Whoa baby. Very clever.
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We had a dwarf sweet cherry where we used to live and we netted it. What a horrible experience getting that thing off.
I can’t go through that again for that reason alone. Another reason is that my sweet cherry trees where we are now are simply too big.
That would work on the inside of my orchard fencing. I could do it with the lapins I made last year. It’s about 30" tall in a pot now. It would be easy to spray, net and pick.
Is that something you did, or that a pic from the interwebs? Either way, that’s very cool looking. An offset cherry espalier.
Well, just came in with virtually no daylight left, but got done with my fruit plantings. Finally got the Contender peach and Harrow Sweet pear in the ground. Plus my tart cherry bushes, a Crimson Passion, Juliet, and Romeo got planted.
The Contender had massive roots, so had to dig a huge hole to accommodate them. The HS was a bit easier, but the ground was a little rockier.
The cherries were pretty easy, except the Juliet, it had big roots, similar to those shown on threads here. The CP was just a little twig basically.
Got them all caged in, except the HS, as it’s just a whip, so I hope the deer leave it alone tonight. I ran out of light to cut any fencing for it. My wife said the deer wouldn’t mess with the cherry bushes, but I’m not so sure, so I fenced them in. Anyone on here had deer munch on theirs?
I’ll post some pics tomorrow.
Edit: I meant to mention, we only have the four gooseberry plants to put in the ground, and that will be it for fruit plants this year, I would think (hope). Tomorrow I believe will be tax prep day, I’ve kept putting it off, but gotta get it done. Would rather be outside, it’s going to be another nice day. Looks like Sat may be plowing day!
I believe that is a pic from the interwebs. UFO is being promoted by Michigan State for sweet cherries.
Here is the Gisela cherry (rootstock) channel video on UFO pruning, I believe by some Spartan extension dude. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7y3NdZWemJU
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Deer will eat anything. So yes. I would not doubt it. Also anything small and low to the ground is a target for bunnies.
I need to put chicken wire around the bottom of my the deer fence. The new crop of bunnies can get through the holes in the deer fence. They pruned a new juneberry to the ground last year and nipped a small Harrison apple whip at about 10" two years ago. Fortunately the offending bunny was courteous enough to make his/her pruning cut above the graft and I was able to regrow the scion.
No…i just grabbed that…i guess i should have made that clear! But yes…I’d like to do that in the future with a sweet cherry.
I forget…do you grow sweet cherries? I’ve had excellent results with Lapins. Seems to be hardy, plus no dealing with cross pollination issues. Very large fruit too. Rot is a major issue…too much rain up here.
Thanks. All the fencing I use for my trees is 1x2 inch gap welded wire. Some is 3ft tall others, are 4ft. So, that not only keeps the deer out, it should block the rabbits. Of course, mice or other small rodents could get in there, but that’s not a major concern right now.
I planted some blueberry bushes a couple weeks ago, and have my double fishing line fence up to keep out deer, but they are obviously aren’t protected from small varmits, like rabbits.
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This spring I planted a Whitegold on Gisela 5 because sweet cherries are my wife’s favorite. But I think I have to go for KGB pruning because of space and deer. I would probably be interested in Lapins scion(s) at some point though!
Rot is probably an issue here too, we are ever so slightly more hot/humid than up your way. Going to visit friends in Madison or the Twin Cities in the late summer feels like a small relief, sometimes.
The deer WILL mess with ANYTHING.
Fence off any plant if you value it.
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Oh, I know that, I’ve spent mucho dinero fencing up my fruit trees and plants. My wife said deer won’t touch cherry trees/bushes because “they’re poisonous to deer”. ?!?!? Never heard that, I googled it, and didn’t find any truth to that claim. She’s suffering from a monster sinus/allergy infection, so she might be delirious.
For my garden plots, I’m going with the double fishing line “fence” system. Worked pretty good last year, hope it continues to work this year.
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Nah, cherry trees in my orchard are second only to mulberry leaves as the deers’ favorite salad 
Especially sweet cherries!
They love the tender new growth of about everything here, though. I’ve just been deer-proofing all my important soft new growth that they can reach. They got my new Sweetheart apricot before I got to it. It’ll be fine, but if it were up to the deer, it would be a cut-and-come-again salad tree.
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Deer eat my cherries like candy. Even with fencing the have managed to get them a couple times.
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The deer WILL mess with ANYTHING.
As an example, my gooseberries are so thorny I refuse to touch them without gloves,and I still have problems with the deer eating them. It’s frustrating because they walk past 3 acres of mowed lawn that they could eat and I wouldn’t even mind. I think that anything that bears fruit must have sweeter leaves and branches, because the deer absolutely prefer my fruiting plants to anything else.
The one exception is pawpaws. I have had deer nibble the end of some branches but never very much.
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Generally speaking grass is one of the last things deer want to eat. When I say grass I mean real grass not stuff like clover which deer love. Deer are like kids - they eat what tastes best first
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Really??
I am not sure how it relates to tame cherries but the wild black cherries here are commonly known to be poisonous to cattle if they have been cut or blown down and the leaves are in a wilted condition.
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