April is the season of playful spring. In the forests, meadows, and gardens, colors scatter like rainbow beads: the blue-yellow coltsfoot, lilac-pink violets, reddish hellebore, golden marsh marigold, and purple-lavender and white saffron are all in bloom… But this is just the beginning of the color explosion. When the gardens don their wedding veils, that’s when the true riot of colors begins.
Soon, the gardens and small orchards will burst into bloom. Some homeowners will delight in the blossoms of apple trees, while others will admire the delicate beauty of cherry blossoms. After all, what kind of garden or yard would it be without a cherry tree?
With so many new homes being built, there are plenty of newcomers. What advice can we offer them? Which cherry tree should they plant?
Cherry trees are divided into two main types: sweet cherries and sour cherries (also known as “griots”). Sweet cherries are dessert varieties with a sweet-tart, tender, and translucent flesh, and a clear or lightly colored juice. Sour cherries have a more or less tender but tart flesh, with a deeply colored juice.
Podbelskaya is an excellent all-purpose variety, often referred to as the “big dessert cherry.” The tree is of medium size, and the fruits are quite large and flavorful. Their skin is dark red, while the flesh is tender, very juicy, and sweet-tart.
Ostheim or Baltic cherry is an ancient variety that requires specific growing conditions. The fruits are medium-sized, with a thin, dark red skin. The flesh is tender, juicy, and slightly tart.
Ukrainian Griot is an interesting variety. The tree is of medium height with a round, branching crown. The fruits are medium-sized and flat-round. The skin is thin, strong, dark red, almost black. The flesh is juicy, firm, dark red, and moderately sweet.
And what about families with children? Kids always love cherries, and each fruit ripens at its own time. You can help with this by planting what is known as a “demiseason” cherry. It blooms from early to late summer, with fruits that set at different times and ripen from August until deep into autumn.
How to Plant and Grow Cherries?
Cherries are planted like any other fruit tree—shallow and not too high. We’ll discuss that in a moment, but the key to growing cherries is to avoid excessive pruning. Our renowned horticulturist L. P. Simirenko once said, “Cherries and sweet cherries do not tolerate meticulous pruning and will perish faster than they will submit to an unskilled hand, which is why we see the healthiest and most fruitful trees where they grow without the burden of constant trimming.”
In April, it’s time to plant fruit trees and shrubs.