I am heartbroken... I've had my heart set on ordering and planting a pair of Bing cherry trees because our whole family LOVES fresh cherries. But then I read in a Walter Reeves book that no edible cherry trees (except possibly some cherries that are only suitable for baking into pies) will grow here because of the winter temperature fluctuations?! :(
I guess if Walter said it, it must be true... has anyone ever attempted to grow an edible cherry tree? Dare I ask how it turned out?
Is it true that no sweet cherry trees will survive in GA??
The big problem is chill requirements. There are probably areas in the higher elevations of North Georgia, that have enough cold days in winter. There is some experimenting going in the development of low chill cherries. Several cultivars have been released for southern California and the University of Florida has a breeding program underway. Bing requires something in the neighborbood of 800 chill hours to bear fruit.
Thank you for replying so quickly... you've given me a little hope that they're working on breeding low-chill cherries!
There is a man in Atlanta that is growing sweet cherries successfully. He grows Stellas. This year he had little crop - it was raining heavily when it was polination time we had few bees.
The year before he had quite a few delicious sweet cherries.
Another cherry he has grown successfully is the Nanking cherry. Not totally sweet, but not totally sour either. Technically not even a cherry. Noted best for eating out of hand or juice.
Sometimes The Atlanta Fruitman posts to this forum, he has a blog, one about his cherries too:
http://atlantafruitman.wordpress.com/2009/04/
Hope this helps!
GGG
Oh thank you!! That is definitely encouraging!
There are what we call wild cherrys growing in the Tallapoosa area they are sweet when ripe and real good . Makes great Jelly and pies.
Lavina
I have a Malpighia glabra "Barbados Cherry" that I'm growing in a container and will put it in my little GH in the winter. I haven't had any fruit yet, so don't know how they taste. I realize this isn't the same, though. :-) Here's the cultural info.
Malpighia glabra "Barbados Cherry"
Known as "Acerola", the sweet cherry- like fruit has an extremely high concentration of vitamin C. Clusters of pink flowers and fruit form along the stems intermittently through out the year. The fruit holds better in the heat of summer. In the north, "Barbados Cherry" will still flower on and off. Its habit is upright. When grown in pots, it is a fast grower usually beginning to flower at 3-4'.
Hardy to Zone 9 and higher for outdoors.
Full sun, grows to 6' in container, minimum temperature 40°, Intermittent bloomer.
Light: Grow in full sun (southern exposure); however, they can be maintained in partial sun (an east or west exposure) although it will restrict flowering.
Temperature:
50° is a general minimum when grown as a container plant, although they can tolerate temperatures to just above freezing for short periods.
Humidity:
Preferably 50% or higher; however, they will tolerate low levels with no harm.
Watering:
Bring the soil to visual dryness between waterings. When watering, thoroughly water until a little water trickles out of the bottom of the pot; don’t water again until the soil surface is visually dry.
Fertilizer:
Fertilize once a week with 1/4 tsp. of a balanced soluble fertilizer per gallon of water. Under cooler winter temperatures and lower light levels, stop feeding Excessive fertilization can induce soft growth and reduce flowering and fruiting, so it’s best to error on the lean side
Pruning:
Periodic pruning is necessary to maintain shape. Often branches will develop that reach out and up. These can be pruned back to maintain size and form. Flowers form on the mature wood and side branches so the inner branches need to be left to grow.
Insects and Disease:
They have susceptibility to aphids, especially when growth is soft and too-heavily fertilized. Diseases are generally not a problem.
Comments:
Malpighia are fast and easy to grow having strong and resilient root systems. M.
Malpighia as a southern plant will fruit and flower several times throughout the year. In the north it is generally a summer fruiting plant that benefits from being grown outdoors during the summer months.
Wow, this is all GREAT info. Thanks so much to all of you!! My mouth is watering for fresh-picked cherries now. LOL
I grew up on Barbados Cherries. They're used for hedging in S. FL. The cherries are a bit larger than a standard cherry and look like miniature pumpkins, They go from pale green to yellow to orange and then red. This process happens very quickly and then they rot. They don't taste like what someone from up north would consider a cherry to taste like. We did use them in cooking and baking. Mostly for lobbing with a slingshot. They stain something fierce when ripe. :>)Though a delicious tropical fruit with some versatility, they'd be a poor substitute for what most think of as a "cherry".
Maybe you could grow Stella. You are more north than me and I did it. But they haven't exactly been abundant...I got a few this year; maybe the birds or squirrels got others when they were green.
I have been told repeatedly that sweet cherries won't grow here (south of Birmingham) but I am too hardheaded to give up.
Photo May 2009:
