Keep your cherry tree healthy and producing plenty of fruit with these trimming tips.
But to keep your trees producing full crops of cherries each year, annual pruning is in order.
Sour cherries are typically used in baking rather than eating fresh due to their tart flavor.
Credit:Bob Stefko
Self-fertile cultivars like Montmoren produce copious amounts of bright red fruit.
Why Prune Cherry Trees?
The more light, air flow,and access to pollinators, the more fruit can be produced.
In some regions, sweet cherry trees can be moresusceptible to bacterial and fungal diseases.
Tips for Pruning Cherry Trees
To begin pruning, first look for any broken or damaged limbs.
Crossed branches will often rub together and produce seeping wounds, opening up the tree to infection.
Dead branches will appear duller or lighter in color and should always be removed.
Branches below the graft union will not grow true to punch in and should never be allowed to grow.
Sour cherry trees should be grown in a large, vase-like shape.
Newly planted and young trees should be topped by cutting the central leading stem.
Encourage further lateral branching by trimming off vertical, hanging, and thin branches.
Prune off any branches growing toward the center of the canopy.
Only remove about a third of previous years growth to encourage new growth.
Sour cherries produce most of their fruit on the current years growth.
Encourage lateral branch development by pruning back by about a third.
This will help in the development of new fruit buds.
