Cherry Trees, Fruit

There are two distinct types of cherry, sweet and acid. Sweet cherries are dessert types and can be enjoyed directly from the tree, the acid types are used for cooking and preserving.

Sweet cherries are hardy, though in cooler climates will not ripen fully unless they are fan trained against a sunny wall (about 8ft tall and 25ft wide). This form is also easiest to net against birds taking the fruit, in many locations if this is an absolute requirement if you are to taste any of your fruit yourself, birds will always take the fruit long before it's near ripe. Sweet cherries need another compatible cherry tree nearby for pollination. They tend to be big trees even on supposedly dwarfing rootstocks.

Acid cherries are much easier to grow in a cool climate and also in a small garden. They are less vigorous than sweet cherries and being mostly self-fertile have no need of another tree for cross pollination.

Cherries should be pruned when in growth after bud burst in spring, winter pruning makes them susceptible to silver leaf like plums. They fruit on the previous seasons wood, so pruning should remove old wood allowing for the development of new fruit bearing shoots for the following year. Each year about a quarter of the branches in an established tree should be cut back by 1/3 to 1/2 of their length, otherwise fruiting ends up being limited to the peripheral shoots. Dead and diseased wood should be removed whenever it is seen.

Mature cherry trees can be a problem if planted in or near lawns as they often have shallow roots that show at the lawn surface. If this is the case, cut the root off near the tree and fill the shallow trench that results with topsoil and apply grass seed. It usually only affects mature trees which can cope with this treatment fairly well.

Bacterial Canker - A disease that affects cherries in particular, and plums to a lesser degree. The tree weeps a quick hardening gum from wounds in the bark, this disease can kill a young tree. Other symptoms are wilting of shoots or blossom and "shothole" damage to the leaves. The leaves develop brown spots which then fall out making the tree look like it has been blasted with shot. The bacteria that cause the disease tend to enter by a wound which then oozes gum. If the bacteria spread around to girdle the branch or twig, the parts above it die.

Montmorency

Bing

Sweetheart

Rainier

Stella

Lapin

Van