.

Bush cherry (steppe). Grows in the steppe and forest-steppe zones of the European part of Russia, Ukraine, the North Caucasus, Western Siberia, Central Asia, Central Europe, in the Balkans and Asia Minor. Mainly found on open dry slopes and in bush thickets.

Low, deciduous shrub up to 2 m tall, with a dense spreading crown. The bark of old shoots is light brown with yellow lentils, while that of young shoots is gray, turning red-brown towards the top. The leaves are on short petioles, elongated valval or obovate, dark green above, glabrous, shiny, serrated along the edge, pale green below, matte up to 5 cm long. The flowers are white, up to 2.4 cm in diameter, on short stalks in bunches, less often solitary. Flowering duration is 7-12 days. The fruits are spherical, juicy, from yellow to dark cherry, almost black in color. Depending on the growing conditions, the size of the fruit varies greatly.

The most winter-hardy and drought-resistant of all cherries. Undemanding to soil, light-loving, little damaged by pests and diseases. It is of interest for ornamental gardening due to its early abundant flowering and colorful fruiting. Will give numerous root suckers, suitable for securing dry slopes, landscaping rocky areas, group plantings, and landscaping edges in forest parks.

The most interesting decorative forms: weeping (f. pendula) - with drooping branches, especially spectacular in the headquarters form; variegated (f. variegata) - with yellow-white, spotted leaves, good for creating contrasting groups.

Cherry Maksimovich. It grows singly or in small groups in mixed shady forests, on the mountain slopes of the Primorsky Territory, in the eastern regions of the Khabarovsk Territory, on Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands, in Northeast China, Korea and Japan.

Slender tree up to 15 m tall. The crown is round or flat-splayed. The bark is dark gray to blackish, peeling off in round scales; on young branches it is yellowish and pubescent. The leaves are elliptical with a wedge-shaped base, slightly pubescent below, light purple or bronze when blooming, matte green in summer, orange in autumn. White, delicately fragrant flowers are collected in 5-7-flowered inflorescences with large leaf-shaped bracts. The fruits are small drupes (up to 0.7 cm), first red, then black, spherical, dryish, inedible, with dark purple, colored pulp.

Very shade-tolerant, undemanding to soil, but prefers fertile and well-drained soil, avoids waterlogging. It grows moderately quickly, easily tolerates transplanting and pruning, and lives up to 80-100 years. Propagated by seeds and root suckers. It is especially decorative during the flowering period, when abundant white flowers stand out effectively against the background of bronze young leaves. In the autumn, with the autumn coloring of the leaves, it harmonizes well with birch, fir, cedar and spruce.

Common cherry. Unknown in the wild, but widely distributed in culture. Can be used not only as a fruit, but also as a very ornamental plant group and edge plantings, in hedges.

Tree up to 10 m tall, with a spreading crown, smooth bark, and scaly peeling bark. The leaves are broadly elliptical, pointed, crenate-toothed along the edge, smooth, shiny, bright or dark green, lighter below, up to 8 cm long, petiolate. The flowers are white, fragrant, up to 2.5 cm in diameter, on long peduncles, 2-3 in umbellate inflorescences. Flowering duration is 10-20 days. The fruits are dark red, spherical, fleshy, usually flattened on top, sweet and sour (for nutritional properties, see the reference book "Food Plants of Russia").

Fast-growing, shade-tolerant, frost-resistant and drought-resistant breed. Smoke and gas resistant. It develops better on loose, humus-rich soils. It responds well to lime content in the soil. Forms numerous root suckers. Some scientists consider it a natural hybrid between bush cherry and sweet cherry, which arose and was repeated many times in places where the parent species grew together.

In addition to numerous varieties, it has a number of forms that are interesting only from a decorative point of view: spherical (f. umbraculifera) - a low-growing tree with a compact spherical crown and small leaves; double (f. plena) - with white semi-double flowers; Raxa (f. Rexii) - with white double flowers; peach blossom (f. persicifo-lia) - with light or bright pink flowers; always blooming (f. semperflorens) - a small tree or shrub with smaller leaves and flowers at the ends of shortened shoots in fours, blooms all summer; variegated (f. aureo-va-riegata) - with yellow- and white-variegated leaves; aucubaefolia (f. aucubaefolia) - with yellow spots on the leaves; loosestrife (f. saticifolia) - with large leaves, up to 13 cm long, with a width of 3 cm.

Decorative forms are good as single or small group plantings on the front plank, and variegated forms are good in complex compositions.

Bird's cherry (Cherry). Grows wildly in the forests of Western Ukraine, the Caucasus, mountainous Crimea, Central and Southern Europe, in Asia Minor and Iran. It is cultivated as a fruit and ornamental plant.

A tree up to 20-35 m tall with an ovoid crown formed by upwardly directed branches. The shoots are bare. The bark of the trunk is dark gray, with a leaf-like peeling crust. The leaves are elliptical or elongated-ovate, pointed, wedge-shaped at the base, up to 16 cm long, dark green, shiny, glabrous, double-peaked along the edge, on petioles 2.5 cm long. Numerous fragrant, snow-white flowers up to 3 cm in diameter collected in few-flowered inflorescences. Blooms for two weeks. The fruits are dark red to black, with juicy pulp, up to 2 cm in diameter.

It grows quickly, is shade-tolerant, relatively demanding on soil fertility and moisture, frost-resistant, and durable. Used in the form of single plantings in the background, terry, low and weeping forms in groups and single plantings in the background.

It has a number of decorative forms: willow (f. salicifolia) - with very narrow leaves; terry (f. plena); low (f. nanа) - dwarf stature; fern-leaved) (f. asplenifolia) - with deeply toothed, cut leaves; variegated (f. variegata) - with white and yellow spots on the leaves; pyramidal (f. pyramidalis); weeping (f. pendula).

