Plant ID card
| Botanical Name | Prunus cerasus, Prunus avium, Prunus acida |
| Common Name | Cherry tree |
| Family | Rose |
| Origin | Asia Minor and Eastern Europe |
| Type | Stone Fruit Tree |
| Size | 6 to 10 m high. |
| Foliage | Deciduous, leaves oval and toothed, green in summer and rufous in autumn. |
| Flowering | In March-April, white flowers appear in small bunches. |
| Fruit | Cherries, picked between the months of May and July (summer). |
| Exhibition | Sunny enough. |
| Ground | Fresh, a little clayey and rich. |
| Rusticity | Very rustic. |
With its beautiful blooms in March-April and its succulent fruits in summer, the cherry tree is one of the most popular trees in the garden. Easy to grow, it also has the advantage of growing quite quickly, gaining about 1 meter each year.
What are the different species of cherry trees?
A distinction should be made between Prunus avium and Prunus cerasus.
Prunus avium:
The fruits of Prunus avium are sweet, sweet and eaten raw. They can be cherry cherries, the best-known and most planted family of cherries in gardens represented by the "Burlat", "Napoleon" or "Coeur de Pigeon" cherry trees, soft-fleshed guignes or small wild cherries.
Prunus cersus:
The fruits of Prunus cerasus are tart, even acidic, and their flesh is soft. They are eaten cooked for the preparation of jams or brandy. This category, which is less widespread, includes the morello cherry, produced for example by the "Montmorency" or the amarelles.
When and where to plant a cherry tree?
As early as late fall, it's time to plant the cherry trees, which you can buy in bare roots or containers.
The exposure should be sunny, not too windy. A cherry tree with an east or south-west exposure should be very popular. On the other hand, avoid northerly orientations, especially in regions exposed to cold winters.
As early as late fall, it's time to plant the cherry trees, which you can buy in bare roots or containers. Copyright (c) 2023 crystaldream/Shutterstock. No use without permission.
It is better to plan a pitch with space that can accommodate... 2 cherry trees! Even though it is a self-fertile cherry tree, this tree should be planted in pairs to ensure cross-pollination of flowers.
To enjoy the cherry harvest for longer, plant varieties with staggered maturity, such as Hâtif Burlat, which offers its fruit in May, and Géant d'Hedelfingen, whose cherries can be picked in July, until the beginning of August.
How do you plant a cherry tree?
Plant the tree at a distance of at least 10 metres from the house.
Dig a hole twice the size of the root ball of the cherry tree to which you have added compost or well-rotted manure. The soil, which must be deep, well-drained and rich, will thus see its quality improved.
You can install a stake for the first 3 to 5 years, to prevent your tree from uprooting. In this case, choose a soft strap.
How do you properly care for a cherry tree?
Watering:
During the first few years after planting, the cherry tree will need to be watered regularly, especially in times of drought. Check that the soil has dried out between watering sessions.
When it has exceeded 5 years, you will no longer have to intervene: the tree will be autonomous.
The cherry tree blooms beautifully in March-April. Copyright (c) 2023 M. Schuppich/Shutterstock. No use without permission.
Waist:
The cherry tree won't require much effort because it doesn't tolerate pruning much, which weakens it. Indeed, the strokes of pruning shears cause gum discharge which can cause the appearance of bacteria or fungi. Focus on:
- Pruning pruning, the goal of which is to remove broken or dead branches and get rid of large excess branches that prevent light from seeping in. This pruning should be done after cherry harvesting, every 5 years or so, sometimes more frequently.
- Shortening pruning, which aims to rebalance sap inflows. This pruning consists of cutting off the young branches that have appeared since the beginning of spring by about twenty centimetres, when it is observed that the tree bears fruit little or late; ortwigs laden with cherries to encourage the production of new shoots. The shortening pruning is expected to take place in May-June.
Applying a healing putty can be a good idea in winter.
Mulching:
On young trees, place quality compost mixed with manure that has been decomposed in early spring, to keep the roots cool throughout the summer.
Which cherry tree for a small garden?
For a small garden, choose an Early Van Compact cherry tree, a Moreau cherry tree or a "Rainier" cherry tree.
You can also opt for a Frumi dwarf sour cherry or a Stella dwarf cherry, which can be planted in a container, as can the Sylvia mini cherry tree, which grows in columns.
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In this case, provide pots of at least 40 cm on each side, filled with sandy garden soil and potting soil for roses.
At what age does a cherry tree bear fruit?
A cherry tree can start producing as early as 3 years of age, but it is more common to see it fruit around its 7th year, especially for an open wind form (also called a tall stem). The average yield per tree? A cherry tree produces 55 to 70 kg of cherries per year. In addition to being delicious, these fruits are rich in Vitamin C and antioxidants.
A cherry tree can start producing as early as 3 years of age, but it is more common to see it fruit around its 7th year. Copyright (c) 2023 jessicahyde/Shutterstock. No use without permission.
If you notice that your cherry tree doesn't produce cherries one summer, don't worry, even if the disappointment is quite legitimate: your tree is recharging its batteries and replenishing its strength for the following year. This phenomenon is well known to gardeners and is known as cherry tree alternation.
A cherry tree can live for about fifty years, or even a hundred years for those in an ideal environment, but diseases often hinder the longevity of the tree, which then lives for about thirty years.