The culinary pleasure of freshly picked cherries is reserved for gardeners who call a cherry tree their own. Sweet cherries grow into impressive trees, are sensitive to pruning and bear juicy fruit even on old wood. This requires well-planned care of the cut, from education through maintenance to rejuvenation. In this tutorial you can read all cutting instructions. How to properly prune your cherry tree

Cherry trees are trained and rejuvenated in winter

Table of Contents

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  1. Types of cuts and dates
  2. education cut
  3. maintenance cut
  4. taper cut
  5. tools and accessories
  6. frequently asked Questions

    7. Types of cuts and dates

    The sweet cherry occupies one among all fruit trees special position one. Flowers appear on short, annual and biennial shoots. Furthermore, older shoots also bear valuable fruit wood, richly garnished with numerous flower buds, which is referred to in technical jargon as bouquet shoots. With a well exposed round crown Mature cherry trees have fruit along their main branches deep into the crown. This unique growth behavior goes hand in hand with a pronounced sensitivity to cutting. Apart from the training phase, a cherry tree should be pruned at 3 or 4 year intervals. All types of cuts with the best dates are summarized in the following overview:

    cut type goal/occasion best appointment
    education cut Structure of a light-flooded round crown February/March in the 1st to 6th or 8th year
    maintenance cut Thin out dead wood, promote fruit wood every 3-4 years in summer after harvest
    taper cut revitalize neglected cherry tree in late winter

    Training pruning forms a productive crown

    In the first few years, pruning the cherry tree is aimed at growing a perfectly formed crown. The crown structure of majestic sweet cherries extends over six to eight years. A space-saving spindle tree benefits from a careful crown structure in the first three to four years. This is how the training of a sweet cherry succeeds in an exemplary manner:

    • The best time is in early spring, before budding begins
    • Build up the crown framework with a dominant central drive and 3 main branches at an ideal angle of 90 to 120°
    • Remove competitors who are pointing steeply upwards towards the center drive or splay them into an inclined position
    • Tie up branches that are too flat at an ideal angle of 45° to 60°
    • Side stalk shoots in the juice scales are kept at the same height by pruning back to top buds

    Before pruning away a side shoot that is pointing steeply upwards, examine its Suitability for fruit wood. A green shoot is still flexible. If it is in a favorable position on the crown structure, tie the young branch in the advantageous sloping position. Spread at an angle of about 60°, the sap pressure is reduced, growth slows down and the first flower buds thrive. To spread, you can fix the drive with a cord on its guide branch. On the spindle tree, you can easily direct the growth into the ideal position with clothespins. Furthermore, the specialist trade has special spreaders ready.

    In the first 4 to 8 years you grow a productive crown on the cherry tree. The perfect framework consists of a central drive and three evenly distributed leading branches. Starting from the tip, the center forms an angle of 120° with the side branches.

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    Timing of pruning influences growth strength

    An old peasant saying is still valid today: "If you want to see a cherry tree bear fruit, cut it down in summer. If you want to see your cherry tree grow, cut it down in winter.” Anyone who has not yet been able to convince themselves of the probative value in practice will receive confirmation from a botanical-scientific point of view. In early spring, the tree releases most of its reserve substances, which are transported under high pressure in the direction of the top buds. This results in a strong growth spurt. As the season progresses, the sap pressure decreases and growth is reduced to a minimum. It follows that if you want to stimulate growth, cut when the sap pressure is at its strongest. To slow down growth and increase fertility, summer is the best time for pruning.

    Pruning at 4-year intervals - maintenance pruning instructions

    With the beginning of the yield phase, pruning of the cherry tree leads from education to maintenance. Sweet cherries flower and bear fruit on one-year-old, unbranched shoots that are less than 10 centimeters long. As illustrated in the figure below, there are flower buds at the base of the shoots. Biennial, slightly branched shoots are richly decorated with flower buds over the entire length. Three-year-old and older branches also boast numerous flower buds in spring. In combination with a pronounced sensitivity to cutting, a maintenance cut every three to four years is part of the care program for a cherry tree. This is how you do the maintenance pruning on sweet cherries correctly:

    • The best time is after the summer harvest
    • Remove branches that are growing towards the inside of the crown, crossing each other and dead ones
    • More than 5 cm thick, drooping shoots lead to a side shoot that is further inside
    • Thin out old, aging branches to 10 to 20 cm short cones
    • Cut back previous year's unbranched long shoots to 10 to 15 cm
    • Start cutting just above an outward-pointing, pointed leaf bud or leaf
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    Short, whorl-like shoots with numerous flower buds are spared from the cut. The so-called bouquet shoots are extremely fertile and will give you a rich fruit load next year. After a professional maintenance cut, the crown of your cherry tree appears swept clean. This is not an indication of improper practice. As early as next summer, the crown structure is loose, flooded with light and bears a large number of juicy, sweet cherries.

