Cherries
There are two different categories: sweet cherries (good for fresh eating) or sour cherries (good for preserving and making jams, pies…) and they are actually different species.
Sweet cherries
Prunus avium
Hardiness: zone 5 (-20°F )
Chill hours: 700-800 hrs (~30 days)
Pollination: most need another sweet cherry tree
Size: can grow up to 60′ so better to choose a dwarf
Lifespan: 20-30 years (full size)
Sour cherries
Prunus cerasus
Hardiness: zone 4 (-30°F )
Chill hours: 1200 hrs (48 days)
Pollination: most self-pollinated
Size: up to 30′ depending on the cultivar
lifespan: 15-20 years
Requirements
Both sweet and sour cherry trees are pretty cold hardy but do not like heat (>100°F). Avoid planting in an S-facing area – early blossom might get killed in spring freeze. (Check your frost dates here.)
Size & Spacing
You want to prune it as open vase or modified central leader for sunlight penetration and good angles for encourage strong branches. Plant full size trees 20′ apart or less if you have dwarf.
Climate
Most cultivars are hardy to -10 °F with some hardy to -30 °F. Choose a site that it gets at least 8 hrs of sunlight during growing season. Check your planting zone here.
Chill hours
Chill hours (32 – 45 °F) are the time it needs to break dormancy. Sour cherries have higher chill hour requirements which are typically better since the bud won’t break and grow during unseasonably warm weather conditions.
Water
When establishing, it needs deep water 2x every week (18-24″ deep). After that, deep watering every two weeks. Avoid using sprinklers to keep the tree canopy dry to prevent diseases.
Soil
Ideal pH 7.0 and sour cherries are tolerant to alkaline soil better than sweet cherries. They do not like wet clay soil so amend the soil with organic matter if you have poorly-drained soil.
USU soil testing
Pollination
Sour cherries are self-pollinated and sweet cherries need another sweet cherry tree. Can it cross-pollinate with sour cherries? Not really. They blossom in different times.
How to plant a tree?
Where to buy a tree?
How to take care of them
This timeline is roughly based on the climate in Salt Lake Valley. If you live in Southern Utah, you’ll need to start pruning earlier. If you live in high elevation, your growing season will be shorter (start later and end earlier.)
Pruning
You can either prune to open vase or modified central leader form. Bend branches 30° – 60°, you will have fewer leaves and more fruit because “the more vertical the branch, the more vegetative the growth.” Tree scientists believe that bending branches slows the draining of hormones that are critical for fruiting.
USU – how to prune a cherry tree pdf
Fertilizing
Newly planted apricots should not be fertilized in the first year they are transplanted. Not necessary afterwards unless it grows slower than usually (10-20″ for young trees; 8-10″ for older trees.)
Worm control
If your cherries get worms, identify if they are cherry fruit worms or cherry fruit fly larvae. Cherry fruit worms can be killed with a spray of Bt. Adult cherry fruit flies can be trapped on yellow sticky traps or red balls and pheromone lures hung in late May.
Bird netting
Cover your trees with nets after pollination and before the fruits get ripe.
Harvesting
Sweet cherries do not drop off the stem so readily when ripe. All cherries don’t continue to ripen once they are off the tree, so better taste them before picking.
Storing
They don’t store well in room temp. For processing cherries, submerge harvested fruit in cold water for several hours before pitting to make your life easier.