1202
Cherries
Plant cherry trees in full sun, in soil that drains well and on a high
point so frost gathering in low pockets will not damage the tree or the
fruit. If cherry trees are close to the south or west side of a building,
they can also bloom too early in the spring and be damaged by frost.
 The most
dependable fruit producers are sour cherries that don't need another
variety for cross pollination. In the eastern part of Colorado, sour
cherries are more dependable than sweet cherries. Good sour cherry
varieties for Colorado include Montmorency, North Star, Montmore, Meteor,
English Morello, Early Richmond, Hansen bush cherry and Nanking.
Sweet cherries are more dependable in the western part of Colorado, but
sometimes will work in the more urban areas of the eastern part of the
state. Index, Lapins, Stella and Sweetheart are sweet cherry varieties
which don't need another tree to pollinate. All other varieties of sweet
cherries need a second variety for cross pollination.
insect and disease problems that affect cherries include peach tree
borers, cherry slugs and cytospora canker. Control peach tree borers with
insecticide to the lower part of the trunk during the first week of July.
Cherry slugs are the larvae of a sawfly. They suck the juices from the
leaves during the summer, leaving only a skeleton. Spraying a general
purpose insecticide or dusting wood ashes on the leaves will quickly kill
these larvae. Cytospora canker is a fungal disease which can be controlled
by pruning diseased branches. If this disease infects the trunk, the tree
will often need to be removed.
For "Cytospora" refer to message number 1451.
For "Tree borers" refer to message number 1417.
For more information, see the following Colorado State Extension fact sheet(s).
|