Plant cherry (lat. Cerasus)– subgenus of the genus Plum of the Rosaceae family. The Russian name for the tree comes from the same base as the German Weichse, meaning “cherry,” and the Latin viscum, which means “bird glue,” so the original meaning of the name “cherry” can be defined as “tree with sticky sap.” The Latin name for cherry, cerasus, comes from the name of the city of Kerasunda, on the outskirts of which delicious cherries grew in abundance, which the Romans called cerasunda fruits, hence the French cerise, Spanish cereza, Portuguese cereja, English cherry and Russian sweet cherry, which the Romans called bird cherry.

In our article we will talk about such a type as common cherry (Prunus cerasus), or sour cherries, about a plant that is a species of the subgenus Cherry and is grown in gardens everywhere. Some botanists believe that the common cherry is a hybrid of sweet cherry and steppe cherry, which appeared as a result of natural selection somewhere in Macedonia, the Dnieper region or the North Caucasus. IN wildlife common cherry is not found.

Planting and caring for cherries

• Landing: in the spring, when the soil has already warmed up, but the buds on the trees have not yet opened.
• Bloom: depending on the variety from late April to late May.
• Lighting: bright sunlight.
• The soil: sandy, sandy loam or loamy, neutral reaction, in an area where groundwater is deep and water does not stagnate.
• Watering: during the season 3-4 times: after flowering, during the formation of ovaries, after harvesting and in the fall, until October 20.
• Feeding: 3 root dressings in spring: 1st – before flowering with liquid nitrogen fertilizer, 2nd – during flowering with herbal “tea” or a solution of chicken manure (1:10), 3rd – after flowering with compost or other organic mixtures. In the summer, two foliar feedings with nitrogen-containing preparations are carried out: in mid-July and after 3 weeks. The cherries are treated by leaves and with solutions of the missing microelements. After fruiting, nitrogen-containing fertilizers are added organic fertilizers. In autumn the soil in tree trunk circle They are saturated with complete mineral fertilizer, and before winter - only with potassium and phosphorus.
• Trimming: in spring, in March, before sap flow begins, and in autumn, at the end of the growing season. Sometimes in the summer, after fruiting has finished.
• Reproduction: seeds, cuttings, root shoots, grafting.
• Pests: plum codling moth, cherry and bird cherry weevils, slimy, social and pale-legged sawflies, subcortical leaf roller, cherry aphid, hawthorn.
• Diseases: brown spot, clasterosporia blight, cherry mosaic and mosaic ringing, branch dieback, scab, fruit rot, coccomycosis, moniliosis, root canker, gum disease and witch's broom.

Read more about growing cherries below.

Cherry tree - description

Cherry in the garden is a tree or shrub, reaching a height of about 10 m, with gray-brown bark. Cherry leaves, elliptical, pointed, petiolate, dark green above and lighter below, reach a length of 8 cm. White or pink flowers, collected in 2-3 pieces in umbrella-shaped inflorescences, bloom in late March or early April. Cherry blossoms are one of the most beautiful plants in nature. The cherry fruit is a spherical, juicy, sweet and sour drupe with a diameter of about 1 cm. Fruiting begins in the second half of May.

Cherry planting

When to plant cherries

Cherries are planted in the spring, and this gives the seedling enough time to take root and grow. Cherries are planted when the soil has already warmed up sufficiently, but the buds have not yet had time to open. Based on these requirements, best time for planting cherries is mid-April, and the most suitable time of day is after sunset.

After planting in the fall, cherries are unlikely to have time to take root before the onset of cold weather, since it is impossible to know in advance exactly when the autumn frosts will occur. Therefore, it is best to bury seedlings harvested in the fall until spring.

Planting cherries in autumn

How to preserve cherry seedlings from autumn to spring if you only got them in late autumn? IN shady place garden, where snow lingers the longest in spring, dig an oblong hole 30-35 cm deep, and it is necessary to dig with a slope of 45º. Planting material is placed in this short trench with the roots in the deeper direction and the roots and a third of the trunk of the seedlings are covered with soil, after which the soil-covered part of the plant is watered abundantly. Then the seedling is covered along its entire length with pine spruce branches, with the needles facing outward, so that rodents cannot get to the cherries.

As soon as snow falls, throw it over the covered seedlings in a layer of 30-50 cm. Dig up the seedlings immediately before planting.

How to plant cherries in spring

When planning to plant cherries on a plot of land in the spring, it is better to purchase seedlings in the fall, and then store them until spring, as just described. When purchasing, give preference to two-year-old trees with a trunk height of about 60 cm and a stem diameter of 2-2.5 cm. It is advisable that the skeletal branches of the cherry also be no shorter than 60 cm. Before planting, inspect the roots of the seedling, and if you find damaged or rotten areas, cut them back to healthy tissue and treat the wounds with crushed charcoal. Before planting, keep the roots of the plant in water for 3-4 hours so that they straighten and become saturated with moisture.

The soil on the plot for cherries is also prepared in the fall. Cherry loves well-lit places, well-drained sandy, sandy loam or dry soil. clay soil neutral reaction. You can’t plant cherries in places where groundwater lies close, or in lowlands where melt water stagnates in the spring. If the soil in the area is acidic, scatter dolomite flour or lime at the rate of 400 g per m² and dig the area to the depth of a spade bayonet. Do not add organic matter at the same time as lime; add compost or rotted manure to the soil at the rate of 15 kg per m² a week later than you added the deoxidizer.

If several trees are planted, they are placed at a distance of 3 m from each other. If your seedlings are cross-pollinated, you will have to plant at least four varieties in close proximity to each other, placing them in a 3x3 m pattern if the varieties are tall, and 2.5-2 m if the cherries are short. Self-pollinating cherry varieties do not need pollinators.

