Cherry trees...
Zoomer44
Posts: 3,267
in Fruit & veg
I planted two cherry trees and this is their 2nd yr. Morello a desert cherry and Stella, one which can be eaten from the tree. Both blossomed early April, Stella was prolific...
Not one cherry on either tree due to a frosty night.
Q are there later flowering varieties, as I live in the NW or would these be ok with a light covering of fleece, next yr if threat of frost...
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Oh the joys of fruit trees!
Sorry I can't offer much advice, I tend to take whatever the weather throws at me, you win some, you lose some
Frost will definitely kill off the blossom and I think cherries, and plums, are the earliest to flower. Some years if the spring is exceptionally wet the pollinators can't get out to do their work. I used to be plagued by wood pigeons that stripped the buds from my cherry and plum trees every spring without fail, there is always something that will deny us the delicious harvest we long for......
If your trees are small then I would imagine some form of protection may be of use, I don't know about later flowering varieties, the 2 you have are the popular ones available from most garden centres, if you want to check out other varieties Keepers Nursery have over 100 to choose from.
They are still small, I'm growing them as fans and have built a frame around them for netting, to protect against birds on the basis they would be ladened with cherries...?... I think not now...?... blueberry bushes next to them didn't lose their fruit.
Sounds like you are giving them the best protection against all the elements then. Growing them as fans will make it easier to protect them with fleece or something similar in future years, and the netting will be vital as the birds love them and will take them before they ripen enough for picking. Give them a few years and I'm sure you'll have plenty of cherries to enjoy
My blueberries are only just flowering, and I do net these otherwise the blackbirds take them all