Cherry tree
Cherry tree: Sowing, planting and harvest calendar
Fruiting cherry trees belong to the rose family and the genus Prunus. The name covers several groups: sweet cherries derive mainly from Prunus avium, while sour cherries, including morellos, derive from Prunus cerasus. Their flavours, uses and vigour differ. A general cherry tree portrait therefore includes both dessert fruit and cherries valued for their acidity in cooking, rather than describing one particular variety.
A cherry tree is deciduous, with green, toothed leaves and a branching crown. Its spring blossom precedes the fruit and changes the appearance of the whole tree. White flowers form small clusters and attract insect pollinators. The timing of flowers and emerging leaves varies somewhat between groups and varieties. In autumn, the foliage may turn yellow, orange or red before falling, adding another seasonal feature to the fruit garden.
A cherry is a drupe: the flesh surrounds a hard stone containing the seed. Ripe fruits can be red, almost black or yellow, sometimes with a red blush. Firmness and juice content vary too. Bigarreau cherries belong to the sweet group and have firm flesh; other sweet cherries have a softer texture. Sour cherries offer a more distinctly acidic flavour. Colour alone therefore does not establish either the flavour or the fruit group.
You can enjoy sweet cherries fresh, in fruit salads and in desserts. Sour cherries have a particular place in pies, stewed fruit, preserves and sauces, where their acidity remains an important part of the flavour. The season generally falls in summer, with differences between early and late varieties and between climates. Birds are also strongly attracted to the fruits and form part of the tree’s relationship with garden wildlife.
Mature size depends greatly on the rootstock: some trees remain fairly compact, while others become substantial. The variety also determines pollination requirements. Some are self-fertile; other sweet cherries depend on a compatible partner flowering at the same time. Blossom, seasonal foliage and fruit are shared features, but each combination of variety and rootstock gives the tree its own size and fruiting behaviour.
Cherry tree
- Type : Fruit trees
- Botanical Family : Rosaceae
Characteristics
- Exposure : Full Sun
- Cultivation Difficulty : Easy
- Mature height : 300 cm
Maintenance
- Maintenance : Moderate
- Water Requirements : Moderate
Other characteristics
- Soil Type : Humus-rich
- Soil pH Preference : Acidic
- Pest Sensitivity : Moderate
- Disease Sensitivity : Moderate
- Weed Sensitivity : Moderate
- Pollination : Insect-pollinated
- Propagation : Cutting