The planting hole should be about 80 cm in diameter and 50-60 cm deep. The top, fertile layer The soil should be removed and mixed with humus in equal quantities, while adding 1 kg of ash, 30-40 g of superphosphate and 20-25 g of potassium chloride to the soil mixture. A bucket of sand is also added to the clay soil. Drive a high peg into the center of the hole so that it protrudes 30-40 cm above the surface of the site. Pour a soil mixture with fertilizers onto the bottom around the peg in a cone, place a seedling on this hill on the north side of the peg so that the root neck of the tree is at 2- 3 cm above surface level. Straighten the roots of the plant and, adding a little soil mixture into the hole, compact it so that there are no voids left in the soil.

After planting, make a hole with a roll of earth around the seedling at a distance of 25-30 cm, pour a bucket of water into the hole, and after it is absorbed and the root collar is level with the surface of the site, mulch the tree trunk circle with peat, sawdust or humus, and tie up the seedling to the peg.

Cherry care

Cherry tree care in spring

How to properly care for cherries and what is the difference between caring for a seedling and caring for an already fruit-bearing tree? Growing cherries planted this year does not provide for the application of fertilizers to the site for another two to three years, so caring for young growth consists of periodically shallow loosening the soil in the tree trunk circle, removing weeds, pruning and watering. Trees that have already begun to bear fruit require abundant watering in the hot season - at least three buckets per tree during the period of shoot growth, flowering and fruit ripening.

In a cold and rainy spring, to attract pollinating insects to the garden, cherry trees are sprayed with a solution of one tablespoon of honey in a liter of water. Loosening of the soil in tree trunk circles is carried out 3-4 times per season. In early spring, before the buds open, the cherry trees are pruned, the root shoots are removed and the tree trunk circle is mulched with sawdust or compost. Every spring, cherries are preventively treated against pests and diseases.

Cherry care in summer

IN summer time The main task of the gardener is to meet the needs fruit trees in nutrition and moisture, as well as protection from pests, weeds and diseases. Don't forget to water your trees, especially during the hottest days. In summer, cherries shed some of their ovaries, and as soon as this happens, it is necessary to apply nitrogen fertilizers to the cherries, and after 3-4 weeks, feed the fruiting trees with phosphorus and potassium.

In summer it's time to harvest cherries. Early varieties ripen by mid-to-late June, mid-ripening ones by the end of July, and late cherries ripen in August and even in September. Cherries are harvested as the fruits ripen.

Caring for cherries in autumn

With the onset of autumn, the time comes to apply organic and mineral fertilizers to the tree trunks of fruiting cherries for digging to a depth of 10 cm around young growth and 15-20 around fruiting cherries. This should be done when the leaves begin to turn yellow, a couple of days after rain or watering. At the same time, autumn preventive treatment of trees and bushes against pests and diseases is carried out, as well as moisture-recharging winter watering.

In October, baits with poison for rodents are laid out around the site and the trunks and bases of skeletal tree branches are whitewashed to protect against pests. In November, on frozen soil, fallen leaves are removed and the tree trunks are mulched with peat, and the stems of young cherries are tied with spruce branches.

Cherry processing

In the spring, before the buds open, it is best to treat the cherry with a seven percent urea solution, which will destroy pests that have overwintered in the bark or in the soil under the tree, and at the same time feed the cherry with nitrogen. However, if you do not have time to do this before the sap begins to flow, then it is better to treat the cherries with a three percent solution of copper sulfate or Bordeaux mixture, since urea can cause burns to the blossoming buds. In two weeks, when the daytime temperature rises to 18 ºC, treat trees and bushes against ticks and other overwintered insects, as well as powdery mildew colloidal sulfur or Neoron in accordance with the instructions.

In the summer, during the period of fruit growth, as a preventive measure, cherries are treated against pests with Fufanon, and against diseases with copper oxychloride.

In the fall, before the leaves begin to fall, spray the trees with a four percent urea solution - both as a disease control and as a final feeding.

Watering cherries

Watering the cherries is carried out with such an amount of water that the soil in the tree trunk circle gets wet to a depth of 40-45 cm, but the soil should not turn sour. The first time cherries are watered after flowering, simultaneously with fertilizing. A second watering is needed during the berry-filling period. From 3 to 6 buckets of water are poured under each tree - the exact amount depends on the weather and the presence or absence of rain during this period.

In October, when the leaves fall, Cherries are given pre-winter moisture-recharging irrigation, the purpose of which is to moisten the soil to a depth of 70-80 cm. Pre-winter watering saturates the soil with moisture, which the roots will need to acquire winter hardiness, in addition, wet soil freezes much more slowly.

Young trees that are not yet bearing fruit are watered every 2 weeks, and in extreme heat - weekly.

Cherry feeding

Cherries are fed with organic fertilizers once every two or three years in the fall, applying them under digging. At the same time of year, the site is fertilized with mineral fertilizers - potassium and phosphorus in the amount of 25-30 g of superphosphate and 20-25 g of potassium sulfate per m². Nitrogen fertilizers are applied at the rate of 15-20 g of ammonium nitrate or 10-15 g of urea per m² of plot twice a year - in early spring and after the cherry blossoms. It is important that fertilizers are applied not to the trunk circle of each plant, but throughout the entire area with cherry trees. Before fertilizing the cherry tree, the area is watered.

In addition to applying fertilizers to the soil, you can foliar feeding Cherries with a solution of 50 g of urea in 10 liters of water 2-3 times at weekly intervals in the evening, but wait until the sun goes down before feeding the cherries.

Wintering cherries

An adult, fruit-bearing cherry tree is able to withstand even severe frosts without shelter, and yet it is necessary to protect its roots from freezing. To do this, throw a snowdrift onto the tree trunk area and sprinkle sawdust on top. Don’t forget to whiten the trunk and bases of skeletal branches in the fall with a lime solution, adding copper sulfate to it.

