I would like advice/opinions on growing Cherry Trees. I am located in the Piedmont region of Virginia which has, compacted clay soil. I tried growing Cherry trees 10 plus years ago and had 4 trees die after 2 - 4 years. I do not know the rootstock but I assume was mahleb. I am going to try again in 2017, with Giesla 6, Zaiger dwarfing stock (newroot1) and possibly Colt and Kyrmsk 5. For 2018 I have an order in for trees on the Maxma 14 rootstock.
For the Giesla 6 I read about the proper management of the tree and how drip lines are required … Can someone explain exactly what is required for the irrigation of Giesla 6 and what type of pruning is required? I will not put in a drip line.
How much fertilizations is required? What type of chemicals should I use for pest and disease and when? Any other recommendations or advice on growing Cherry Tees or the rootstocks to use? Gisla 3 looks tempting but does not seemed to be used much.
My first advice on compacted clay is to plant on a high mound. That will probably have more positive effect than rootstock. I’d use a good loamy soil as the mound material. Mulch them heavily if you can’t irrigate during long dry spells.
When you say mound are you talking something like a 4ft by 4ft mound 2ft high? I usually mix 50% Black Kow cow manure (.5 .5 .5) with a decent grade of potting soil. Does this sound right?
You want a mound that isn’t so steep that it will wash away. Mulch will help greatly holding it in place. 4x4x2 sounds too steep. Spread it out more or go wider to lower slope. You also want soil that won’t decompose. Both manure and potting soil will have high shrinkage. I’d prefer a straight loam with mulch on top.
If you can’t find a loamy soil, mounding up what you currently have will help.
We grow in very heavy clay. With the correct rootstock mounding isnt necessary, or at least we dont practice it. K5 does extremely well for us but id also consider using a plum root with a interstem. Plum is just about tops when it comes to dealing with heavy soils.
Basically, everything will work except for Mahelab.
Gisela is said to be the most proven dwarfing stocks in the East. Mazzard is the standard standard.
Rumor is the Kymsk stocks are susceptible to canker, but I’ve not seen that yet.
I have a mix of Colt, Newroot-1 (Z-Dwarf), Gisela.6, Gisela.12, and Krymsk.5.
Ironically, the K.5 is the only tree that’s fruited yet. I’m only 3 years in.
How big a tree do you want?
I would plant mostly Gisela.6 if it was more readily available. A local orchard here has some beautiful mature trees on G.6. Most of my stuff happens to be on Colt.
Some vids for you to watch. Mind you, the vids are in California. Regardless, the tip to elevate your planting is definitely applicable.
Thanks for the info and the videos. In the video they show the raised fruit tree, then they say the roots will grow out of the raised bed. If the roots grow out into the water logged soil doesn’t that defeat the purpose of the raised bed?
I am looking for 8 to 12 feet tall trees. 15 foot maybe at the most. I grew up with cherry trees that where 30 feet tall and all they did was feed the birds.
Out of the rootstock you have which looks the most promising? How does the G 12 compare to the rest? Are you growing in Red Clay dirt?
Red clay indicates the soil is well drained. If it doesn’t stand in water for significant periods and doesn’t appear soggy during rainy periods the raised beds are optional. They do help where drainage is marginal or worse. Roots growing outside the bed don’t cancel the benefits.
Clays that are gray or black indicate poor drainage. Red equals oxidized iron, ie rust, ie plenty of oxygen in the soil. Gray equals reduced iron which occurs in wet anaerobic soils.
Thanks for the insight into your Cherry growing experience. I want to try White Gold, the local Nursery will have it potted on Mazzard this spring, maybe that will be a good choice for my fathers 40 acre land plot.
I have a spot in my side yard where the water will pool if we get a lot of rain. This past spring it rained 5 out of 7 days for 2 to 3 months, it was the wettest spring I have ever seen. I have moved the fruit trees that were near that spot, I think the other areas should be okay.
Colt rootstock is widely reported as not very productive, so you may consider using it only with most productive cherry varieties. Also, you may find it more difficult to keep the tree on Colt compact in your climate than Richard does in his dry So. Calif. climate with controlled irrigation.
Cherries don’t like wet feet. Making mounds is extra work, but I think it’s worth the peace of mind.
I am in middle Tennessee (zone 7a) with humid summers and Since sweet cherries are too difficult to grow in humid, hot summers, I am looking at tart/sweet cherry trees like: Danube, Balaton, Kansas Sweet, Evans Bali, Jubileum. Which ones are the hardiest to grow in wet springs and humid summers?
Also, for bush cherries, is Juliet and Crimson Passion about the same grow and fruiting in a humid summer climate (zone 7a, middle Tennessee).
I have had a difficult time growing cherry trees, unfortunately I am having to sell my house and the site where I had my cherry trees. If you look at my original post (I started the thread 4 years ago) I was having difficulty growing cherry trees in the Piedmont Va region with compacted clay dirt. Mahleb doesn’t grow here, Mazzard should but I did not have positive results, Newroot1 dies, 1 out of 4 cherry trees on Maxma 14 died and none thrived the way I wanted them to. The rootstock that did thrive was Colt and Kyrmsk 5. I only had one tree on each rootstock but the Colt rootstock tree was well on its way to be a nice large semi dwarf/full size tree. Kymrsk 5 thrived also. The Colt was planted in 2017, had a few blooms this year and a few cherries that the birds got. I was expecting to get a full bloom next year. My opinion is that Colt is probably a less vigorous producer vs other rootstock. In my situation I will take a live healthy, less vigorous tree over a dead or stunted tree.
