Caring for Your Cherry Trees

Wow, another stunning day today. The air is crisp, the sky is clear, and Mother Nature is in bloom.

Last week one of our readers, Arthur Trawick Baugh III (a.k.a. arthurinthegarden), made a comment about how easily cherry tree limbs break. So I decided to ask him a few questions about the care of cherry trees. Here’s what he had to say.

Which is a stronger, better variety of cherry tree for our region of NC: Yoshino or Kanzan? (Or do you have a better suggestion?)
Both the Yoshino and the Kanzan grow about 20 to 30 feet tall with an open habit. Kanzan tends to have a more upright habit so it’s best for a tight location. It also blooms heavily with double blooms in pendulous clusters, and is more cold-hardy then other double flowering cherries. The leaves may turn a bronze color in the fall, too. A sport of 'Kanzan' with dark purplish leaves was named 'Royal Burgundy' and has been in commercial production since about 1990.

How often should you fertilize a cherry tree, and what is the best fertilizer?
A little general fertilizer in early Spring would give it a boost.

When (and how often) should you prune a cherry tree?
Spring blooming trees should be pruned immediately after bloom because they begin to form next year’s flower buds during the summers growth.

Will cherry trees grow successfully with a natural amount of rainfall, or should we gardeners supplement with rain barrel (or watering hose) water?
Once established, cherries only need water occasionally during a drought. Preparing the plating hole with compost and untangling any twisted roots during planting will help, too.

When you mentioned that cherry tree limbs break easily, do you have any suggestions to make them stronger?
If you look on older trees you may see a bulge of bark where the top of the limb connects to the tree. These are week joints and ornamental fruit trees often form limbs this way. Bradford pears are notorious for having week branches and breaking and splitting trunks from high winds or ice. When trees are young, it’s important to remove crossing branches to create a strong framework. You also want the branches to be spaced evenly around the trunk.

Finally, do you have any other "best practice" suggestions in caring for cherry trees?
Cherries tend to be short-lived trees—10 to 15 years—much like all ornamental fruit trees. And depending on the variety, cherries may require spraying for pest sometimes, too.

You can find out more from Arthur Baugh online at Arthur in the Garden.