After whitewashing the trunk, young trees are tied with pine spruce branches for the winter.

Cherry pruning

When to prune cherries

The first pruning of cherries is done in the spring, in March, before the buds swell. If you are late and sap flow has already begun, postpone pruning, otherwise the branches shortened with pruners may dry out. Sometimes cherries are pruned in the summer, immediately after harvest. Autumn pruning is carried out at the end of the growing season. Sanitary pruning, which requires immediate removal of diseased branches, is carried out at any time of the year.

How to trim a cherry tree

Planting and caring for cherries does not cause much difficulty, but pruning... Many novice gardeners, as soon as it comes to pruning cherries, panic and prefer to pretend that the tree does not need it. But pruning greatly affects the quality of the crop. Let's try to understand this really complex issue.

With seedlings planted this year, everything is simple: 5-6 of the strongest branches are formed on them (seedlings of bush varieties are allowed to have up to a dozen developed branches), and the rest are cut into a ring, leaving no stumps. The sections are treated with garden varnish. You need to leave branches directed in different directions and growing from the trunk at a distance of at least 10 cm from each other. From the second year, the formation of cherries is carried out in this way: branches and shoots growing inside the crown are cut out, and shoots appearing on the trunk are also removed.

In tree-like varieties of cherries, the branches that grow quickly upward are shortened, otherwise it will be difficult to harvest from them. In bush-type cherries, the shoots are shortened to 50 cm. As tree-like cherries grow, new skeletal branches will appear at approximately equal distances from other branches. As a result, an adult tree should have 12-15 of them. For sanitary purposes, dry, diseased and damaged branches and shoots are also cut out.

Pruning cherry trees in spring

The most important thing is spring pruning of cherries, and if you do it correctly from year to year, then spring pruning alone will be enough. Cherry trees are pruned as we already wrote, until the buds swell. The only exception can be spring, which has come after very severe frosts: in this case, you should just wait for the buds to swell in order to determine which of the branches and shoots have suffered from the cold, and only after that begin formative pruning, simultaneously removing frozen shoots. However, the cuts should be processed immediately, since during the period of sap flow the tree is very sensitive to wounds.

If annual shoots are no longer than 25-35 cm, do not trim them, remove only competing shoots that thicken the crown, and also cut off those that grow vertically at the point of origin. Shorten the trunk of the cherry so that it rises no more than 20 cm above the ends of the skeletal branches. In the summer, after fruiting has ended, the shape of the crown can be adjusted if necessary.

Pruning cherries in autumn

In autumn, cherries are pruned much less often than in spring. Most likely due to the fact that they are afraid of harming the future harvest, since a wound inflicted before the cold weather makes the tree more sensitive and vulnerable. However, the point is that correct pruning It just helps to increase the yield, as it prevents the development of infections. And it is undesirable to leave a tree for the winter with diseased or broken shoots, which it will have to feed until spring to the detriment of healthy branches.

For autumn pruning, the main thing is to choose the moment between the end of the growing season and the first frost. If you didn’t have time to prune before the cold weather, put it off until spring, because frost causes the cherry bark to become brittle, and if it is damaged, gum will begin to leak. Annual seedlings do not need autumn pruning.

Cherry propagation

How to propagate cherries

Cherries are propagated by seeds, cuttings, root shoots and grafting. The seed method of propagating cherries is used extremely rarely - this is an activity for breeders. However, the ability to grow cherries from pits can also be useful for an amateur gardener, since this is how rootstocks for grafting are grown. In amateur gardening, cherries are propagated vegetatively, and grafting has proven itself best - a method suitable for any varieties of cherries, while only self-rooted specimens can be propagated by root shoots.

Cherry seed propagation

Cherry pits are sown in open ground in the fall. The seedlings that appear in the spring are thinned out according to a 20x20 pattern and grown until autumn, caring for them like young cherries: watering, feeding, loosening the soil around them and removing weeds. Next spring, when the buds begin to swell, they will be ready for replanting with a cultural scion.

Cherry grafting

How to grow cherries of one variety using the root system of another? Method of vaccination. But before grafting the cherry, it is necessary to grow a rootstock from the seed of a winter-hardy variety, to which a cutting of a cultivated cherry variety is planted. It is best to use the seeds of felt cherries, which do not form root shoots, for growing a rootstock. We have just talked about how to do this. There are several ways to graft a graft onto a rootstock:

• improved copulation;
• into splinters;
• in a side cut;
• under the bark

Propagation of cherries by green cuttings

Today this is the most common method of propagating cultivated cherries, since the root shoots of cherries grown from cuttings are also excellent material for cuttings. Cuttings are carried out in the second half of June, when cherry shoots are growing rapidly.

You will need a box 10-12 cm deep, 25x50 cm in size, with small diameter drainage holes. Fill it with a mixture of peat and coarse sand in equal parts, spill the soil mixture with a dark pink solution of potassium permanganate, and then moisten it generously with water.

Select and cut off well-developed, not drooping, but upward-growing shoots from the southern or southwestern side of a three- to five-year-old bush or tree, sprinkle them with water, remove the top with underdeveloped leaves, which do not take root well. Cut cuttings from the shoots 10-12 cm long with 6-8 leaves. Lower leaves remove from the segments. The top cut on the cutting should be straight and pass just above the bud, the bottom cut should be a centimeter below the node. Stick the cuttings into the ground at a distance of 5-8 cm from each other to a depth of 2-3 cm and compact the soil around them. Then install a wire frame on the box so that it rises 15-20 cm, pull it over it plastic film and place the resulting greenhouse in a bright place, protected from direct sunlight.

