Fruitnut, Being in Vista, California (N. San Diego county 6 miles from the ocean) makes it nearly impossible to grow cherries until two new cultivars were introduced for us here in coastal S. California - Minne Royal and Royal Lee, developed by Zaiger. They have very low chill hours and don't require the heat to sweeten, especially Royal Lee. They are pollinators for each other. I just purchased one of each, and will see how they do for me. I have spoken to several folks, all in CRFG and these two varieties are performing very well to outstanding, even for folks right at the beach. Minnie Royal ripens first, then Royal Lee. So, maybe these two cultivars will work for you? I would contact DWN and see. They can tell you for sure if this might be worth purchasing. Patty S. Here is a link that might be useful: Blog About Royal Lee And Minnie Royal Cherries in S. Calif Coast

Newbie: What you are describing is not normal ripening for sweet cherries. There is something else going on, probably a fungal infection of some type. Every year is different, and diseases can come and go from year to year. But if this happens to your cherry tree two or three years in a row, you may have to look into dormant spraying with something like copper, or early-season sprays with a fungicide to protect your cherries. I would start by dormant spraying the tree this winter, just as a precaution. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

Cut some of the fallen fruits in half. If no seed, it's pollination failure -- reasons for that include various adverse environmental conditions which prevented fruit set.

I think you need something like an awl to clean them, pipe cleaners are too bendy. Need something rigid and stiff. Funny you mention my neighbors - I'm the head of our neighborhood watch and public safety chair for our shared NPU. I took control of our neighborhood's public safety in 2006, and have really built up a tremendous crime watch in our area; all of my immediate neighbors are well-trained and really look out for each other. I guarantee you if I would have put out on our email list that Someone took plants from my front yard, at least two people would've had your tag number ;) We really have something special in this neighborhood - there's only one neighborhood in southeast Atlanta that persistently has lower crime rates than ours (total and per capita), and that's the next neighborhood over, where our local councilperson lives ;) I don't quite have as much yardage as you...but if you ever want to check things out over here, let me know. My Mayapples just broke, they're a short sight to see, Foamflowers are in bloom, False Solomon's Seal will probably break in the next week or two, we just re-mulched everything, seeded a lot of stuff, planted out the garden beds, lots going on!