Sour cherry – watering sour cherry trees

• Sour cherry origin
• Sour cherry care and location
• Cutting sour cherries
• Watering sour cherries
• Fertilizing sour cherries

Sour cherry origin

The sour cherry (Prunus cerasus) belongs to the rose family and is part of the stone fruit group. It is a deciduous bush, shrub or tree and reaches heights of between 1 and 10 m. As a tree, it develops a loose and rounded crown.
The sour cherry is thought to have originated in Asia Minor and the North Caucasus. It probably originated from a cross between the wild bird cherry and the steppe cherry. It found its way to Italy through the Romans and with the expansion of the Roman Empire it spread to large parts of Europe.

One or two weeks after the sweet cherries, in April to May, the white flowers of the sour cherry develop. The flowers have five petals and are about 1 cm long. In the middle there are about twenty long-stemmed stamens and the carpel.
The leaves, which are up to 12 cm long and 6 cm wide, are elliptical with serrated leaf edges and taper to a point. In contrast to the sweet cherry, the sour cherry has glandless and harder leaves.

Depending on the location and climate, the harvest time is in June and July. The fruits of the sour cherry are smaller than sweet cherries, with a diameter of around 2 cm. They are a little taller than they are wide, bare and light to black-red. As with sweet cherries, the fruits should be harvested with the stem to prevent bacteria from penetrating the fruit and thus extend its shelf life.

Sour cherry care and location

Ideal locations for planting sour cherries are full sun, sheltered and warm. The best time to plant is in autumn. A support post on the west side gives the young tree support. Compared to sweet cherries, sour cherries are more robust and can cope better with rough places such as high altitudes. Of all fruit species, they are the most frost-resistant. The soil should be well-drained, light to medium-heavy and rich in humus and nutrients. Gravelly to sandy loam soil is ideal.

Cutting sour cherries

Sour cherries are best pruned in the summer after harvest. They are pruned more often and more vigorously than sweet cherries because they have a different growth pattern. Unlike sweet cherries, most varieties of sour cherries only bear fruit on one-year-old shoots. So-called long shoots become bare in the year after harvest and only form new, relatively short shoots with few buds at the ends. Annual pruning preserves the compact crown and encourages the formation of new shoots.

Watering sour cherries

Due to climate change, it is getting hotter in our regions and is leading to longer dry periods. This has an impact on the environment and especially on the trees. Depending on the location and the climate situation, more frequent watering may be necessary than in previous years.
The roots of young trees are not yet so branched in the soil, which is why they need to be carefully monitored and watered earlier than existing trees. Regular watering is a good idea in the first year to encourage rooting.
From the second year onwards, no additional water is usually required, but it is recommended to water at least once a week during dry periods. Signs of drought stress are limp, hanging leaves, weak young branches, discolouring or drying leaves and early fruit drop. Now is the time to water the tree.
The water requirements of sour cherries depend on several factors such as the length of the dry period and the condition of the tree. As a general rule, young trees require 75 to 100 liters and older trees 150 to 200 liters per watering. When watering with a hose, a lot of the water seeps away or evaporates before it reaches the roots.
With tree bath watering bags Watering sour cherries is particularly efficient. Two holes in the bottom of the bag allow water to be continuously released into the soil drop by drop, achieving even moisture levels. Young trees are supplied with sufficient water by filling one watering bag. For existing trees with full hanging fruit, two to three watering bags can be connected with a zip to water them.

Fertilizing sour cherries

In spring, the sour cherry is covered with a layer of compost fertilizedto provide them with the necessary nutrients. Green manuring in summer improves soil quality.