As soon as the cuttings take root, and you will understand this when the cherry leaves restore turgor, the film begins to be lifted briefly to ventilate and harden the cuttings. For the winter, the cuttings are buried in the garden, and in the spring they are planted for growing or growing. permanent place.

Cherry propagation by root shoots

This method is used for propagating rooted cherries and for growing rootstocks. For propagation, two-year-old root offspring of high-yielding self-rooted trees with a developed root system and branched ground part, located at a distance from the mother plant, are used, since cutting off offspring growing close to the tree damages its roots. In the fall, at a short distance from the shoot, the root connecting it to the cherry is cut, but the shoot is not planted, but left in the ground. In the spring, the shoots are dug up and sorted: those offspring that have root system developed, they are planted in a permanent place, and those that are weaker are grown in a training bed.

People have been growing common cherries everywhere since ancient times, and it is impossible to know reliably where the first wild tree grew, which was later cultivated. Nowadays, more than twenty countries around the world produce cherries on a large economic scale. This unique tree, in which not only fruits are used, but also leaves, bark and wood.

Brief description of the plant

• Appearance: deciduous tree or shrub from 1.5 to 5 meters in height, sheds its leaves in the autumn-winter period.
• Fruit: a sweet and sour juicy drupe berry of red, dark red or black color, containing one seed.
• Origin: subgenus of plants of the Plum genus, Rosaceae family.
• Life expectancy: twenty-five to thirty years.
• Frost resistance: high.
• Watering: moderate, drought-resistant plant.
• Soil: neutral, well fertilized.
• Relation to light: light-loving plant.

Cherry blossoms
Cherry blossoms in spring are a beautiful sight. It is not for nothing that this tree is found in the literary works of various writers. Shevchenko’s Ukrainian hut in the village is always decorated with a cherry orchard. Everyone knows the work of A.P. Chekhov “The Cherry Orchard”. Cherry flowers are small, white or pink, collected in umbrella inflorescences, bloom in early or late May, early June, depending on the variety and climate. Fragrant flowers are good honey plants. Bees collect pollen and nectar from them.

In Japan, cherry blossoms are a national holiday that is celebrated at home and at work. Celebrate right in nature near fragrant pink flowers trees, spreading warm blankets on the ground. Sakura blooms in March and early April. It is an ornamental tree, but some varieties bear small sour fruits, similar to cherries, which the Japanese consider very useful and value highly.

Common cherry, which is the ancestor of most varieties, is also healthy and has not only good taste, but also healing properties.

Chemical composition of cherry fruits
There are early, middle and late varieties of cherries. Early varieties bear fruit in June, middle varieties - in July, late varieties - at the end of July and August. The fruits contain:

• 7–17% sugars
• 0.8–2.5% acids
• 0.15–0.88% tannins
• Vitamin complex consisting of carotene, folic acid, B vitamins, vitamin C
• Ionizite
• Anthocyanins
• Pectin
• Minerals

Who hasn't tried delicious Cherry jam? This is a traditional cherry preparation that is prepared in many countries. In addition to jam, compotes, juice and wine are made, dried, and added as a filling to dumplings and pies. Cherry fruits are also eaten fresh. Many varieties have good taste and are healthy due to their high content of vitamins, minerals and other beneficial substances.

There are also contraindications. People suffering from stomach ulcers and gastritis with high acidity should not eat cherries. If you are prone to allergies, cherries should also be consumed with caution, like all red fruits.

Cherry foliage and wood
Cherry leaves, collected in spring and dried, are used to brew vitamin tea. They contain tannins (leaf petioles), dextrose, sucrose, organic acids and coumarins. The leaves are used for pickling and pickling various vegetables.

Kitchen set made of cherry wood
Cherry wood is used to make furniture and various wooden everyday items. It has a pleasant dark brown color different shades and easy to process. Highly appreciated by both consumers and craftsmen.

Cherry does not like waterlogging of the root system due to groundwater, close to the surface. Does not grow well in the shade. The tree is planted in April or September on neutral, fertilized, not very moist soils, in a well-lit place, protected from the wind.

Scheme of planting cherry seedlings and preparing for winter
If a seedling is purchased in late autumn, it is buried in the ground at an angle of forty-five degrees and covered on top with spruce branches, needles facing out, so that the seedling does not freeze in winter and is not damaged by mice. Most cherry varieties begin to bear fruit in the third or fourth year after planting. A young tree needs good care, which consists of loosening the soil in the tree trunk, applying mineral fertilizers, regular watering, pruning branches and preventive treatments against diseases with a solution of Bordeaux mixture and copper oxychloride.

Cherry varieties

Exists a large number of(about 150) varieties of cherries, differing in the weight and taste of the fruit, tree productivity, disease resistance, frost resistance and timing of flowering and fruiting. Let's look at three varieties common in Russia.

Self-fertile, high-yielding variety, bred in Russia in 1996. Tree height up to two and a half meters. The annual increase is seventy centimeters in height. The fruits are dark burgundy, almost black, weighing three and a half grams. The taste of the berries is sweet and sour. Blooms in early May. The fruits ripen in mid-July. In cooking, it is widely used for making jam, jam, dried berries and compotes. This variety is frost and drought resistant.

It is considered a symbol of the City of Vladimir, where it has been grown since the sixteenth century. It is a tree consisting of several trunks, from three to five meters in height. The amount of harvest depends on the growing region.

From each tree you can collect up to twenty kilograms of berries. The variety is self-sterile. In order for fruit to set, a pollinator cherry variety growing nearby is needed, blooming simultaneously with a self-sterile variety. The size of the fruit can be small or larger, the color is dark red. The taste is sweet and sour, very pleasant. The berries are used to make preserves and jams, dried and frozen. Planting and care conditions are the same as for most varieties.

