If you want to snack on lots of sweet cherries every year, you should keep an eye on your cherry tree. Without regular pruning, it quickly reaches a size where it is difficult to reach the fruit from the lower vantage point or even with a ladder
How should you cut a sweet cherry?
To cut a sweet cherry, the plant pruning is done after planting. Annual pruning should then be carried out in August to thin out and reduce the size of the crown. It is important to remove shoots growing inside and hanging wood without damaging short shoots with whorled buds.
Why cut at all?
Sweet cherries are impatient fellows. They pay no attention to the gardener. They like to grow between 40 and 60 cm per year and standard trunks can reach heights of up to 30 m! In order to stop the growth and encourage the cherry to produce a lot of fruit wood, the tree should be pruned regularly.
Another goal of pruning is to allow the sun to penetrate better into a thinner crown. The result: fruits ripen better and more evenly. In addition, water on the leaves and wood can dry more quickly and fungal diseases have no chance.
It's all about the right timing
Unlike many other fruit trees, sweet cherries should not be cut in autumn. The best time for pruning is in the summer after the harvest (August). A dry day should be chosen. Only in mild locations can pruning be carried out in spring. But be careful: cutting in spring stimulates growth.
What tool is needed?
Pruning shears (€38.00 on Amazon) or secateurs can be used for branches that are no thicker than 1.5 cm. A pruning saw is used for thicker branches. Before the tools come into contact with the wood, they should be disinfected to eliminate any pathogens on the tools.
How is the cut done?
After planting the sweet cherry, pruning is carried out if the tree nursery has not already done this. The central shoot and three to four leading branches are shortened. All other shoots are mercilessly removed.
Later, pruning is done - ideally every year - to thin out the crown and make it smaller. This is how it works:
- Take away shoots that grow inside
- shorten hanging wood significantly
- Where to cut?: above a young side shoot
- if applicable remove old and poorly supporting wood
- Attention: do not cut away short shoots with whorled buds (they bear the most fruit)
Tips & Tricks
If the sweet cherry has suffered large cuts (larger than 3 cm), these should be treated with a wound closure agent as a precaution. Otherwise there is a great risk that fungal spores from Monilia and Co will penetrate the wounded wood.