Content
- When the cherry tree bears no fruit
- fertilization problems
- Deficiency symptoms and diseases
- Tips & Tricks
When the cherry tree bears no fruit
A cherry tree full of flowers offers a spectacular sight. The greater the disappointment, if after the flowering time the eagerly awaited fruits fail. Various reasons can be responsible for the lack of harvest.
In young trees, there is the possibility that they have not yet reached the age of fertility. Depending on the variety and size of the tree, the sweet cherry trees are from about the age of 5 years, the sour cherries sometimes earlier. To avoid disappointment, you should already know when buying, when to expect the first harvest.
Other common causes of non-harvest can be:
fertilization problems
The numerous flowers usually promise a good yield. From the flower, however, a fruit can develop only when the pollination of the seeds of the female flowers with pollen of the male flowers has taken place. This is done by the insects, especially the bees.
In self-pollinated varieties of cherries, the male and female reproductive organs are mature at the same time and can fertilize each other. Many sweet cherry varieties, however, require a different type of fertilizer in the neighborhood. If these are missing, the fruits are left out. The flowers can also freeze due to sudden frost, so that it can no longer form fruits.
Deficiency symptoms and diseases
A lack of fruiting may indicate a lack of supply of trace elements copper and zinc. The cherry tree only needs these in small quantities, but its absence can have an effect on fruiting. On light and dry sandy soils often emerge such deficiency symptoms. Remedy creates a suitable fertilizer, which is distributed on the tree disc before the winter.
One of the other possible reasons for the lack of harvest may be shotgun disease, which is recognized by brown discolored, tattered leaves. Not only the leaves are attacked by the infection, but also the flowers, from which only isolated, puny fruits form.
Tips & Tricks
In a wet or cold spring there is sometimes no sufficient bee flight and therefore no fertilization. In this case, one only has to hope that next spring is better weather for bees.