Bred in Ukraine using the method of folk selection, a hybrid of cherries and sweet cherries. Tall tree with a rounded crown, self-fertile. Fruiting is abundant; up to 45 kg of cherries are regularly harvested from a mature tree, which begins to bear fruit in the sixth or seventh year of life. Red fruits have colorless, yellowish flesh with a sweet and sour taste. Fruit weight is about 5 grams. In addition to traditional preparations, good quality wine is obtained from cherries of this variety.

Caring for a tree and planting it is no different from other varieties. The variety tolerates severe frosts well, bears fruit better with regular watering and application of mineral fertilizers, as well as preventive measures against various diseases.

viscum“bird glue”, etc. In this case, the original meaning of the word is “tree with sticky sap.”

Biological description

Subgenus Cerasus differs from other subgenera of the genus Prunus (Armeniaca- apricot, Prunus- plum and Emplectocladus) the following characteristics: the fruit (drupe) is smooth, without plaque; leaves in budding folded lengthwise; the flowers are arranged in umbels, sometimes containing two flowers; develop simultaneously with leaves or earlier than them.

Taxonomy

The subgenus is divided into two sections, Cerasus and Laurocerasus, which include more than 60 species.

Some types

sect. Cerasus

• Prunus avium- Sweet cherry, or bird cherry. Tree without root shoots; the leaves below are slightly fluffy; The leaf petioles at the base of the blade are equipped with two glands.
• Prunus campanulataMaxim.- Bell cherry. A tree with the most red flowers of all wild species.
• Prunus cerasus- Common cherry, or sour cherry. A tree that produces shoots from its roots; the leaves are completely bare, the leaf petioles are without glands.
• Prunus cerasoidesBuch.-Ham. ex D. Don, 1825- Cherry cherries
• Prunus emarginata(Douglas) Eaton- Bitter cherry
• Prunus fruticosaPall.- Bush cherry, or steppe cherry [syn. Prunus chamaecerasus Jacqui.]. Low shrub; found wildly in Southern and Central Russia.
• Prunus maximowicziiRupr.- Cherry Maksimovich. A small Far Eastern tree with inedible fruits.
• Prunus serrulataLindl.- Finely serrated cherry. Decorative tree- sakura, symbol of Japanese culture.

sect. Laurocerasus

• Prunus laurocerasus- Lavrovishnya
• Prunus padus- Common bird cherry, or bird cherry carpal, or bird cherry
• Prunus virginiana- Virgin bird cherry, or red bird cherry

Meaning and Use

Of the 150 species known in the world, five species took part in the creation of modern varieties and rootstocks of cherries: common cherry, steppe cherry, felt cherry, Magaleb cherry and sweet cherry.

Honey bees taken from flowers different types Cherries have abundant (especially in the morning) nectar and pollen bribes. During cherry blossoms, approximately equal numbers of bees can be observed collecting both nectar and pollen.

Production

Cherry production (thousand tons)
A country	1965	1970	1975	1980	1985	1990	1995	2000	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
Türkiye Türkiye	47	59	73	96	130	143	186	230	280	310	398	338	418
USA USA	79	111	141	156	120	142	150	185	227	266	282	225	390
Iran Iran	34	39	45	53	65	85	157	216	225	225	200	199	225
Italy Italy	196	210	190	119	157	100	120	146	101	111	106	134	116
Spain Spain	50	53	66	80	79	55	55	113	96	92	76	72	96
Syria Syria	1	2	5	10	22	19	41	56	53	63	75	48	78
Russia, Russia	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	62	85	93	50	100	63	69
Romania Romania	36	61	59	67	88	68	60	74	118	105	65	68	68
Uzbekistan Uzbekistan	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	18	20	22	54	55	61	67
Chile Chile	3	3	5	5	9	14	20	31	32	41	45	46	56
France France	118	121	89	113	101	82	63	66	69	68	47	40	53
Ukraine Ukraine	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	47	76	100	49	68	75	53
Poland Poland	26	29	22	25	31	9	36	38	37	38	20	41	50
Greece Greece	19	25	25	18	28	47	50	57	44	44	52	42	48
Germany Germany	140	255	169	142	194	141	142	170	28	32	34	25	39
Lebanon Lebanon	7	12	14	19	28	42	78	45	29	23	30	31	35
Austria Austria	20	25	23	23	23	20	29	30	26	27	34	27	30
Serbia Serbia	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	25	23	21	23	28	29	29
Bulgaria Bulgaria	36	55	52	55	75	71	75	28	18	20	18	16	17
Portugal Portugal	38	21	15	11	13	11	8	8	16	15	9	10	11
Switzerland Switzerland	46	47	49	39	37	24	24	19	10	8	10	6	10
The whole world	1113	1460	1360	1279	1530	1397	1629	1901	1863	1870	1956	1801	2196

Origin and history of cultivation

Unprocessed cherries The nutritional value per 100 g of product
Energy value 52 kcal 217 kJ
Water 84.4 g Squirrels 0.8 g Fats 0.2 g Carbohydrates 10.6 g Retinol (Vit. A) 17 mcg Thiamine ( B 1) 0.03 mg Pantothenic acid ( B 5) 0.08 mg Folacin ( B 9) 6 mcg Ascorbic acid (Vit. WITH) 15 mg Tocopherol (Vit. E) 0.3 mg Calcium 37 mg Iron 0.5 mg Magnesium 26 mg Phosphorus 30 mg Potassium 256 mg Sodium 20 mg Copper 100 mcg

The most famous type of cherry for a long time is the sweet cherry, or bird cherry. Cherries are believed to have been known as early as 8000 BC. e. in Anatolia and in Europe - on the territory of modern Denmark and Switzerland (residents of pile buildings).

It is said that the Assyrian king Sargon II (722-705 BC) loved the sweet aroma of cherry blossoms. According to the testimony of Herodotus, who lived in the 5th century BC. e., cherry trees were wrapped in thick felt for the winter. A thick syrup was prepared from their fruits, which was drunk, diluted with water, or used to improve the taste of cookies.

