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julian_almond

Need Help with Dwarf Cherry Tree!!!

11 years ago
HelloI have a dwarf cherry tree in my garden and its been there for 2 years and last year got a bumper crop.It is now April 6th here in the UK and the tree doesnt seem to be starting to bud. There are three or four on the lower branch but nothing anywhere else. My other cherry tree seems to be budding on all branches.I did notice that the Scion (I Think) was burried under the soil this year for some reason and there is a white mark on it. I have attached some pics. I have dug it out so it is now visible.Could this be a problem or do I just need to wait a bit longer for it to bud.

Comments (11)

  • 11 years ago
    last modified: 11 years ago

    I don't see any pictures! I'm thinking that your tree might've exhausted its flowering/fruiting resources last season, and is taking this growing season as a chance to recuperate. This is called alternate bearing, where bumper crops alternate with years of almost no fruit. Just make sure your tree gets fed well this year. Next year, there will probably be a ton of flowers again. What you'll want to do then is prune the tree back a little once it's set fruit, or at least thin out the fruit by half. That way, it won't exhaust itself again, and will have enough energy to grow some more flower buds for the following year.


    Edit: Alternate bearing can be nasty because once started, it's difficult to stop. My hope is that since your tree is only recently producing, you might still be able to influence its yearly production by judiciously managing the amount of fruit it puts out each year.

  • 11 years ago

    sorry here are the pics


  • 11 years ago

    Just the one little branch with buds on and no sign of action anywhere else


  • 11 years ago

    Hmm. If the rest of the tree seems dead, perhaps it had too hard of a freeze? I wouldn't think so, though, not with your maritime climate. Do any of the inactive branches still have green cambium beneath their bark?

  • 11 years ago

    No the green stuff is on the main truck. Is this normal


  • 11 years ago

    I did notice last year that when it started getting cold all the leaves fell off. Then two weeks later we had a warm spell. The tree started to bud again and then a week later it was freezing and it again went dormant. Could this have anything to do with it. Also I havent fed the tree yet.


  • 11 years ago

    If there isn't living cambium in the branches, it means that they've died. It could be that your tree was stressed too much by the warm spell followed by the second freeze, and this damaged it. This year, I'd wait for it to bud and grow leaves. This summer, it ought to put out new branches if its current ones are truly dead. If any branches don't have leaves by June, I'd prune them off. Just leave it be for now. In regards to the fertilizing, I got mixed up and thought it was a container plant - you should be fine without fertilizing it for now. Good luck!

  • 11 years ago
    last modified: 11 years ago

    I would watch and wait. I doubt very much that you had a freeze capable of killing a cherry tree. Or that the difference between the warm and cold periods would have any effect. We just don't get the kinds of extremes US growers experience. Spend the spring attacking the creeping buttercup and try not to think about the cherry tree. Then if it still hasn't leafed out by June cut away the dead bits. (And before anyone says you should prune it in the winter, note that over here we are advised to prune all stone fruit in Summer due to the prevalence of Silver Leaf Disease.)

  • 11 years ago

    I have taken a little branch off the top of the tree and cut the bark off. It doesnt look like there is any cambium layer. Please look at the pics and tell me what you think. If these branches are dead is there any way I can save this tree.


  • 11 years ago
    I have just inspected my cherry tree and there is no cambium layer on any branches above 1 foot. At the bottom the cambium layer only goes half way around the trunk. Can I use that section to graft a branch off my existing cherry tree. Will it then grow successfully. Or am I wasting my time and better off just binning it.
  • 11 years ago
    last modified: 11 years ago

    Third option - leave it alone and see what it looks like in a few weeks. No time is wasted since while you wait you can be getting rid of the creeping buttercup ;-) Prune out anything which hasn't leafed out by June, as advised above.