Nice pics, thanks for sharing. Looks nice.
I was under the impression not to amend the soil when planting fruit trees? I know these are not trees, but bushes. Are you adding nutrients because the soil is so clay-ey, or because it’s poor soil?
Thank you for letting me know Jessica.
I wonder if anyone really knows their final size, since they haven’t been around that long. They certainly are tough bushes, but they will croak if someone piles logs on them.
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Heh, are you speaking from experience?
I guess one could compare them by planting them all the same time, and check in later at, say 5 years? I think @Don3a did that, yes? I believe he has like 3 or 4 of these bushes that he planted 5-6 years ago?
I have had two sweet cherry trees die in the same spot over the last five years.It was time to PROPERLY amend the soil. There is much info online on ways to do this. Check them out. Who suggested not to amend soil when planting? I am curious.
Almost everybody here, currently it is standard practice not to amend trees. If you listen to experts on the radio like Don Shorr, Fred Hoffman, Former editor of Organic Gardening magazine Mike McGrath, Lee Reich PhD and author of about 7 books on gardening, pruning (great book!) and other gardening subjects all say not to amend. Fertilizer is the worst and can kill tree roots of new planted trees. Many other plants it is suggested, but a no no with trees at least according to current horticultural thought.
Exceptions to everything, and if you amend, you need to make sure you mix soil with native soil to stop the bath tub effect. Also It’s worried that roots will girdle, unwilling to leave the rich soil. We had a user here experience just that.
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Currently the suggested way to feed new trees is via a good mulch. Add compost to the mulch, and keep it mulched with wood chips. Fertilize the 2nd year, add leaves, straw, compost, wood chips. etc. If a tree cannot grow in native soil, it is tough to make it work. At times more trouble than it’s worth. If area is bad, it might be best to work on improving soil a few years before you plant.
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Those of you pruning RS cherries, are you interested in donating the cuttings to me if I pay shipping? "_
Holy cow! I planted two U Sk cherries in one hole, and this makes me think I made a big mistake!
Uh oh! Which ones were they, not that it matters? Might be OK, just may end up being a monster cherry bush.
My carmine Jewell’s are over 8’. Bush cherry that is 6’ max and does not sucker was the story I was told and they are 8’ and do sucker is the reality! I like that they sucker but I never would have planted them where I did had I known.
Rich, After having said all that about trees, these Romance series plants are fairly tough, I don’t see you having any issues. A really super good job on the planting hole. That thing is going to thrive, if it can adapt there? Please keep us updated on your plant! The food is mild, I don’t see that as being any issue at all.Good luck, hope it works for you.
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Thanks Drew and everyone for your planting advice. There is a lot of conflicting information on this.
Raintree recommends one pound of fertilizer, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XQRaB3C1bA
four minutes into the video. Here is one from Luke Marion of MIgardener, from Michigan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTa453qiycY&t=1s and another from Jake Mace in Phoenix https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGq7IfYu0Ds I did not use nearly as much organic matter as they did in the last two videos, just a hand full of tree fertilizer was added in that huge hole. The tree looks very healthy, there is some green showing in the branch tips. Thanks again.
Yes, I planted 4 types in May 2011. Most recent pic I have of all of them together is when they were netted to keep out the birds, in July 2016, so that’s 5.5 growing seasons since I planted them. I planted them in alphabetical order so I could remember them easily… from left to right is Romeo, Juliet, Cupid, Carmine Jewel. The Romeo is tallest, probably close to 8’. The others are all very similar height, 5.5’-6’. I don’t think they have hit maximum height yet.
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Don, Have you had any trouble with the birds reaching through the netting and eating berries? That looks like the same kind of netting I bought, but I haven’t had cherries yet.
just got mine and it is the same stock 
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@northwoodswis4, The net I have is 30"x29’ and has 1.25" holes, and cost me just under $60. The one they recommend for birds has only 0.5" holes but it only came in a long strip that was only 12’ wide and that would have meant I would have had to use several strips and somehow attach them in order to completely cover my cherry patch. Plus the 0.5" mesh is quite a bit more expensive. It was when my cherries started to ripen, and I would walk out to inspect them and see a bunch of birds fly out of the bushes that I knew I needed a net. I went with the 1.25" mesh size, and was dismayed the next day when I went out and saw several birds INSIDE the netting!!! But that was the only time that occurred. For the next 3 weeks or so that the netting was left on I never saw any birds even try to get thought it. So even though they could get in and out of the netting, it must have been enough of a distraction to them that they decided it wasn’t worth the risk and went off to eat fruit elsewhere.
How do you fit a 30" net over 4 or 5-foot tall bushes? Mine is wider with smaller holes.
Most of my bushes are about 6’ high (Romeo is taller), and they have maybe a 4’ spread, so that’s 6’ up, 4’ across, 6’ down, and right there I’ve used up 16’ (20’ for the Romeo). The rest I kind of tuck in at the base of each side of the row, and lay boards or bricks along it to make sure it stays down and doesn’t flap in the wind. I have more width of net than I need right now, I could get away with a bit over 20’ wide, but I don’t think my bushes are fully grown yet so it’s good to have extra. When I want in, I remove a section of boards and lift a section of bunched up net by the base of the row and in I go.