Why Aren't There Any Cherries On Your Cherry Tree?

Posted on: 17 March 2018

Many homeowners dream of having a cherry tree in their backyard so they can pick and eat juicy cherries throughout the summer. But what if your cherry tree is not producing any fruit? Sure, it is still pretty -- but you want it to give you delicious snacks, too! Here are four reasons your cherry tree might not be producing.

It's not old enough

If you just planted your cherry tree a year or two ago, it may just not be old enough to produce cherries yet. Most fruit trees do not produce until they are about five years old, and some trees take even longer if they are under any drought stress when they are young. Note that most trees you get from a nursery are only two or three years old, so if you just planted the tree, wait another year or two -- you'll probably get cherries then.

You don't have a pollinating partner

Most varieties of cherry trees are not self-pollinating. In other words, you need a second tree to provide pollen to fertilize the tree, causing the ovum to turn into fruit. If you only have one cherry tree, plant a second one -- or have a neighbor do so -- to pollinate your tree and induce fruiting. 

There are cherry trees that consist of two varieties of cherry grafted onto one root. These cherry trees can be grown in isolation since the two varieties pollinate each other. If you have one of these trees, and it is not producing cherries, look elsewhere for the problem because the problem is not that you only have one tree.

It has not been trimmed

If you have an older cherry tree when was the last time you had it pruned? Pruning is not just to keep the tree looking nice. It removes older, unproductive branches so that younger branches can proliferate and have enough nutrients to produce fruit. Arrange to have a tree care company come trim your tree in late winter. The following season, you should have more cherries.

It lacks nutrients.

Another important step is to have your soil tested. Your soil may be low in a certain nutrient, such as nitrogen or potassium, that the tree needs to produce cherries. Based on the results of the soil test, you can apply fertilizer to the soil around the tree, boosting cherry production. Going forward, try to fertilize every spring for ongoing production. 

Contact a company like DeClue & Sons Tree Care, Inc. for more information.

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