I planted a golden cherry tree last August. What do I need to do to/for it this spring to keep it healthy and disease and pest free?(organically please) My neighbor has a cherry or 2 also so I'm good on pollination. It is hearty to my zone 5 area. I have very clay soil.
Well Wrennie, I almost hesitate sticking my neck out on this one, as I do not have any cherry trees myself. Having said that, a couple of years ago I did a great deal of research on growing cherry trees, including interviewing a cherry-grower in the next village over, but in the end we decided not to grow them. :-? Oh well, knowledge is never lost. Here are a few things that I discovered. Firstly, I learned that the soil is perhaps the most important aspect of planting a cherry tree and having it succeed. I learned that they prefer a soil that is loose-ish and drains well. They are not happy if the soil retainds the water too long. I am not sure that clay fits that bill perfectly, but never mind...it is planted already and is trying to stabilize itself. Also, they do best if the soil pH is between 6.2 and 6.8. Once the blossoms have fallen off and the fruits begin to form, they will need watering to help the fruits swell throughout the summer. You will absolutely need netting to protect what fruit your tree produces. * a note here is that you need to decide what sort of habitus you want your tree to have. Actually before you bought it would have been better because the type of root stock onto which it was grafted determines if it will be a tall or short tree, but you must work with what you have. If you feed it, the folks that I consulted suggested working-in well rotted cow manure under the canope of the branches of the tree. * A rule of thumb is that the roots extend laterally underground to the limits of how wide the tree's branches spread. I hope this helps Wrennie, as the majority of notes that I had have to do with the actual planting method of a new tree. Anyway no one has said anything, so I thought that I could share what I had learned...it could never hurt, right.
After reading your post Sjoerd, I wish I would have done a little more research before planting a Cherry Tree last year! My soil is not "loose-ish and well drained" but clay. Oh well, it's planted so I'll hope for the best. But I do have a neighbor with cattle
One thing I forgot to put in the posting up above was the pollination aspect. Apparently cherry trees can be difficult to fruit if the flowers are not self-fertilized or fertilized by a compatable tree somewhere nearby. I remember reading this over and over on the different websites. I would suggest that you check into this, because you can always add just one extra tree to assist in this if yours is not a self fertilizer or those trees over at your neighbourts are not compatable ones.