There is reason to think that the first cherries from Asia Minor were brought to Rome after the campaign against Mithridates (74 BC) by the commander and slave owner Lucullus.

Cherry fruit

Cherry fruits have a sweet and sour taste. Cherry fruits contain organic acids (citric acid, malic acid, succinic acid, salicylic acid), microelements (copper, iron, zinc, iodine, manganese, chromium, fluorine, molybdenum, boron, vanadium, cobalt, nickel, rubidium), macroelements (potassium, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium), as well as pectin substances, sugars, vitamins A, C, E, B1, B2, PP, folic acid.

Cherry in culture

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Notes

A. M. Prokhorov. - 3rd ed. - M. : Soviet encyclopedia, 1969-1978.

Links

• V
• Sychev A.. Garden Information Center. Retrieved October 16, 2013.

Excerpt characterizing Cherry

Helen smiled with an expression that said that she did not admit the possibility that anyone could see her and not be admired. Auntie cleared her throat, swallowed her drool and said in French that she was very glad to see Helen; then she turned to Pierre with the same greeting and with the same mien. In the middle of a boring and stumbling conversation, Helen looked back at Pierre and smiled at him with that clear, beautiful smile with which she smiled at everyone. Pierre was so used to this smile, it expressed so little for him that he did not pay any attention to it. Auntie was talking at this time about the collection of snuff boxes that Pierre’s late father, Count Bezukhy, had, and showed her snuff box. Princess Helen asked to see the portrait of her aunt's husband, which was made on this snuff box.
“This was probably done by Vines,” said Pierre, naming the famous miniaturist, bending over to the table to pick up a snuffbox, and listening to the conversation at another table.
He stood up, wanting to go around, but the aunt handed the snuff-box right across Helen, behind her. Helen leaned forward to make room and looked back, smiling. She was, as always at evenings, in a dress that was very open in front and back, according to the fashion of that time. Her bust, which always seemed marble to Pierre, was in such close range from his eyes, that with his myopic eyes he involuntarily discerned the living beauty of her shoulders and neck, and so close to his lips that he had to bend down a little to touch her. He heard the warmth of her body, the smell of perfume and the creak of her corset as she moved. He did not see her marble beauty, which was one with her dress, he saw and felt all the charm of her body, which was covered only by clothes. And, once he saw this, he could not see otherwise, just as we cannot return to a deception once explained.
“So you haven’t noticed how beautiful I am until now? – Helen seemed to say. “Have you noticed that I’m a woman?” Yes, I am a woman who can belong to anyone and you too,” said her look. And at that very moment Pierre felt that Helen not only could, but had to be his wife, that it could not be otherwise.
He knew it at that moment as surely as he would have known it standing under the aisle with her. As it will be? and when? he did not know; he didn’t even know whether it would be good (he even felt that it was not good for some reason), but he knew that it would be.
Pierre lowered his eyes, raised them again and again wanted to see her as such a distant, alien beauty as he had seen her every day before; but he could no longer do this. He could not, just as a person who had previously looked in the fog at a blade of weeds and saw a tree in it, cannot, after seeing the blade of grass, again see a tree in it. She was terribly close to him. She already had power over him. And between him and her there were no longer any barriers, except for the barriers of his own will.
- Bon, je vous laisse dans votre petit coin. Je vois, que vous y etes tres bien, [Okay, I'll leave you in your corner. I see you feel good there,” said Anna Pavlovna’s voice.
And Pierre, with fear remembering whether he had done something reprehensible, blushing, looked around him. It seemed to him that everyone knew, just like him, about what happened to him.
After a while, when he approached the large circle, Anna Pavlovna said to him:
– On dit que vous embellissez votre maison de Petersbourg. [They say you are decorating your St. Petersburg house.]
(It was true: the architect said that he needed it, and Pierre, without knowing why, was decorating his huge house in St. Petersburg.)
“C"est bien, mais ne demenagez pas de chez le prince Vasile. Il est bon d"avoir un ami comme le prince,” she said, smiling at Prince Vasily. - J"en sais quelque chose. N"est ce pas? [That's good, but don't move away from Prince Vasily. It's good to have such a friend. I know something about this. Isn't that right?] And you are still so young. You need advice. Don't be angry with me for taking advantage of old women's rights. “She fell silent, as women always remain silent, expecting something after they say about their years. – If you get married, then it’s a different matter. – And she combined them into one look. Pierre did not look at Helen, and she did not look at him. But she was still terribly close to him. He mumbled something and blushed.
Returning home, Pierre could not fall asleep for a long time, thinking about what happened to him. What happened to him? Nothing. He just realized that the woman he knew as a child, about whom he absentmindedly said: “Yes, she’s good,” when they told him that Helen was beautiful, he realized that this woman could belong to him.
“But she’s stupid, I said myself that she’s stupid,” he thought. “There is something disgusting in the feeling that she aroused in me, something forbidden.” They told me that her brother Anatole was in love with her, and she was in love with him, that there was a whole story, and that Anatole was sent away from this. Her brother is Hippolytus... Her father is Prince Vasily... This is not good,” he thought; and at the same time as he reasoned like this (these reasonings still remained unfinished), he found himself smiling and realized that another series of reasoning was emerging from behind the first, that at the same time he was thinking about her insignificance and dreaming about how she will be his wife, how she can love him, how she can be completely different, and how everything that he thought and heard about her may not be true. And again he saw her not as some daughter of Prince Vasily, but saw her whole body, only covered with a gray dress. “But no, why didn’t this thought occur to me before?” And again he told himself that this was impossible; that something disgusting, unnatural, as it seemed to him, would be dishonest in this marriage. He remembered her previous words, looks, and the words and looks of those who saw them together. He remembered the words and looks of Anna Pavlovna when she told him about the house, he remembered thousands of such hints from Prince Vasily and others, and horror came over him, whether he had already tied himself in some way in carrying out such a task, which was obviously not good and which he should not do. But at the same time, as he expressed this decision to himself, from the other side of his soul her image emerged with all its feminine beauty.

