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.
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Don3a
@northwoodswis4, The net I have is 30"x29’
I could get away with a bit over 20’ wide
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Don, Oh, so you really meant 30 FEET, not 30 INCHES. That makes more sense!
They say with romance cherries rows planted east and west sucker more than rows planted north and south. I don’t know if that would apply to any other bush cherry though. I was actually amazed that it made a difference. http://msue.anr.msu.edu/uploads/files/2010_NW_orchard_show/Bors_BreedTrainDwarfTarts.pdf
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LOL, I really should wear my reading glasses when I type on the computer!!!
Mine are planted north and south and sucker like crazy.
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Thats good to know. I got a confirmation from Henry Fields that they shipped my blackberries and I should get them friday. But the Bush cherries won’t ship for another 2-3 weeks.
Yes that is good to know, I just bought two more from Henry Fields. I now have eight all together. I want to try tissue culturing them. That’s how they recommend commercial propagation. They sell a book on it but I think I will just try with the woody stock mediums. They have kits on the net for starters for $50 with the medium already sterile and in tubes. You just have to wash the tissue, stem or bud and rinse then put it in the tube under light for 16 hours a day. I’m just not sure if ready to spring the $50 for the experiment. If it works you could make a hundred plants for the price of three.
I went over chills house and pruned some Crimson Passion tips. I stuck them in soil and put a plastic bag over it. See if this works. The rooting characteristics of Mongolian Cherries is unknown to me, this is related, so see what happens? The buds were dormant and once planted started to grow. But forming roots is the question. I didn’t use hormone or anything. It may not make it? It didn’t cost anything to try. I can say a misting set up would work, as that is a great way to root anything including blueberries.
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Keep us updated on how it goes. I’ve tried with plums with no success. They looked like they were doing well then mold started to show and they died. They might not have made it even if the mold didn’t grow. I didn’t give them enough air circulation. I think what I saw was stored energy growth til death.
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Yes, plums, stone fruit in general will not work. All will leaf out, but won’t root. I thought it worth a try after I heard some mulberries root better than figs. That surprised me. The other pots are mulberries. While collecting ,mulberry cuttings there was Crimson Passion, so I cut some off. Not all mulberries root well, but some for sure do.