Have you considered planting cherry trees in your garden? With attention and education, the trees are quite straightforward to grow. Cherries are a vibrant summer staple in pies, preserves, and a quick snack. You can cultivate a cherry tree in your backyard garden with enough room and time.
Thanks to their excellent fruit production, cherry trees are frequently grown by individuals. However, people occasionally plant cherry trees because they look lovely when they bloom in the spring. Let’s examine the best methods for growing cherry trees in home gardens.
See also: Plum tree: How to grow and care for plums in your backyard?
Cherry tree: Quick facts
| Genus | Prunus |
| Common name | Wild cherry, sweet cherry, gean, plum cherry, or bird cherry |
| Family | Rosaceae |
| Native to | Western Asia and Eastern Europe from the Caspian Sea to the Balkans |
| Tree size | 10 metres tall |
| Tree colour | Light pink to white |
| Soil type | Sandy loam, peat moss, bark, pumice, perlite |
| Season | Early March to early April |
| Toxic | Cherry leaves contain cyanide which can be harmful to animals |
See also: Orchid tree: How to grow and care for it?
The history and mythology of the Cherry tree
George Washington, the first President of the United States as a small boy chopped his father’s cherry tree with the hatchet he got as gift. On being questioned by his father, he owned up to the incident displaying honesty.
The history and mythology of the cherry tree vary among cultures and countries. As per the ancient Greece culture, the cherry tree was sacred to the goddess Aphrodite. In Norse mythology, the cherry tree was sacred to the goddess Freya.
Cherry tree: Physical description
Cherry trees are deciduous plants that grow fleshy drupes and are part of the Rosaceae family’s Prunus genus. The sweet or real cherries (Prunus avium) and sour cherries (Prunus cerasus) have the most commercial value, even though there are many distinct cherry species and cultivars. A cherry tree can grow to 4–15 m (13.1–50 feet), depending on the species and varieties.
The fruit is often dark red, oblate to spherical, and has a high acid content, making it unappealing to eat raw. Everywhere in the world where the winters are not too harsh and the summers are not too hot, cherries are grown. They need the cold of winter to bloom in the spring. Just after peaches and before apples in the spring, the trees bloom pretty early.
Cherry tree: Varieties
The most common variety of cherries is the sweet cherry, Prunus Avium. Sweet cherry cultivars like Rainier, Montmorency, and Bing are self-sterile trees, necessitating the planting of multiples of two to three to cross-pollinate them.
Stella cherries are a self-pollinating dwarf variety that is relatively new. Stella cherry trees are the best option for modest home gardens because they don’t require a second appropriate tree for cross-pollination.
Prunus Cerasus, sometimes known as sour cherries, are typically picked to be preserved or turned into jam. These cherry trees reproduce via self-fertilisation.
Cherry tree: How to plant?
- When planting cherry trees with conventional rootstock, the graft union should be a few inches below the soil’s surface.
- When planting cherry trees on dwarf rootstock, you should place the graft union several inches above the soil line. It will stop the graft from developing its roots and displacing the rootstock.
- Construct the appropriate supports before planting fan-trained trees. Place the blowers 12 to 15 foot apart.
- Place the rootstock of bare-root trees on a small mound of earth in the centre of the planting hole, spread the roots outward while avoiding bending them, and then backfill with soil.
- For trees planted in containers, take out the root ball first, then tip the tree over and use shears to cut through any roots ringed or confined by the pot. Don’t cover the rootball’s top.
- Plant cherry trees in a sunny location with adequate air circulation and deep, well-drained soil in the early spring or late fall (when the ground is soft and has a more awesome moisture content).
- Add mulch, then thoroughly water. In a bearing year, you’ll need to cover trees with wildlife-safe netting after they bloom to keep birds away from the fruit.
- Cherry trees grow best in deep, well-draining soil and between pH 6.0 and 7.0. Cherry blossoms need six hours or more of bright sun each day.
Cherry tree: How to grow it using cherry pits?
Using the pits from locally grown cherries, you can grow cherries at home, although the process will take longer. Use the sap from nearby-grown or farmer’s market-purchased cherries. The use of grocery store pits is not recommended because they might not be appropriate for your region’s environment.
Source: Pinterest
- Set up the pits. Save a few cherry pits from nearby orchards. To loosen the remaining fruit, soak it in a warm water dish for a few minutes.
- Allow the pits to dry entirely by spreading them out on paper towels for about a week.
- Place in the refrigerator for ten weeks after transferring to an airtight container.
- Before planting two to three pits in a pot with well-draining soil indoors, remove the container from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature.