In November 1805, Prince Vasily was supposed to go to an audit in four provinces. He arranged this appointment for himself in order to visit his ruined estates at the same time, and taking with him (at the location of his regiment) his son Anatoly, he and him would go to Prince Nikolai Andreevich Bolkonsky in order to marry his son to the daughter of this rich man old man. But before leaving and these new affairs, Prince Vasily needed to resolve matters with Pierre, who, however, Lately spent whole days at home, that is, with Prince Vasily, with whom he lived, he was funny, excited and stupid (as a lover should be) in the presence of Helen, but still did not propose.
“Tout ca est bel et bon, mais il faut que ca finisse,” [All this is good, but we must end it] - Prince Vasily said to himself one morning with a sigh of sadness, realizing that Pierre, who owed him so much (well, yes Christ be with him!), is not doing very well in this matter. “Youth... frivolity... well, God bless him,” thought Prince Vasily, feeling his kindness with pleasure: “mais il faut, que ca finisse.” After Lelya’s name day tomorrow, I will call someone, and if he does not understand what he must do, then it will be my business. Yes, it's my business. I am the father!
Pierre, a month and a half after Anna Pavlovna's evening and the sleepless, excited night that followed, in which he decided that marrying Helen would be a misfortune, and that he needed to avoid her and leave, Pierre, after this decision, did not move from Prince Vasily and was horrified felt that every day he was more and more connected with her in the eyes of people, that he could not in any way return to his previous view of her, that he could not tear himself away from her, that it would be terrible, but that he would have to connect with her destiny. Perhaps he could have abstained, but not a day passed when Prince Vasily (who rarely had a reception) did not have an evening at which Pierre should have been, if he did not want to upset the general pleasure and deceive everyone’s expectations. Prince Vasily, in those rare moments when he was at home, passing by Pierre, pulled him down by the hand, absentmindedly offered him a shaved, wrinkled cheek for a kiss and said either “see you tomorrow” or “by dinner, otherwise I won’t see you.” , or “I’m staying for you,” etc. But despite the fact that when Prince Vasily stayed for Pierre (as he said), he did not say two words to him, Pierre did not feel able to deceive his expectations . Every day he kept telling himself the same thing: “We must finally understand her and give ourselves an account: who is she? Have I been wrong before or am I wrong now? No, she's not stupid; no, she's a wonderful girl! - he said to himself sometimes. “She’s never wrong about anything, she’s never said anything stupid.” She doesn't say much, but what she says is always simple and clear. So she's not stupid. She has never been embarrassed and never is. So she’s not a bad woman!” Often he happened to start reasoning with her, thinking out loud, and every time she answered him with either a short, but appropriately spoken remark, showing that she was not interested in this, or with a silent smile and glance, which most palpably showed Pierre her superiority. She was right in recognizing all reasoning as nonsense compared to that smile.
She always turned to him with a joyful, trusting smile that was only for him, in which there was something more significant than what was in the general smile that always adorned her face. Pierre knew that everyone was only waiting for him to finally say one word, step over a well-known trait, and he knew that sooner or later he would step over it; but some incomprehensible horror seized him at the mere thought of this terrible step. A thousand times during this month and a half, during which he felt himself drawn further and further into that abyss that frightened him, Pierre said to himself: “What is this? It takes determination! Don’t I have it?”
He wanted to make up his mind, but he felt with horror that in this case he did not have the determination that he knew in himself and that really was in him. Pierre was one of those people who are strong only when they feel completely pure. And from the day he was possessed by that feeling of desire that he experienced over Anna Pavlovna’s snuffbox, an unconscious feeling of guilt in this desire paralyzed his determination.
On Helen’s name day, Prince Vasily had dinner with a small company of people closest to her, as the princess said, relatives and friends. All these relatives and friends were given the feeling that on this day the fate of the birthday girl should be decided.
The guests were sitting at dinner. Princess Kuragina, a massive, once beautiful, representative woman, sat in the master's seat. On both sides of her sat the most honored guests - the old general, his wife, Anna Pavlovna Scherer; at the end of the table sat the less elderly and honored guests, and the family, Pierre and Hélène, were sitting there, side by side. Prince Vasily did not have dinner: he walked around the table in a cheerful mood, sitting down with one or the other of the guests. He spoke a casual and pleasant word to everyone, with the exception of Pierre and Helene, whose presence he did not seem to notice. Prince Vasily revived everyone. Burned brightly wax candles, the silver and crystal of the dishes, the ladies’ outfits and the gold and silver epaulettes glittered; servants in red caftans scurried around the table; the sounds of knives, glasses, plates and the sounds of the animated chatter of several conversations around this table were heard. The old chamberlain at one end could be heard assuring the old baroness of his ardent love for her and her laughter; on the other hand, a story about the failure of some Marya Viktorovna. At the middle of the table, Prince Vasily gathered his audience around him. He told the ladies, with a playful smile on his lips, the last - on Wednesday - meeting of the State Council, at which the then famous rescript of Emperor Alexander Pavlovich from the army was received and read by Sergei Kuzmich Vyazmitinov, the new St. Petersburg military governor-general, in which the Emperor, addressing Sergei Kuzmich, said that from all sides he receives statements about the devotion of the people, and that the statement from St. Petersburg is especially pleasant to him, that he is proud of the honor of being the head of such a nation and will try to be worthy of it. This rescript began with the words: Sergey Kuzmich! Rumors reach me from all sides, etc.