Cherry Trees

 The cherry tree is one of the kingpins of the fruit tree family. The cherry is the fruit of the plant genus Prunus. Like some of the other members of the fruit tree family, cherry trees originated in Asia and have spread over the world. There are hundreds of varieties of cherry trees, and they are usually classified into two groups, the sweet cherry and the tart cherry. Depending on the consumers taste, a garden might contain a sweet cherry for fresh eating, or a tart cherry for baking a pie.

Cherry fruit trees are also grown for their lovely blossoms. There are certain varieties of cherry trees that are grown specifically for their blossoms. The cherry fruit tree allows the garden to produce both delicious fruit and gorgeous blossoms. The spring blooming cherry tree varieties put on an awesome display of blossoms.

Cherry trees produce a hard wood that is used commercially and for its slow burning, aromatic firewood characteristics. Historically, fresh leaves from cherry trees have been used to make medicinal teas. On some early blooming cherry trees, fresh leaves do not appear until after the tree is in full bloom. Not all cherry trees have similar colored fresh leaves as the color of the fresh leaves will differ between varieties. Most fresh leaves are shades of green, copper colored, or tints and shades of a combination of those colors.

 Sweet cherry trees tend to be larger than sour or tart cherry trees. A smaller garden may dictate or influence the cherry grower to consider the tree size before putting a larger cherry tree in a small garden. Keep in mind that most rootstocks allow for severe pruning, if the pruning is begun at a young age. Allow room for the wider branches of sweet cherry trees. Sweet cherry trees produce larger cherries that vary in color from reds to nearly black fruit, such the Sweetheart cherry. As the term sweet cherry indicates, they contain more sugars and more calories that sour cherry varieties.
 Sour cherries are usually smaller in size and are bright red to yellow in color. The Montmorency sour cherry, for instance, is being advertised for the benefits they are said to produce. Montmorency cherries are considered to be high in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory anthocyanins. Both sweet and sour cherries are high in vitamin C, carbohydrates, fiber, and other vitamins such vitamin A, B1, and B2. Cherries, both sour and sweet, contain anthocyanins.

Sour cherries are mostly self-fertile, so they do not need a companion sour cherry tree to produce fruit. The majority of sweet cherries do need a pollinator in order to produce fruit. The pollinator fruit tree must be compatible with the other sweet cherry tree for fruit production.

 Almost all varieties of cherry trees found in the garden will have to be pruned. Pruning and thinning of branches can be done while the tree is quite young. The cherry tree will grow so fast and produce so much foliage they stress themselves by their own unfettered growth. Cherry trees may be pruned in late summer or late winter for best results. Late summer pruning is recommended for the ease of spotting dead or diseased branches, and also assisting in prevention of a disease named silver leaf, that strikes with early winter pruning. When pruning, cut the selected branches at an angle about 1/8 of an inch above the bud. The angled cut will keep water and moisture from collecting that may harbor a disease. Cherry trees should be pruned so the tree branches will have a scaffold shape. There should be about 2 feet between the scaffolded branches so light can reach the lower leaves and fruit.