    The focus of the maintenance cut is the valuable fruit wood. Where there are rounded flower buds, a cherry tree is not pruned. Thin out dead wood, steep and unfavorable shoots with pointed leaf buds.

    Deriving is better than shortening

    It is characteristic of sweet cherries that they react at a young age to the loss of their shoot tips with unfavorable whorls. Thick tufts sprout from sleeping eyes, shading valuable fruit wood and flower buds. You can prevent the undesirable reaction by already spraying the young trees derivative cut a simple pruning prefer. Here, a leading branch is diverted to a subordinate side shoot in order to obtain a light-flooded crown. This is how the perfect derivation cut succeeds in the cherry tree:

    • Do not simply cut back overly long cherry tree branches
    • Instead, choose a young, outward-facing side shoot further in
    • Cut at the junction of the old and young branches
    • Place the scissors a few millimeters into the old wood
    • Result: a young side shoot replaces the fruit branch that has been removed without forming whorls

    With a derivation you also go against Zwiesel before. So be in gardeners parlance V-shaped crotches referred to, which make the cherry tree unstable in the long run. Keep an eye out for the double shoots on young sweet cherries in order to remove one of the two in good time using the diversion to the better positioned shoot. If a Zwiesel thrives as a vertical competitor to the central shoot, it should be removed completely.

    tips

    If a cherry tree bears morello cherries and similarly juicy and sour fruits, other pruning rules apply. Here the most productive fruit wood is found on long, previous year's shoots, so that an annual, strong pruning makes sense. For this reason, a separate tutorial is dedicated to cutting sour cherries.

    Rejuvenate an old cherry tree in stages - this is how it works

    Have you prescribed a makeover for an old cherry tree that has not been pruned for many years? Then please proceed in stages. Instead of thinning out the aged crown in one go, spread the measure over two to three years. The pruning sensitivity means that you do not saw off thick, dead shoots on Astring. It is gentler with a cut on cones. The following procedure has proven itself in garden practice to revitalize an old sweet cherry:

    • The best time is over a period of 2 to 3 years, in late winter
    • In the second and third year, also prune in the summer
    • Important: Avoid cuts with a diameter of more than 10 centimeters
    • Start by cutting out dead wood, inward, vertical or cross-growing branches
    • Overhanging main branches narrow down to a young side shoot close to the trunk

    The transition from the rejuvenation to the maintenance cut is fluid. If your cherry tree responds well to the first stage, carry out a first maintenance measure in the rejuvenated crown area in the summer after the harvest. If all regions of the crown have rejuvenated after three years at the latest, the cut care is reduced to a summer maintenance cut every three to four years, as explained in this tutorial.

    In order to rejuvenate an old cherry tree crown, first cut off deadwood to 10 to 20 cm long cones. The cones on the Astring are only removed after 1 to 2 years. Slim down overhanging skeletal shoots to side shoots positioned on the inside.

    Saw thick branches onto tenons in stages

    If you find yourself forced to remove a branch more than 10 centimeters thick from the crown, proceed as follows:

    • At a distance of 30 cm from the trunk the branch saw from below to the middle
    • Shift the saw 10 cm to the right or left
    • Stabilize the branch with one hand and saw from aboveuntil it breaks off
    • Saw off the blunt end to a tenon with a length of 10 cm

    You can remove the remaining cone after one to two years. As a rule, vertical and flat young shoots sprout from a cone. Leave one or two of the most promising horizontal candidates. There are good prospects that valuable fruit wood will develop from this. All other young shoots and the remains of the dried cone are removed.

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    Perform tapering pruning in winter

    The best time for the rejuvenation pruning on the cherry tree is discussed controversially among experts. Numerous sources recommend an appointment in the summer because the radical cut is more tolerable for a sweet cherry. Responsible orchardists ignore the recommendation and cut out of respect for nature and the Federal Nature Conservation Act in late winter. In the dense canopy of mighty cherry trees, birds nest in the summertime. Inhabited nests could fall victim to a rejuvenation cut. Paragraph 39 of the Federal Nature Conservation Act emphasizes the concerns and prohibits cutting measures between March 1st and September 30th that go beyond a maintenance cut.

