Cherry crown formation in the first year after planting
Sweet cherry is a fruit tree that needs formation from the very first week of planting. If you bought a one-year sweet cherry seedling 70-80 cm high, then you need to cut it to 40 cm. The traditional way of forming a tree is tiered pruning. With this method of formation, two tiers of skeletal branches are left. The first tier is laid 15-20 cm above the graft. The second is 20-25 cm higher than the first tier of skeletal branches.
Some gardeners cut annual seedlings up to 60 cm and leave three layers of skeletal branches. There are drawbacks to this longline pruning. Sweet cherry with two tiers of branches grows up to 5 m in height by the age of 10, and if you leave three tiers, then by this time the tree will reach up to 8 m in height, and it will be difficult to harvest from the upper tier. In addition, if you leave three tiers of skeletal branches, then cherries will bear less fruit.
When does a tree enter fruiting?
As a rule, cherries begin to bear fruit at the age of four, but the entry of cherries into fruiting can be accelerated by mulching the tree trunk circle and cutting it correctly.
Cherries will begin to bear fruit earlier if you plant it in a well-prepared planting pit in the spring, filling it with humus. It is necessary to add mineral fertilizers to the soil during planting. Cherry is especially hard to tolerate a lack of potassium.
Correct tiered formation
Layered crown formation is carried out in the spring. It is easier to form the crown of a young seedling, since its branches bend well, and they can be directed in any direction. If the young branches are growing at a too sharp angle, then they do not need to be cut off - using ordinary clothespins, you can direct the branch horizontally. A clothespin is hung on the trunk, which prevents the branches from returning to their original position.
Cherry pruning
In the first two years after planting, cherries must be pruned. All shoots from the rootstock are removed, as the cultivar is grafted into the wild. If a growth starts from the stock, it will take all the nutrients on itself, and the scion may die. All cherry shoots between the layers of skeletal branches are cut off. Also, in the first year after planting, all young shoots on skeletal branches are removed.
It often happens that seedlings are sold without a pronounced central shoot. In this case, you need to form it yourself. To do this, you need to shorten the highest shoot by 2-3 cm, and the side ones by three buds.
Good evening, today we bought a one-year-old cherry, do you need to pick off the lower leaves now, or is it better to wait for the top four branches?
I remove the lower leaves and give the seedling the opportunity to direct all its forces to the development of the upper leaves and branches.
We planted a 1-year-old sweet cherry, but many mistakes were made: they did not pinch off the lower leaves, they did not make a hole like that. But. The tree took root and gave several summer leaves. Do you think it will develop normally?
Trees can also be pruned in summer. Start shaping the crown now. Treat the cuts with garden pitch or clay mash.
Thank! Is cross-pollination necessary for cherries? That is, do you need to plant 2 - 3 more trees?
It is preferable to plant a minimum of 2 trees, this guarantees good fruiting every year. The only condition is that the varieties must bloom at the same time. From personal experience. There was one early old cherry on the site, bearing fruit once every 2-3 years. I planted another tree 6 meters away. For 4 years now both cherries (of different varieties) bear fruit abundantly every year.