VLADIMIR

Prunus cerasus

Vladimir is a Morello-like cherry not more promising in New York, at least in the orchard of this Station, than any other of the many competitors of English Morello. The cherries are large, very similar in size and appearance to those of English Morello; the pit is small, the skin very thin and separating readily from the pulp. The variety is further characterized by the very dark red flesh and dark colored juice which is too astringent and sour to eat out of hand but does very well for culinary purposes. The tree is much like that of English Morello but is far more dwarfish and not as productive, these being fatal faults for commercial planting in New York. It falls short of English Morello in another respect—the fruit ripens very unevenly. Vladimir has the reputation of being one of the hardiest of all cherries. It is said to come true from seed and does better on its own roots than on either Mazzard or Mahaleb. The Russians, according to Budd, succeed best with it when it is propagated from sprouts and allowed to form a bushy plant with several stems, the oldest of which are cut from time to time. There seems to be little in the variety to commend it for either home or commercial plantings in New York.

Vladimir is a generic name for a group of varieties grown in Russia, principally in the province of Vladimir east of Moscow. Most of these cherries are large, black fruits with highly colored juice and good quality, much valued for market use in their native country. Professor J. L. Budd imported a number of these Vladimir cherries from Orel in Central Russia and grew them at the Experiment Station grounds in Iowa, giving to each a seedling number as a distinguishing characteristic. One, Orel No. 25, was selected as being superior in many respects to the others and was finally named Vladimir. This variety, typical of these Russian cherries, has been considerably propagated and is generally distributed throughout this country. The American Pomological Society added Vladimir to its list of recommended fruits in 1909.

VLADIMIR

Tree dwarfish, round-topped, very hardy, productive; trunk medium or below in size; branches willowy, drooping, reddish-brown slightly overspread with ash-gray; branchlets slender, long, smooth, with a few small, raised lenticels.

Leaves numerous, three inches long, one and three-fourths inches wide, folded upward, oval, thick; upper surface dull, dark green, smooth; lower surface light green, with a few scattering hairs; apex acute, base slightly abrupt; margin finely serrate, with dark colored glands; petiole one-half inch long, tinged with red, with a few scattering hairs along the stalk, glandless or with from one to four small, reniform, greenish-yellow glands at the base of the blade.

Buds small, short, very obtuse, plump, free, arranged singly as lateral buds and in small clusters on small spurs; leaf-scars obscure; season of bloom intermediate; flowers white, one and one-fourth inches across; borne in scattering clusters in twos, threes and fours; pedicels three-fourths of an inch long, rather slender, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube with a tinge of red, somewhat obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes reddish, broad, obtuse, serrate, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals roundish or slightly obovate, irregularly crenate, with short, blunt claws, apex entire; filaments over one-fourth inch long; pistil glabrous, shorter than the stamens.

Fruit matures very late; three-eighths of an inch long, seven-eighths of an inch wide, roundish-cordate, slightly compressed; cavity rather shallow; suture a line; apex roundish; color dark red almost black at full maturity; dots numerous, small, russet, inconspicuous; stem slender, one and one-half inches or more in length, adherent to the fruit; skin thin, separating from the pulp; flesh dark red, with very dark colored juice, slightly stringy, melting, sprightly, astringent, sour; of fair quality; stone semi-clinging, rather large, long-ovate to oval, with smooth surfaces, tinged with red.