Unless you have planted an ornamental cherry because of its spectacular flowers, you can expect a rich yield after the lush flowering. If this doesn't happen, every gardener will probably ask themselves what they can do to get the cherry tree to bear fruit in the next gardening year.
Why doesn't my cherry tree bear cherries?
A cherry tree without cherries can be due to a non-productive age, frost during flowering, lack of fertilization by bees or pollinator varieties, or nutrient deficiency or disease. Pollinator varieties, sufficient fertilization and regular care can help.
The fact that the cherry tree remains without cherries can have various reasons. It helps to consider the following considerations in this order:
- Is it possible that the cherry tree has not yet reached the productive age?
- Was there frost during flowering, were there too few bees or was there a lack of a pollinator variety?
- Is the cherry tree lacking nutrients or is it even affected by a disease?
Yield ripeness of cherry trees
One to two-year-old cherry trees are usually offered in specialist stores. In the first 2-3 years after planting, you can hardly expect a significant yield. During this time, the shoots grow and the crown structure is built up through targeted pruning measures. Both sweet and sour cherries begin to grow around the 5th.year to wear. In order to maintain and ensure productivity, the removed fruit wood of most sour cherry varieties should be cut out regularly.
Problems with fertilization
If the cherry tree produced a lot of flowers in spring and only a few or no fruits were produced, this may indicate a lack of fertilization. For fruit development from the flower, it is necessary that the seed from the female flower be pollinated with pollen from the male flower.
With self-pollinating cherry varieties, it is sufficient if the male and female fertilization organs of the same tree fertilize each other. For most cherry trees, having a suitable pollinator variety nearby has a beneficial effect on the fertilization process. Insects, especially bees, play an important role because they are responsible for pollen transport.
Tips & Tricks
In a wet or cold spring, there is sometimes insufficient bee flight and thus no fertilization. In this case you just have to hope that next spring brings better bee flying weather.