- Consistently water the soil to keep it damp.
- When seedlings emerge, only the strongest should be left; after the earth has warmed up in the early spring, you can move the remaining seedlings into their final outdoor location.
- Be tolerant. Cherry pit-planted trees typically take seven to ten years to produce fruit.
Cherry tree: Growing tips
Source: Pinterest
- Cherry trees need healthy, well-drained soil to be planted. Because cherry trees are prone to root rot, the soil must drain effectively.
- Additionally, you cannot plant them where they will grow in the shade of other trees because they need around eight hours of sunlight each day.
- Sour cherry trees are self-pollinators, as any guide to caring for cherry trees will inform you. It indicates that they need one tree to yield the fruit. For proper cherry tree pollination, you will need at least a few trees if you grow the sweet kind.
- When cultivating cherry trees, put them in areas with higher land.
- Low-lying regions should be different from where you put them because they get more early spring frost.
- Cherry tree flowers are exceptionally vulnerable to frost damage, reducing fruit harvest.
- Sweet cherry trees are more vulnerable to frost damage since they blossom earlier than the sour kind.
- Cherry trees that have been appropriately pruned yield more and better fruit.
Growing Cherry trees: Tips for a bountiful harvest
The first fruit from your tree may only appear for up to five years, but full-sized types can provide up to 50 quarts of fruit annually!
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Cherry trees typically begin producing fruit in their fourth year, though dwarf varieties do it one year earlier. A mature tart or sweet cherry tree of average size will yield 30 to 50 quarts of cherries annually; a dwarf tree roughly 10 to 15 quarts. Therefore, the time and patience you invest will pay off eventually.
Depending on your region and the cultivars you are cultivating, the harvest might be expected from May to August. Find a specimen that appears ripe when your crop starts to ripen, and then pick it. Ripe fruits are luscious and solid but delicate. Use the taste of the cherry you just selected as a guide to determine whether other cherries are grown.
When harvesting, make an effort to remain patient. The fruit’s sugar level increases dramatically in the final few days before it ripens, but it does not rise further once it is picked. If you’re impatient, the best cherry will be inferior in a few days.
Cherry tree: Care tips
Cherries are no different from other fruiting trees in that they require a few years to start producing something edible and delectable. Expect to wait three to five years before your trees bear fruit.
For your trees to be healthy, you need good soil. Cherries require deep, well-drained soil, which makes it challenging to grow them in rocky places or dirt with a lot of clay. Mulch around the tree bases prevents weed growth and maintains soil moisture.
Then comes fertilisation. Before flowers bloom once a year, use a low-nitrogen fertiliser or a general-purpose fertiliser at half the suggested rate.
Pruning should be done twice a year in early spring (before buds open but after the threat of a cold snap) and late summer.
As much as we love cherries, many animals also adore them, so you’ll need to keep an eye out for any of them on your trees. To get rid of these critters, use a solution like a general fruit and nut orchard spray.
Most plant illnesses may be treated with horticultural oils, and cherry plant rot can be treated naturally using a copper fungicide, which is excellent for fungal problems.
“Gummosis” is a different ailment affecting fruit trees, especially cherries. When cherry trees are hurt, they exude a sap that resembles resin. Borers are most likely present if sawdust is found near the tree’s base and underneath the sapling; use a suitable fruit and nut orchard spray to treat your tree for borers.
Cherry tree: Uses
- Cherries can be used to make jelly, frozen yoghurt, sweets, and other products.
- For decades, cherry flower trees have been used to adorn parks, yards, and other public spaces.
- Arrow shafts and knife blades can be joined to the grips and handles of a knife with the help of cherry sap adhesive.
Cherry Wood: A sustainable and versatile resource
Cherry wood has fine, straight grain and reddish-brown hue that makes is a sought after option for furniture, flooring and even musical instruments. One can easily carve intricate designs on the cherry wood, thus increasing its usability. Also, it’s a favourite among people because cherry wood is long lasting and resistant to pests.
- The cherry tree’s wood works well in machines, is simple to deal with, has a lovely grain pattern, and yields stunning-looking final goods.
- The lathe can be used to make a wide variety of items from cherry wood. Bowls, tumblers, table or chair bottoms, and other items are a few excellent examples.
FAQs
How long does a cherry tree take to grow?
Patience and fruit crops go hand in hand. After establishing for roughly three years, cherry trees might start giving fruit in their fourth year.
Why is cherry tree companion planting necessary?
In addition to attracting pollinators, companion planting can keep insects like aphids away from cherry plants.