Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
branch can be pruned out to renew the
branch structure.
Cherries do not require fruit thinning, so the
major maintenance tasks are netting (or there
will be no fruit) and keeping the tree healthy.
Harvest
Sweet cherries are best cut from the tree.
This prevents any damage to the
long-lived spurs.
Spanishbushtraining
This method is suitable for both sweet and
sour cherries grafted onto the dwarfing Colt
rootstock.
This low bush training yields prolific crops by
removing the apical dominance of the
branches and encouraging fruitful side
growths (see page 3, 'Buds - apical
and otherwise').
Figure 6.14
Sweet cherries often have very upright
branches. To create more horizontal growth that is more
fruitful and a more stable attachment of the branch to the
trunk, use spreaders or weights.
Pruningtime
Pruning is best performed in summer and
autumn to lessen the likelihood of gummosis
and silver leaf fungus that can enter through
pruning wounds. If you want to promote
growth prune in early spring choosing a dry
sunny day so wounds will heal quickly. This
strategy is not to be advised in very frosty
areas as the new growth stimulated by
pruning could be burnt by frost.
When the tree has reached its optimum
height, remove any overly vigorous vertical
growth. Each year remove one older branch
at its base (see Figure 6.18). Select one or two
of the regrowths, and continue to prune it
back to 30 cm above the previous cut in the
same manner as the initial framework.
By continually cutting out one very vigorous
branch each year, the fruiting wood is
renewed constantly - and the bush is still only
a bit over a metre tall!
Maintenance
Once the scaffold branches have been
established there is very little pruning to do.
Dead, diseased, crowded and crossing growth
should be removed together with very
vigorous upright growth. Every few years a
Sourcherries
Prunuscerasum
Sour cherries are a modest size by cherry
standards reaching about 4 m with a wide
spreading willowy habit. They start to bear
