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Fruit & Orchards

Black Tartarian Cherry, won't work will it?

16 years ago

I have a dwarf (kind off) Black Tartarian cherry tree that is just beginning to bear fruit. It is occupying prime real estate in my garden. But I keep hearing that I will never eat a cherry from that tree. Well once every ten years. The cherries will ripen and either the birds will eat them or they will crack and rot.

I feel so sad. I waited so long for cherries. Is it true that it is that unlikely that I will get cherries from this tree?

Thank you.

Katyajini

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Comments (9)

jellyman
16 years ago
Katyajini:

It's unlikely, but give it a try. You already have the tree. Don't be sad until something bad happens. Then be sad.

Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA
ashok_ncal
16 years ago
"Black Tartarian" is a soft-fleshed cherry, so I would think that it would be relatively resistant to the cracking/rotting process that seems to be an issue in humid climates.

As for the birds taking all your cherries: well, I think this is going to be a potential problem just about anywhere!
(As it happens, the little feathered darlings just stripped nearly all fruit from a "Black Tartarian" branch that I had grafted onto one tree.)

There are strategies for dealing with bird depredations, and you should be able to find them in on-line sources. Not all are necessarily guaranteed to be very effective!

If your tree gets big enough, it eventually may produce enough cherries such that you will be left with enough even if the birds take many. (This is probably the best strategy for dealing with wildlife crop-theft -- having enough of a crop that you don't mind so much if some is stolen!)
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Scott F Smith
16 years ago
Katyajini we will both be sad if it doesn't work, because I am also trying that cherry. It was a popular cherry in Michigan years ago so it can produce in humid climates. I think the birds or bugs will be a bigger problem than cracking. Last year the bugs got most of my sweet cherries. My Black Tartarian got munched to a stub by the deer last year so it is still several years from bearing.

Scott
katyajini
Original Author
16 years ago
Gosh, we all have our problems with our cherries don't we? I have become so emotional over my fruit trees this year(!!)

jellyman: Thank you for reminding me not to be sad until the bad thing actually happens. I always lose that perspective. I will give BT a fair chance this year.

ashok: I am still waiting for the day when I have such a surfeit of fruit that I couldn't care how much the wildlife took. And you are right, too much fruit is the only true defense.

Scott: I am sorry your tree got chewed. I can't imagine how horrible that must feel. At least I don't have dear. I will keep you posted.

I will let you know my one data point later in summer.

Katyajini
calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9
16 years ago
Cherries are right up there with roses as a favorite deer food. The Black Tartarian is my favorite eating cherry. It is the sweetest cherry I know of. It is so soft it does not ship and unless you grow it your self, can only expect to find it at farmers markets. It is a pretty dependable producer here but your zone may be a problem. Al
fruithack
16 years ago
I second calistoga's comments. Get some nets, from the netshed on ebay, for instance. You are very fortunate to have that variety.
katyajini
Original Author
16 years ago
I did not know BT cherries were that special fruitjack and calistoga. Something to look forward to. I did buy some bird nets.

Katyajini
geraldo
16 years ago
I did not know BT cherries were that special

they aren't, but they might be given what you can raise in your location.
karennyhus_earthlink_net
12 years ago
I have BT and Bing for x-pollination; both yield great. I planted them bare-root in 2007; they started bearing the first or second year and have at least doubled their yield each year. Which is good, given that in year 1 they had 3 and 6 cherries, respectively. :-)

Ants (and earwigs; yuck) do attack the BT, and birds go after both; at first I used old onion bags as nets since most of the cherries were on the tips of branches, or in 'zones' over which I could cut open the bag and slide it down carefully and tie in place while the fruit ripen. May have to escalate to real nets next year, but I didn't know about pruning so now I have the BT, which is shooting for the moon, tied down in curves with ropes. I'm hoping it will curve the top branches, so I can prune the top shoots (there are four) and encourage more growth lower down. Anyway maybe I'll be able to actually get the net over the tree if all my gyrations over pruning and shaping work out. ;-)

I had no bug attacks on the BT this year; maybe it's because we killed our lawn and it's very dry now. But we're in NoCal.

Best of luck to you!

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