Everything should be done in the case of the fan-trained sweet cherry to keep growth down to a minimum. Strong side growths, for instance, can be bent round in a circle and then as fruit buds form lower down they may be pruned back to this point. If the trees do get out of hand, then the only thing to do is to root prune.
Mulching with sedge peat to the depth of an inch for 5 feet or so around each tree ensures that the trees are protected against drought in summer and yet they do not receive too much nitrogen. The use of well-rotted dung or good compost around cherries invariably postpones cropping and encourages disease- because of excessive growth.
Because standard cherry trees are such strong growers, they have to be planted not less than 40 feet apart either way. This is another reason, incidentally, why it is impossible to grow sweet cherries on a small scale. These trees should be allowed to grow slowly and so they are usually not pruned in the year following planting.
After that it is best to leave the cherry branches to grow naturally and just to thin out here and there so as to remove crossing and rubbing branches. Care should be taken when carrying out the leader pruning in the first four years (a) to make the cuts just above a bud, and (b) to leave the tops of the branches as level as possible.
In the case of the wall cherries, the aim in the early stages should be to space the branches out a foot apart, radiating like a fan, and then, having cut the one-year-old growths back by half for two years after planting, it is best to leave the tree to grow naturally, except for summer pruning in. July and August, which may consist of (a) cutting back the very strong growths growing perpendicularly away from the wall right down to their base, and (b) the weaker growths to within three buds of their base. If growths develop on the wall side, these had better be rubbed out when they are only an inch long.
Two other reciprocal varieties are Early Rivers and Noir Guben. It is most important to consult the nurseryman re the fertility rules before making the purchase. Though books say that it is possible to plant cherries as cordons, I had never found these satisfactory because of the problems of pruning.
Mulching with sedge peat to the depth of an inch for 5 feet or so around each tree ensures that the trees are protected against drought in summer and yet they do not receive too much nitrogen. The use of well-rotted dung or good compost around cherries invariably postpones cropping and encourages disease- because of excessive growth.
Because standard cherry trees are such strong growers, they have to be planted not less than 40 feet apart either way. This is another reason, incidentally, why it is impossible to grow sweet cherries on a small scale. These trees should be allowed to grow slowly and so they are usually not pruned in the year following planting.
After that it is best to leave the cherry branches to grow naturally and just to thin out here and there so as to remove crossing and rubbing branches. Care should be taken when carrying out the leader pruning in the first four years (a) to make the cuts just above a bud, and (b) to leave the tops of the branches as level as possible.
In the case of the wall cherries, the aim in the early stages should be to space the branches out a foot apart, radiating like a fan, and then, having cut the one-year-old growths back by half for two years after planting, it is best to leave the tree to grow naturally, except for summer pruning in. July and August, which may consist of (a) cutting back the very strong growths growing perpendicularly away from the wall right down to their base, and (b) the weaker growths to within three buds of their base. If growths develop on the wall side, these had better be rubbed out when they are only an inch long.
Two other reciprocal varieties are Early Rivers and Noir Guben. It is most important to consult the nurseryman re the fertility rules before making the purchase. Though books say that it is possible to plant cherries as cordons, I had never found these satisfactory because of the problems of pruning.
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