Wanda:

Sour cherries are self-fruitful, so if you planted one of those you are home free. If, however, you planted sweet cherries, and they are one of the traditional varieties that require cross-pollination, you will need another cherry tree with complementary bloom to pollinate it. However, many of the newer sweet cherry varieties are now self-fruitful, but you do not say what varieties you are considering. So read the tags from the trees at Lowes, and tell us what they are. No other type of fruit tree will pollinate a sweet cherry that requires pollination; only another cherry, and not a tart cherry either.

The real lesson here is to keep better track and be aware of what you are planting; first whether the tree is a tart or sweet cherry, then the variety and planting date. Read the information from the tag and write it down in black marker on the wall of your shed or someplace like that.

Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

Jellyman is one of the most knowledgeable people here. He answered your question that only sweet cherries can pollinate sweet cherries. Your snippy retort was uncalled for and will lead others not to answer future questions.
Perhaps an apology is in order.
Ann

Also, Jellyman pointed out that many of the newer varieties are self-fertile. Not knowing what kind you already have is unimportant if you get one of those newer varieties as it will pollenate itself as well as whatever variety you previously bought, even if it is of the same variety.

~Chills

My bet is you got black tartarian or bing at Lowes, unfortunately neither of which is self-fertile, though.

Replying in a respectful tone or none at all is OK with me.

Now, if you would like to bring the post back on topic, that is most useful. If not, just let the thread die before it becomes an outlet for vitriole and off-topic insults, which I did not provoke.

Because I am not one to follow along, I prefer not to be addressed in the manner I was. The inquiry was about pollinators, the first lines were all I needed. The comment on learning a lesson was not called for, and disrespectful. I am the one that deserves the apology.

If that is how you wobble on this board, *I* am the one out. I despise online spats that waste my time.

Thank you

I was GOING to say that a picture and identification query on this or another gardening site might help. I was also going to suggest plant markers for plant ID once the cultivar is figured out.

By making these suggestions, I am only trying to help. I'm not trying to offend anyone. Please don't bite my head off.

I'm pretty new here, and I'll see what the response to my suggestions are here before I offer any more. If suggestions aren't welcome, then I won't bother making any more.

Wanda:

The comment about the importance of keeping track of what you plant was not intended to embarrass you, and it wasn't meant just for you. For most people, Gardenweb is a learning experience, and one of the most common things to be learned is to somehow record what you plant. If someone else reads this thread and says "hmmmm", it will be helpful to that someone else.

If it is any comfort to you, I know I am regarded as somewhat of a curmudgeon on this site, so it's not just you. And if someone wants to say that, it's ok with me. Fortunately, the percentage of very touchy persons seems to be very low here.

If you want an apology, you have one. They are free.

Best Regards,
Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

Wanda;
I have planted thousands of trees. Why just this week I was walking through the orchard and I looked at a tree and wondered, "Now what the heck is that? Gee I wish I would have written that down and kept it someplace besides the floor of that dirty old pickup truck." And then another tree and then another tree. How embarrassing. And now Don will think I am not worthy.

When we bought this property it had a cherry tree mature enough to bear fruit but it never did. Having no idea what it was but convinced it was not bearing for lack of a pollinizer, I bought a container planted Black Tartarian, old enough to flower and and set the container under the other tree. That year we got a large crop of Royal Anne cherries from our mystery tree. When growing up on a fruit farm dad used to put flowering shoots in a large can with water and hang them in certain trees that needed another pollinizer. Al

As I always say, you can graft several cherries unto your own tree. I have a tutorial below showing how it could this be done quite easily.

But if you want another cherry tree, as you have bigger yard perhaps, then most others suggests to get self-fertile types. If the self-fertile have significant bloom overlap, then these are very good pollenizers to your existing one.

I'd go with grafting because the pollinators will not have to travel round trip distances between trees compared hopping branch to branch in the same tree.

Here is a link that might be useful: bark grafting on limbs.

Didn't want Chills excellent logic to get lost in the drain cycle here. If you get a self-fruitful sweet cherry, you can't lose. It's like type O Blood. A universal donor. It will pollenize whatever you've got planted and itself, too, provided that the bloom times generally overlap.

For the east coast, where sweet cherries are challenging anyway because of the summer humidity which causes cracking and other disease issues, there has been the suggestion that Lapins is a good choice (I'm in the high desert, so I'm only repeating what others have said.)

For the record, on those occasions when Jellyman has childed me for something or other, my reaction is to feel kind of honored. Few are more knowledgable--not to mention, generous with their expertise--than Don and I am grateful for his participation here, curmudgeonliness (sp?) and all.

Don

I planted two Black Tartarian Sweet Cherry trees, am I understanding that these wont polinate by themselves? Do I need to plant a third of a different variety? I have plum,pear,peach,appricot planted as well. Can you let me know. Any info I can get is a huge help, I am new at this "hobby" Thanks again, Jim