At a glance
- Sweet cherries used to become huge trees where harvesting on a ladder was an adventure. Weak rootstocks such as GiSelA now keep them small and pickable from the ground.
- Most sweet cherries need a second, matching variety as pollinator. Only a few, such as 'Stella', are self-fertile and bear alone.
- Not every variety pollinates every other: sweet cherries fall into pollination groups. Two varieties from the same group do not pollinate each other.
- Plant bare-root in the dormant season, weeks 40 to 46. Sun, an airy spot and pruning after harvest keep the diseases in check.
A ripe sweet cherry straight off the tree, warm from the sun, is one of the finest moments of the garden year. For a long time the cherry was seen as something for large plots: on a vigorous rootstock it grew six metres and more, and you shared the harvest with the blackbirds.
That has changed. Modern weak rootstocks keep the sweet cherry small enough for the home garden. Plan the pollination on top of that and you harvest full bowls within a few years. This article shows what matters for rootstock, pollinator and spot.
Sweet cherry
Prunus avium
- Standort
- full sun, airy, deep soil without waterlogging
- Saison
- bare-root in autumn, weeks 40 to 46
The rootstock makes it pickable
The most important advance in sweet cherry growing is called GiSelA. These weak-growing rootstocks hold the tree at three to four metres instead of letting it become a giant. That brings several benefits at once: you harvest from the ground or a step stool, the tree bears earlier, and it can be covered with a net against birds and cherry fruit fly.
For the normal home garden, GiSelA 5 is the reliable choice. How rootstocks control tree size in general is in Understanding fruit tree rootstocks.
The pollination puzzle
This is where most cherry dreams fail. The vast majority of sweet cherries are self-sterile: their own pollen does not fertilise their own flowers. You need a second variety nearby that flowers at the same time. And there is a twist.
How pollination works
- Mind the pollination groups
Sweet cherries are sorted into groups. Two varieties from the same group do not pollinate each other. The partner must come from a different group and flower at the same time.
- Choose self-fertile varieties
If there is room for only one tree, take a self-fertile variety such as 'Stella' or 'Lapins'. It bears alone and pollinates many others besides.
- The neighbourhood counts
The pollinator need not stand in your own garden. A sweet cherry within bee-flight range next door is entirely enough.
- Match the flowering time
Early, mid and late-flowering varieties do not always overlap. Nurseries state the suitable partners for each variety.
Spot, harvest and health
Sweet cherries want sun and above all an airy spot where the leaves dry quickly after rain. That is the best prevention against blossom wilt and other fungi. A deep soil without waterlogging rounds off the good spot.
Two themes accompany every cherry: the harvest and the maggots. Both are linked. Early varieties ripen before the cherry fruit fly becomes really active, and so often stay maggot-free. More on that in Cherry fruit fly: maggots in the cherry and the early-variety trick.
Prune after harvest, not in winter
Sweet cherries are deliberately not pruned in winter but right after harvest in summer. The wounds heal best then and the tree is less prone to disease and gummosis. How that works together with the harvest is in Cherry harvest and summer pruning.
Small via GiSelA, a pollinator from a different group nearby, pruned after harvest. Then it bears early and stays healthy.
The core rule for sweet cherries
Frequently asked questions
Why does my sweet cherry not bear?
Usually the matching pollinator is missing. Most sweet cherries need a second variety from a different pollination group that flowers at the same time. Without one nearby, the tree flowers but sets little fruit.
Are there sweet cherries that bear alone?
Yes. Self-fertile varieties such as 'Stella', 'Sunburst' or 'Lapins' bear without a partner and suit small gardens. They are also good pollinators for other varieties.
How big does a sweet cherry get in the home garden?
On a weak rootstock such as GiSelA 5 it stays at three to four metres and is easy to pick. On a vigorous seedling rootstock it reaches six metres and more, and then you only harvest with a long ladder.
When do I prune the sweet cherry?
Right after harvest in summer, not in winter. The cuts heal best then, and you head off blossom wilt and gummosis. A winter cut on a cherry is considered risky.
How do the cherries stay maggot-free?
Rely on early-ripening varieties that are harvested before the main flight of the cherry fruit fly. An early-applied fine-mesh net over the small tree keeps the fly off as well.
Sources
- German Federal Plant Variety Office: descriptive variety list, sweet cherry
- Bavarian State Institute for Viticulture and Horticulture (LWG): sweet cherries in the home garden, rootstocks and pollination
- Related in the magazine: Cherry fruit fly: containing the maggots and Cherry harvest and summer pruning
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