When and how to prune a cherry tree, plus further care

Most gardeners will tell you that the ideal time to prune a cherry tree and other stone fruit trees is spring, before flowering. This really is true, because the trees are at their most vigorous and active. You can also look forward to the much-loved juicy fruit, which in recent years has not always appeared every year because of unstable weather. But do you know how to care for the tree properly?

When to prune a cherry tree?

As we have already mentioned, the best season is spring. If you prune at the wrong time, gummosis (gum flow) could develop and damage the tree. Do you want to shape the crown of your cherry tree? Then spring pruning is the best option. It is safer to prune a cherry tree once it has turned nicely green at the end of flowering and the sap is flowing at full strength.

Remember that a well-trained cherry crown should have three to four main branches that grow from the central leader at an angle of at least 45°. A narrow branch angle encourages the gummosis mentioned above as well as branches breaking off. Pay attention to maintenance pruning too and keep it to the bare minimum: only shorten new growth if it is longer than 60 cm.

How to prune an old cherry tree?

Older trees are a little different. Rejuvenate them by pruning every year, but at harvest only once every three years. Is the main branch growing crooked? Don’t worry, it will not harm it in any way, as this is common in older trees. If you still don’t like it, do not shorten it, only do so if it is growing upwards. Rejuvenate by thinning out up to 40% of the crown volume.

However, such drastic pruning is mostly done on very old trees. You can also prune in autumn after the leaves have fallen, but spring pruning, when the tree puts out buds, is the most suitable for stone fruit trees. At this time pruning wounds heal faster and the tree gets a good start to the new season, flower set and harvest.

3 rules for pruning

We have covered when to prune a cherry tree, now let’s look at 3 rules you must follow when pruning.

• First: remember that the crown should be made up of 3 or 4 main branches. Always keep branches that grow from the main ones at an angle of 45 degrees. Try not to shorten shoots unnecessarily, only those longer than 60 cm.

• Second: before you start pruning, look at the cherry tree from a distance. This is the best way to judge which branch is longer and which is weaker. Definitely shorten the weakest ones.

• Third: never plant a cherry tree in a small garden. It is better suited to a larger one, as it grows very large over time.

Cherry varieties

Having a cherry tree is certainly one of the biggest trends in the garden. Experts divide varieties into several groups, based on the firmness of the flesh, the colour or the shape of the fruit. The most popular are the following:

• Heart cherries: they have soft skin and the fruit is red to black

• Dark bigarreau cherries: similar to heart cherries, but they tend to ripen late

• Bicoloured bigarreau cherries: mainly yellow to red

So which varieties should you choose?

Adélka

One thing must be said, it is a beautiful name for a cherry. The flower is large with broadly elliptical petals. The fruit is heart-shaped and wonderfully juicy.

Sylvana

The tree grows moderately vigorously, and the crown tends to be semi-upright and moderately dense. Its fruit is large and brownish black.

Halka

Its fruit is large and flattened round, with a medium-thick, brownish red skin.

The best location

Unfortunately, cherry trees are fussy about where you put them. It is not like echinacea, for example, which you can plant anywhere. The cherry is picky. It does not like frost, so watch out for that too. It needs warm sites and deep, lighter, free-draining soil with plenty of calcium that is not too dry, and it does not tolerate a high water table or waterlogged sites.

Watch out for formative pruning!

It is best to plant it in spring and follow the rules we have given you. In the first 4 to 5 years do only formative pruning, which focuses on shaping the crown. Maintenance pruning, however, is essential, because if you skip it, the trees later stop growing, which reduces the quality of the fruit, especially its size.

Pruning a cherry tree is not difficult. Don’t forget a good ladder and a pruning saw. Then the work will go smoothly. By the way, have you thought about which fruit bushes to plant in your garden?