If you have planted cherry trees recently, you may not haveany fruit yet. If that is the case, youmay be wondering when cherry trees bear fruit, and whether you are doingsomething wrong.
So, when does a cherry tree bear fruit? Cherry trees bloom in the spring and bear cherries in late May, June, or early July. A sweet cherry tree will bear fruit 5 to 9 years after planting, while a sour cherry tree will bear fruit 4 to 6 years after planting.
Of course, the time that a cherry tree blooms and bears fruitwill depend on the climate. Also, thenumber of years you need to wait for fruit will depend on the type of tree youdecide to plant.
In addition, there are environmental factors, such aspollination, that will determine how well a cherry tree produces, and whetherit bears fruit at all. Let’s get intomore detail about when cherry trees bear fruit.
When Does A Cherry Tree Bear Fruit?
In warmer climates, like California, some cherry trees willproduce fruit early and will yield a harvest in May. Most cherry fruit will not be ready untilJune, however.
Generally, there is a 1-month wait between the time when acherry tree drops its white or pink blossoms and the time it has fruit ready topick and eat.
Does A Cherry Tree Produce Fruit Every Year?
No, cherry trees do not produce fruit every year. Young cherry trees take several years tomature enough to produce fruit.
There are two basic types of cherry trees: sweet cherries and sour cherries (also called tart or pie cherries). Sweet cherry trees take 5 to 9 years to grow to the point where they can produce fruit.
Sour cherry trees mature a little faster than sweet cherry trees. Sour cherry trees take only 4 to 6 years to grow to the point where they can produce fruit.
Remember that if you plant seeds (stones) harvested from cherry trees, you may end up with a tree that will never produce fruit. To ensure fruit production, buy established trees from a nursery.
For more information, check out my article on the difference between organic and heirloom seeds, and my article on the pros and cons of hybrid seeds.
Of course, there are many different varieties of both sweetand sour cherry trees. The time toproduce fruit will vary depending on what you choose to plant.
You can also choose to purchase cherry trees that are 1 or 2years old from a nursery. This will cutback on the time you need to wait for a cherry harvest.
If you want to harvest cherries even sooner, consider planting dwarf varieties of cherry trees. Dwarf varieties are shorter and easier to harvest from. According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, they also mature about one year sooner than standard cherry tree varieties. For more information, check out this article on cherries from the Old Farmer’s Almanac.
Remember that some cherry trees are biennial bearing,meaning that they only flower every other year.This is more common in younger trees, but it may mean that you miss ayear of fruit here and there. Of course,there could be other reasons that your cherry harvest is poor or nonexistent –more on this later.
How Much Fruit Does A Cherry Tree Produce?
According to the Farmer’s Almanac, sweet cherry trees willproduce 30 to 50 quarts of cherries per year (15 to 20 quarts for dwarfvarieties).
On the other hand, sour cherry trees will produce 20 to 60quarts of cherries per year (15 to 20 quarts for dwarf varieties).
Cherry trees can survive for 20 years or more, ensuring thatyou get many years of good harvests if you take care of them properly.
For more information, check out this article on cherry trees from the Stark Brothers website.
What Kind Of Cherry Tree Should I Plant?
It depends what kind of cherries you want, and howsoon! Here are some options for sweet,sour, and dwarf varieties.
Sweet Cherry Trees
- Starking Hardy Giant Antique Sweet Cherry – this tree grows in Zones 5 to 9, and produces large red cherries that mature in mid-June. Bears fruit in 4 to 7 years. For more information, check out the Starking Hardy Giant Antique Sweet Cherry tree on the Stark Brothers website.
- Starkrimson Sweet Cherry – this tree grows in Zones 5 to 8, and produces large red cherries that are mature in late June. Bears fruit in 4 to 7 years. For more information, check out the Starkrimson Sweet Cherry tree on the Stark Brothers website.
- Black Tartarian Cherry – this tree grows in Zones 5 to 8, and produces medium to large red cherries that are mature in June. Bears fruit in 4 to 7 years. For more information, check out the Black Tartarian Cherry tree on the Stark Brothers website.
- Stark Gold Sweet Cherry – this tree grows in Zone 5 to 7, and produces small yellow cherries that are mature in mid-June. Bears fruit in 4 to 7 years. Can withstand temperatures down to -30 degrees Fahrenheit (-34 degrees Celsius). For more information, check out the Stark Gold Sweet Cherry tree on the Stark Brothers website.
Sour (Pie) Cherry Trees
- Stark Montmorency Pie Cherry – this tree grows in Zones 4 to 7, and produces medium red cherries that are mature in June. Bears fruit in 3 to 5 years. For more information, check out the Stark Montmorency Pie Cherry tree on the Stark Brothers website.
- Balaton Pie Cherry – this tree grows in Zones 5 to 8, and produces large red cherries that are mature in late June. Bears fruit in 3 to 5 years. For more information, check out the Balaton Pie Cherry tree on the Stark Brothers website.
