Who grows cherries?

I'll be planting two dwarf trees this year.
Has anyone been growing them for awhile?

When I lived in CA I had an old Bing cherry tree and another 3 variety (grafted) tree with Stella, Black Tartarian and Van on it. The fruit from the Bing was out of this world; we would let it get black-ripe before eating. We always had to net the tree as soon as the cherries started to turn red, or the birds would get them all...those birds will get under any opening in the net, too.

how were the other three varieties? which was sweetest?
thinking of planting compact stella
will plant dwarf big as well, even tho it's bad for this area....JUST in case

Heebiejeebie -

I seem to remember Stella and Van were pretty good, while Black Tartarian was disappointing. But if I could grow cherries, would definitely grow Bing - it's special. You could keep it small by pruning. You don't have to buy a dwarf to have a small tree. Have you checked this out?

http://www.davewilson.com/homegrown/BOC_07.html

Kabocha -
can you tell me more about this close-planting method?
do you do it yourself?

what are the benefits of NOT buying dwarf trees, when dwarfs are availible?

Heebiejeebie -

They say the root system is stronger if it's not a dwarf. And there are more kinds available if you're not restricted to dwarves.

I am trying this method, using rootstock that is one step down from full size, M111, I think. If you plant 2 or more trees in one hole, you can have more variety in the same space. (The multi-variety grafted trees have the disadvantage that the strongest variety tends to take over, and the less vigorous die out.) I have one apricot, by itself, and 2 peach, planted together, all of which I hope to get fruit from this year. Also I have six apple trees, planted 2 to a hole, but probably they are still too young to bear. All will be small enough to cover in case of late frosts and to net later on. I needed good root systems because of the wind in this part of the country.

I wish I could grow cherries here, but I think it would be a lost cause in West Texas. I envy you.

kacocha,
It will probably be hit or miss here growing cherries in Buffalo, NY, too.
They say it's zone 5/6 here, but every now and then I've seen the weather dip to -15.
I'm considering growing them in large pots, and bringing them into the garage/basement in the winter, or covering them with plastic.

Kabocha,

Cherries are supposed to do poorly here too, but I planted 25 fruit trees this winter including 4 cherries. I always hate it when someone tells me I can't do something and I love cherries. I planted sour cherries Governor Wood and Montmorency because they're supposed to have a better shot of making it here. I also planted 2 Raniers though because I love the taste of them.

All of the other trees are still dormant but those two Raniers have already put out leaves in the small warm-up we've had the last week so I can see they're going to be a challenge...

Well, good luck to you both with the cherries. Probably you have moister climates. What is the weather like in Rome, GA? Is that in northern GA? I used to live in Nashville; I wonder if it is like that. I remember the blossoming dogwoods. Where I am in TX, the environment is more like New Mexico. In the spring it usually doesn't rain and the winds are strong and dry - hard for plants to get going. Not all the apples I'm growing are recommended for this area; maybe I'm crazy but I had to try. Red Fuji (supposed to be OK), Newton Pippin, Spitzenberg, Hudson's Golden Gem, Calville Blanc, and Ashmead's Kernel. I just bought a small Giant Fuyu persimmon. They are said to do well here.

Yes, Rome is in the Northwest corner of Georgia and similar to Nashville but hotter and more humid. The reason they don't suggest cherries here definetly has nothing to do with moisture, it is very humid here in summer and we're supposed to get 55 inches of rain a year although it was more like 30 inches last year. From what I've read, there are 2 problems here with cherries.
1) It gets really warm early. It hit 70 in early January and was 74 here today. This fools the cherries into thinking it is spring and they blossom. And then we get a front come down from the north and it gets into the high teens and kills the blossoms. (It hit 18 degrees less than 2 weeks ago)

2) When it's 100 degrees and 100% humidity here for weeks on end in the summer, the bacteria, fungus and mildew kill everything that survived the temperature swings.

My point was just don't let them talk you out of cherries just because you don't live in Washington state with a cool, moist climate year round.

How about a wind break of other trees with a small pond fed with rainwater run-off from your roof?

jkehl -

Thanks for the encouragement. The windbreak-pond idea sounds so lovely, cool and gladey. I'm afraid in would be impossible for me to do, though.

However, today I did something that I hope will make peaches and apricots possible. The warm winter weather in Rome is just like here. My trees just started to bloom and freezing temps are predicted, maybe tonight. I had bent 4 lengths of pvc pipe over them to meet in the middle. Then today I pulled large Agribon 50 frost covers over the frameworks, pegged it down on the windy side and weighted down on the other side (so it can be pulled back in the daytime). Then inside each tent I hung a worklight to make some extra heat. It looks eerie in the dark - two glowing igloos.

Maybe, maybe it will work.

I live in Sarasota, FL and I have a cherry orchard on my property. I have Acerola (Barbados), Grumichama, Pitomba, Rio Grand, and Black Surinam. All are under 5 years old and all had fruit last year. The Acerola had fruit almost the entire year. They taste similar to the cold weather fruits, but they all have very fragile skin and VERY short shelf life. I am in zone 9b. Hope this helps.