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Cherry trees with no cherries.

RobertsprrRobertsprr Posts: 21
in Fruit & veg
I have 2 cherry trees in my garden. Don’t ask me what types they are as I don’t know.
One of them is really tall, the other not so tall. They are about 12 years old. One of them the tall one sometimes has fruit all over the branches and the shorter one has fruit in clumps at the end of the branches. Normally they start off ok with lots of flowers and the start of fruit, sometimes the fruit grows to a reasonable size but they NEVER ripen and always the fruit falls off. Last year the tall tree was absolutely covered in fruit but didn’t get one to ripen they ALL fell off.
Has anyone any idea what the problem could be. I appreciate your help.
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Posts

  • gondorgondor Posts: 135
    My guess is lack of water. I have a stella cherry tree and morello cherry tree bought for a tenner each a couple of years ago and have never once had fruit. I was sick of the tree taking up valuable space in the border so I moved it to a pot and it produced tiny cherries but fell off. I think it's because I didn't water the pots enough.
    My issue might be different to yours since it's 12 years old. Mine are only young.
  • RobertsprrRobertsprr Posts: 21
    It’s certainly not the lack of water, I live in Wales...
  • gondorgondor Posts: 135
    It's interesting you should say that. I know a Scottish person and their lawn, for most of the year, is very lush and green and grows fast due to the rain. During the recent heatwave? Browning. Worse than my lawn, which survived the heatwave, I assume because the clay soil underneath. 
    I look forward to seeing what other people say about your mature cherry trees.
  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 8,328
    Do the fruit fall off on to the ground, or do they just disappear?  Cherries are irresistible to birds and squirrels, long before they're properly ripe...
    Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
  • RobertsprrRobertsprr Posts: 21
    Obviously some would be lost to wildlife but if you saw the amount we had start to grow last year we would have some very heavy squirrels and birds in the neighbourhood. They mainly don’t set on the trees or if they do they grow to the size of a large pea then fall off. The lawn is covered in them.
  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 8,328
    Hmm.  Yes, I understand your problem...  I guess it's likely to be weather related somehow.  I believe, having consulted the Internet as well as my RHS fruit book, fruit may be aborted if the soil is waterlogged, as well as if it's too dry - or if it fluctuates between wet and dry.  Or if there's an unseasonably cold spring, or it's cold after the fruit has set... makes you wonder how any cherries ever ripen, really.   :/
    Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
  • RobertsprrRobertsprr Posts: 21
    The area in the garden where the tree roots are is neither overly wet or overly dry. What happens in Cherry Orchards when they actually rely on the fruit Every year. Are the Trees artificially watered? We have had all sorts of weather over the past 12 years but in all that time haven’t had any fruit to speak of grow to an edible size. They can start off with lots of blossoms and baby fruit but that’s it. We live in the UK so if the problem was weather related we’ve got no chance.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    This article may be of interest 
    https://www.rhs.org.uk/Advice/Profile?PID=580

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • steephillsteephill Posts: 2,841
    We have a large (30ft) wild cherry tree which flowers and fruits heavily every year but we never get any for ourselves. The assault starts with woodpigeons and bullfinches which strip the blossom and the immature fruit. As the fruit ripens squirrels, blackbirds, magpies and jackdaws join in until there is nothing left but regurgitated stones littering the ground.
    Cherry orchards take a range of preventative measures to keep birds off their crop including netting and birds of prey.
  • bertrand-mabelbertrand-mabel Posts: 2,697
    Our Morello is the only cherry now that we can "harvest".
    The blackbirds (and we see them doing it even though we have put up old CDs to spin in the wind and sun) take all our other eating cherries whist they are still green. Ripening? Didn't matter they just took them.
    We even made a bird of prey from metal that was swaying in the wind.....they took no notice.
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