- North Star Pie Cherry – this tree grows in Zones 4 to 8, and produces large red cherries that are mature in June. Bears fruit in 3 to 5 years. For more information, check out the North Star Pie Cherry tree on the Stark Brothers website.
- Stark Surecrop Pie Cherry – this tree grows in Zones 4 to 7, and produces large red cherries that mature in late June. Bears fruit in 3 to 5 years. For more information, check out the Stark Surecrop Pie Cherry tree on the Stark Brothers website.
Dwarf Cherry Trees
- Juliet Dwarf Cherry – this tree grows in Zones 2 to 7, and produces large, dark red cherries. It only grows to a height of 5 to 10 feet, and bears up to 25 pounds of fruit at 5 years. Hardy to -40 degrees Fahrenheit (-40 degrees Celsius). For more information, check out the Juliet Dwarf Cherry tree on the Gurney’s website.
- Romeo Dwarf Cherry – this tree grows in Zones 2 to 7, and produces large, dark red cherries. It only grows to a height of 6 to 7 feet, and bears up to 25 pounds of fruit. Hardy to -40 degrees Fahrenheit (-40 degrees Celsius). For more information, check out the Romeo Dwarf Cherry tree on the Gurney’s website.
Do You Have To Have Two Cherry Trees To Produce Fruit?
In some cases, you do need at least two cherry trees to producefruit.
You only need one sour cherry tree in order to produce fruit. This is because a sour cherry tree is self-pollinating, or self-fruitful.
This means that the male part of a flower will releasepollen onto the female part of the flower, thus pollinating itself. However, remember that self-pollination doesnot mean guaranteed pollination.
You still need a bee, the wind, or some other pollinator tostimulate the flowers to release pollen.If you don’t have many bees in your area, you can do this yourself withan electric toothbrush. However, thismight be dangerous with a tall cherry tree!
On the other hand, if you want to grow sweet cherries, you will need at least two trees, each of a different variety. This is because most sweet cherry varieties are not self-pollinating. They need to cross-pollinate, or receive pollen from another tree, in order to produce fruit.
There are exceptions, of course. According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, thereis a new variety of sweet cherry tree, Stella, which is also a dwarf and aself-pollinating tree.
According to Iowa State University, there are also some other varieties of sweet cherries, such as BlackGold and WhiteGold, which are self-pollinating. For more information, check out this article on cherry tree pollination from the Iowa State University Extension.
What Other Factors Affect Fruit On Cherry Trees?
Of course, the care that you give your cherry trees is amajor factor in how much fruit they produce, and whether they produce fruit atall. Things like temperature, watering,fertilizing, and pruning can all affect the cherry harvest in June.
Temperature
Cherry trees cannot grow just anywhere. While some are hardy to temperatures of -40degrees Fahrenheit (-40 degrees Celsius), many will not survive such cold.
On the other hand, cherry trees do need some cold during theyear in order to produce fruit. Muchlike blueberry bushes, cherry trees require a certain number of chilling hoursduring the winter. A chilling hour isone between 32 and 45 degrees Fahrenheit (0 and 7 degrees Celsius).
If a cherry tree does not get enough chilling hours in thewinter, it will not break dormancy and will fail to produce flowers or fruit. This may be frustrating if you live in a warmarea, but it is nature’s way of protecting the tree. If the tree flowers too early during a mildwinter, a late spring frost can kill all of the flowers and destroy any chanceof a cherry harvest that year.
Some cherry trees only require 200 chilling hours, whileothers need up to 1200 chilling hours. Itall depends on the variety, so be sure to check the USDA Hardiness Zone for anytrees you plan on buying. Make sure yourclimate gets enough chilling hours, while also staying warm enough to keep the cherrytrees alive.
For more information, check out this article on chilling hours for fruit trees from the University of California.
Watering
Cherry trees may need several gallons of water during thehottest, driest parts of the summer.However, it is possible to over water your plants, so make sure not tokeep the soil constantly soggy around your cherry tree’s roots.
For more information, check out my article on over watering.
Fertilizing
Before planting your cherry tree, you will want to ensurethat the soil contains plenty of organic material from compost. You may also need to fertilize to supplementsome nutrients, especially if the soil quality in your yard is poor.
The best way to find out for sure is to do a soil test. For more information, check out my article on how to do a soil test.
Also, remember that it is possible to over fertilize your trees. For more information, check out my article on over fertilizing.
Pruning
Most fruit trees require occasional pruning, and cherrytrees are no exception. Prune yourcherry trees in late winter (not fall) to encourage new growth. This new growth will lead to new branches thatwill eventually produce fruit.
Conclusion
By now, you have a much better idea of when to expect acherry tree to bear fruit. You also knowthe basics of how to ensure that your cherry trees produce more fruitconsistently.
I hope you found this article helpful – if so, please share it with someone else who can use the information.
If you have other types of fruit trees, you might want to check out my article on when a fig tree bears fruit, my article on when a pear tree bears fruit, and my article on when a peach tree bears fruit.
You can learn about dwarf fruit trees, which are easier to maintain and harvest from, in my article here or read my article on cold hardy fruit trees.
