Cardinal Peach

Cardinal Peach (Prunus persica «Сardinal») – an American peach cultivar. A clone of the Cambridge Carmine variety, it was developed in the 1890s.

It is a medium-sized tree with a rounded, dense crown. It begins fruiting early, in the 2nd-3rd year after planting. The cultivar is self-fertile. Yield is regular. Leaves are lanceolate with a serrated margin.

Fruits are large, weighing 140-150 g, rounded, slightly flattened on the sides. Skin yellow with a reddish blush. Flesh orange-yellow, meaty, juicy, with a pleasant aroma. The stone is small and partly separates from the flesh. The taste rating is high. Harvest ripens in the third ten-day period of July.

Hardiness zone: 5a (-23°C).

Location: heat-loving, requires sunny and wind-protected sites. Requires moderate watering, especially during fruit set and ripening. Prefers light, loamy or sandy-loam calcareous soils with moderate moisture.

Planting: Planting is recommended in spring, but can also be done in autumn (in which case mulching the root circle and heaping soil to a height of 20-30 cm is necessary). The planting hole should be at least 0.7x0.7 m, with spacing 4x4 m. 10 kg of well-rotted manure and 150 g of superphosphate are mixed with the soil and the seedling with its root system spread out is planted. The root circle should be compacted to the edges, watered well (4-5 buckets) and mulched with a layer of compost to a depth of 8-10 cm.

Diseases and pests: Diseases – powdery mildew, leaf curl, clasterosporiosis, fruit rot, moniliosis, Cytospora dieback of shoots and branches. Pests – plum and oriental fruit moths, striped fruit moth, large and green peach aphids, fruit and spider mites.

Care: requires moderate watering and formative pruning. For improved yields, the improved vase pruning method is used. After planting the seedling, all side branches should be removed. Leave 3-4 scaffold branches spaced 10-20 cm apart. The leader should be pruned at the base of the upper lateral branch. In the second year, shorten first-order branches if they are longer than 50 cm or if their growth direction needs to be changed. In subsequent years, pruning should be directed toward fruiting. Rejuvenation pruning is carried out from bud swell to the start of flowering. If frost damage occurs, pruning is performed after water sprouts appear on the trunks and branches.

Propagation: seedlings are grafted onto a variety of rootstocks. For dry, sandy and chernozem soils, apricot rootstocks have proven best; for wet acidic soils – on Russian plum (alycha), blackthorn and plum.

Uses: Fruits are consumed fresh, used for canning, making liqueur, marmalade and juice. Peach oil is produced from the seeds.