    Tips on tools and accessories

    The key to success in pruning cherry trees is a combination of the right approach and the right equipment. The following basic equipment is obligatory in order to safely and professionally blend a sweet cherry:

    • One-hand secateurs for branches up to 2 cm in diameter, optionally as bypass or anvil shears
    • Two-hand pruner with telescopic handle for branches 3 to 5 cm thick
    • Folding saw (€17.70) with Japanese teeth or hacksaw for thick shoots from 4 to 5 cm in diameter
    • Knife for smoothing cuts
    • Stable ladder with two legs
    • gloves, goggles

    Modern pruning shears with a telescopic handle allow you to cut up to a dizzying height of 4 meters, which makes daring climbs in the mighty cherry tree unnecessary. With an innovative cutting giraffe, you can cut branches up to a height of 6 meters precisely and safely. When buying cutting tools and accessories, make sure that they are of high quality. This makes pruning easier, leaves smooth cuts and optimizes safety for gardeners and cherry trees alike.

    frequently asked Questions

    For cost reasons, I decided to buy two bare-root cherry trees. Should I subject the young trees to a pruning?

    On bare-root trees, pruning guarantees a good start and paves the way for the best possible upbringing. Choose the strongest shoot as a trunk extension for the crown structure. Three to four leading branches should be evenly distributed around the central shoot, which are at an ideal angle of 45° to 60° to the central shoot. Branches that are too steep are spread out. Too flat shoots tied up. Cut back the leading branches by a third. After the cut, the top buds of the leading branches should be at the same level, in the so-called juice scale. The central shoot towers over the leading shoots, forming an imaginary triangle with an angle of 90 to 120°.

    I would like to plant a cherry tree under the crown of which I can still maneuver the lawnmower. What is the difference between the trunk heights that I can purchase in tree nurseries?

    In the case of young cherry trees, tree nurseries differentiate between bush trees or quarter trunks with 40 to 60 cm. Half trunks reach a height of 120 cm. High trunks have a height of 200 cm. This stem height usually does not change. An exception applies if the gardener trims the crown and prunes the trunk. Bush trees just barely allow you to mow the tree disc with a hand mower. Cutting the lawn with a ride-on mower under a half-trunk is worth a try. There are no difficulties in terms of freedom of movement under a high trunk.

    Our cherry tree was planted 2 years ago. When would be the best time to prune the tree?

    The sweet cherry bears fruit on biennial or perennial wood. An adult cherry tree should be pruned primarily in summer, immediately after harvest. This cutting time promotes the formation of fruit buds. On the other hand, for a young tree that is only two years old, we recommend pruning in spring, parallel to the start of budding. The first short shoots with flowers form in the third year at the earliest. From this point on, if necessary, subject the cherry tree to summer pruning to calm growth and encourage fruiting.

    A year ago we planted a sweet cherry as a bush tree, which only had 7 flowers this year. What can I do to increase the flower count?

    The number of flowers is completely normal and even positive. Young cherry trees focus on root formation and growth in the first few years. Please be patient a little longer. Over the next few years, more and more flowers will thrive, parallel to the larger growth. A supplementary supply of nutrients from the second year onwards in the form of compost and horn shavings (€32.93) or an organic fruit tree fertilizer is advantageous.

    I would like to plant two or three cherry trees in the garden. When can I expect the first harvest?

    A cherry tree with a medium to slow-growing rootstock bears the first fruits after 3 to 6 years on average. A sunny location and competent training with a light-flooded crown and horizontal fruit wood have a significant influence on the beginning of the yield phase.

    There are three cherry trees in my garden that my predecessor planted far too close together four years ago. The trunk height is 100 to 120 centimeters. Is it possible to transplant such large sweet cherries? If so, what do you have to pay attention to?

    Cherry trees can still be transplanted within the first five years. The best time is in the fall after the leaves have fallen. Cut off the root disc with a sharp spade in as large a radius as possible. The more roots move with the tree to the new location, the more promising the procedure will be. Since a large proportion of the root mass is lost as a result of the clearing, subject the cherry trees to a corresponding pruning. Adequate water and nutrient supply is important so that transplanted trees can take root quickly and vigorously.

    The 3 most common cutting mistakes

    If a cherry tree is characterized by a dense network of infertile shoots, massive growth of dense whorls of shoots and large, non-healing cuts, the gardener has made typical pruning mistakes. The following overview draws your attention to the three most common mistakes in pruning sweet cherries and gives tips for skilful prevention:

    cutting error damage picture prevention
    Steep shoots not trimmed or corrected Crown with numerous, barren branches Cut off steep shoots on tenons, spread or tie up
    branches cut off somewhere massive growth of dense shoot whorls at the tips Derive shoots that are too long instead of simply shortening them
    thick branches not cut down to cones non-healing lacerations, spread of wood rot Saw off thick branches in stages and down to the tenons

    tips

    If a cherry tree does not bear fruit, the crux is usually the lack of a pollinator. Apart from a few exceptions, sweet cherries are dependent on a second variety in close proximity. Since not all cherry varieties pollinate each other, please ask your trusted tree nursery exactly which combinations are suitable when purchasing them.

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Vegetable garden