TOP important tips for growing cherries

Sweet cherry is a woody plant that can reach a height of 10 meters. It grows very quickly, especially at a young age. Fruit-berry, very juicy and tasty, the color can be red, yellow.

Most cherry varieties require cross-pollination with other trees. Therefore, you need to plant at least two or three trees next to your tree so that they pollinate each other. The flowering time of these trees should be the same. You can also plant different varieties on the same tree.

Examples:

For the Bing variety, the following varieties are suitable: Sam, Van, Rainier, Stella.

For Lambert variety: Sam, Van, Montmorency, Rainier, Stella.

For Rainier: Sam, Van, Bing, Royal Ann, Lambert, Montmorency, Stella.

For Royal: Anne Sam, Van, Montmorency, Rainier, Stella.

Before planting, be sure to check the pollination time of your cherry and its compatibility with other varieties. It is possible to plant trees for pollination not only cherries, but also cherries.

Sweet cherry grows quickly, especially young trees, but begins to bear fruit only at 4-5 years.

Landing

Sweet cherry is a whimsical plant, so it is very important to choose a place for planting it.

The tree is light and heat-loving, so choose a site on the south, south-east or south-west side. Where it will be warm, sunny and there will be no cold winds. Do not plant cherries in low areas where water can accumulate. On overly moist soils, the tree dies.

The optimal soil for this tree is loam or sandy loam soil. It will not grow on sandy, clayey areas.

You can plant cherry seedlings either in the fall, if you live in the southern regions, or in the spring, if in the northern ones. In the fall we plant until the temperature drops and the soil cools, in the spring until the buds open.

Before planting, the area where you will plant well, dig up, apply organic fertilizers: compost, or rotted manure. And minerals: phosphorus, potassium.

If your soil is too acidic, then you need to add lime or ash. You need to deposit 10 days before planting.

The hole for the tree should be at least 60 cm deep, at least 90 cm wide. The hole also needs to be prepared, you cannot immediately plant cherries in it. Mix the excavated earth with fertilizers, tamp, water. Leave it like this for 10 days, and only then plant it. You need to plant trees at a distance of 3-5 meters from each other, so mature trees have a large crown.

Choose seedlings for planting carefully. They should have a graft mark on them, this will be proof that you are buying a varietal type of sweet cherry. It is also better for the plant that there are many branches on the plant, this will greatly facilitate the formation of the crown in the future. And of course, the seedlings should be young and healthy, without external damage, stains and other flaws.

Before planting, keep the plant roots in water for at least 5 hours, so it will be easier for the plant to adapt.

Cherry: Care

Water the tree abundantly, she does not like drought. Be sure to water in the spring, when the buds begin to swell, during flowering and during fruiting. At other times, you can water if the weather is very hot and the soil under the tree dries quickly.

After planting, you can sprinkle mulch around the trunk, it will retain water. It is better to use natural mulch: straw, bark.

Cherries and feeding rules

You need to fertilize a young tree 2 times a year in spring and summer. Mature trees are better than three autumn, summer, spring.

We apply fertilizers next to the trunk, it is not necessary to pour at the root, because this way they are less digestible.

In the summer they are fed with mineral fertilizers containing phosphorus and potassium. In the fall, it is best to feed with liquid manure or poultry droppings.

Loosening

In the summer, it is imperative to loosen the ground near the trunk to a depth of 10-12 cm. In order to let air in to the roots. Loosening is necessary after abundant watering or after heavy rain.

Pruning

since young trees grow quickly, they need to be pruned annually. Cut off shoots that do not participate in the formation of the crown. Pruning is done in early spring, but if for some reason you could not do this, you can also prune in summer. You need to cut with a sharp tool at an angle of 40-45 degrees. Cover the place of the cut with garden pitch.

Sweet cherry and its processing from parasites

Preventive work against pests should be carried out in the spring, while the tree has not yet woken up. And in the fall, after the leaves have fallen. You can process it both with folk remedies: copper sulfate, urea, Bordeaux mixture, and with special chemicals: Inta-Vir, Antilin, Agravertin, Fitoverm and others. To increase resistance to microorganisms, you can spray the plants with stimulants: zircon.

Some more tips

Birds are very fond of cherries, so make sure in advance how you will scare them away so that they do not eat up your entire crop. You can hang various shiny objects, or cover the cherries with a net.

Cherries often burst berries. Reasons: either insufficient watering, or waterlogging of the soil. What to do: Monitor the soil, and water as needed. You can also plant varieties that are less prone to cracking. Or purchase special preparations (catchment) and process the plants.

To prevent the tree trunk from getting dirty and cracking, you can treat it with slaked lime.