The rain a deluge showers. ~ Andrew Cherry
The sour cherry is one of the hardiest trees, standing up to just about anything that nature can throw its way. While your sweet cherry is more sensitive, and thrive well in light sandy soil.
Your young trees do not care for the cold, so do not plant them until after all threat of a spring frost has past. As cold air like to sink, your ideal spot to plant a cherry tree is on a slope that is higher than the surrounding area, and near a pond or stream if you have one. Water tends to reduce the dangers of frost. Plus it will prevent every young cherry trees nightmare, early spring flowering.
Your soil needs to be well drained. Though sandy loam is the best soil for all types of cherry trees, they will thrive in just about any type of soil.
Their roots rarely go deeper than 2 feet. You will need to help them get a little deeper to survive a long winter or flooding. To do this, add peat and compost with the soil you are working in around the root {only if you do not have sandy loam to begin with.}
The need lots of room. The amount of sunlight they get will add in fruit development. In the shade the fruits will fail to ripen. Choose a dwarf tree if you don't have a lot of space. Dwarf cherries need to have space of 18 feet, and standard will need a space between 25-30 feet.
Plant your cherry in an area that will be plowed in the fall. To plant you will need a cherry tree that is at least 2 years in age. Water the roots as soon as you get home. Never allow your roots to get dry.
Trim off any roots that have become damaged. Shorten up any stragglers. Plant so that they stand deeper in the ground than they did at the nursery.
Do not allow weed or grass competition with your tree. Mulch well if you are planting in sod, straw and cut up corn cobs are best to use. Cover crops like rye in the spring , and buckwheat in the summer.
At planting only have the main stem the tallest, trim back the others. Thin the stems to 4-6 inches apart, leave the lowest one about 16 inches from the ground. After that trim only the new branches on the main stem, the ones that will grow inward or cross over other branches.
What trees are you planting this year?
1 comment:
First grapes and now cherries!
I'd love to have some dwarf Rainier trees, but I'm concerned of having a bunch of goopy, ant-attracting downed fruit if I don't get too them when they are ripe.
Do you have any problems with tons of bugs from your cherry trees? Or do the birds get to them first?
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