Cut sweet cherry tree: That's why August is the best time for it

Created: 08/12/2022, 06:00

By: Janine Napirca

Do you own one or more sweet cherry trees?

Read here why, when and how to properly cut your sweet cherries.

Note to our readers:

This article contains affiliate links.

This means we receive a commission from partners.

This changes nothing for you.

Sweet cherry trees belong to the rose family and, according to the

, can live up to 60 years.

According to the report, in contrast to many other fruit trees, which are pruned in late winter, it is advisable to give the sweet cherry in the garden a summer pruning.

In the following you can read why sweet cherry trees have to be pruned at all and how you should best proceed.

Why do sweet cherry trees need regular pruning?

How Fast Does a Sweet Cherry Tree Grow?

If you want to enjoy delicious sweet cherries every year, you should definitely deal with the topic of pruning sweet cherry trees correctly.

Because not only that you can no longer reach the sweet cherries without a ladder without a regular pruning of your tree.

According to

, sweet cherry trees grow between 40 and 60 centimeters a year and the standard stems are up to 30 meters high.

You should Cut the sweet cherry correctly.

You can find out exactly how this works below.

Sweet cherry trees need regular pruning.

© Chromorange/Imago

When do you cut sweet cherries?

, sweet cherry trees should be pruned

after the cherries have been harvested, i.e. usually between the beginning of August and the end of September.

Also read what other gardening jobs to do in August.

Summer pruning has the advantage that cuts heal better in warm and dry weather and the sweet cherry tree is less susceptible to disease.

How to properly prune your sweet cherry tree: 3 tips

Experts from

have summarized the three most important tips for the perfect sweet cherry tree pruning:

• The perfect time to prune the sweet cherry tree:

  It is best to decide on the summer pruning in August, because then your sweet cherry tree can produce new shoots in the same year.

  However, do not be too radical so that your sweet cherry tree still has enough leaves.

  In summer, the cuts heal better and faster and are therefore less susceptible to bacteria or fungi.

• Use the right tool for pruning the sweet cherry tree:

  As a rule of thumb - everything that can be cut with pruning shears (advertising link) is cut in summer or late winter;

  all thicker branches only in summer, depending on the branch thickness with a pruning saw (promotional link) or pruning shears (promotional link).

  For tall, hard-to-reach branches, you can use either a ladder (promotional link) or a battery-powered pole (promotional link) that acts as an arm extension.

  Also, when pruning your sweet cherry trees, use work gloves (promotional link) and protect your head with a hard hat (promotional link).

• Note the tree species including special features:

  Sweet cherry trees should be pruned in such a way that they have a loose crown with as many two- to three-year-old fruit shoots as possible.

  You should remove all side shoots that grow inside the crown of your sweet cherry tree.

  Above all, heavily branched branches with over-aged fruit wood must be removed for the sweet cherry to be pruned correctly.

By the way:

Do not cut off thick branches directly at the trunk, otherwise the bark could tear.

To prevent this, you should first create an artificial predetermined breaking point slightly offset from the trunk.

If you then saw a little further up, the branch will break at the predetermined breaking point and not at the bark.

You can then easily saw off the remaining stub on the sweet cherry.

These ten mistakes can ruin your garden

View photo gallery

How to properly prune an old sweet cherry tree

, an old sweet cherry tree that is hardly growing any more, only produces little new fruit wood and bears sparse fruit can be stimulated

to new growth with a rejuvenation pruning.

It is best to prune your old sweet cherry tree at the end of February, provided the weather is mild and dry.

Otherwise the wood could be damaged by frost.

If your old sweet cherry trees are very old, you should extend the pruning for several years.

Instructions for the rejuvenation pruning of a sweet cherry tree:

• Cut off all dead and diseased branches.

• Shorten the leading shoots to a quarter.

• Cut back overhanging twigs to young branches.

• Remove branches that cross or grow into the crown.

• Avoid stem wounds larger than 10 centimeters.

While a radical rejuvenation pruning can reactivate an old sweet cherry tree, it will likely shorten the tree's lifespan.

Because sweet cherries do not cope well with such drastic interventions in the long term.