skip to main content

Ozarks Gardening

Sour cherries and bush cherries

15 years ago

I posted a question in the Fruit forum but haven't gotten much response.

I have a sour cherry tree on order and I'm clueless where I'm going to put it. lol

I'm wondering if it would benefit from any afternoon shade or if they do ok in full sun all day long.

I ordered Balaton, not a tried and true variety for the Ozarks since it's new, but I was told it would do ok and it's supposed to be one of the sweetest for fresh eating.

There are also some newer varieties of bush cherries available now that are supposed to be very sweet and good for fresh eating but they seem to be more common up north. I can't find any info one way or the other on how well they tolerate summer heat. This one is tempting me: If my Balaton is a failure, I might give bush cherries a try.

Here is a link that might be useful: Carmine Jewel bush cherry

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (3)

mulberryknob
15 years ago
My montmorency pie cherry (that the ice storm destroyed at 26 years of age, sob) was situated in full sun. The cherries on the south and west sides that didn't get shaded by other trees or its own other branches, consistently produced the earliest, sweetest, reddest cherries. That makes me think that they don't need afternoon shade. I too bought a Balaton. Hope it does well for both of us. I also bought another Montmorency to replace the old one.

Don't know anything about bush cherries. Maybe someone else does.
gldno1
15 years ago
christie, my sour cherry tree (from Stark many years ago) gets full sun. The only no no is never plant any stone fruit in a low spot where the water stands (ask me how I know....)

My sis used to have quite a grove of bush cherries (some old variety) that she picked for pies. I have no experience with them. I think they were Nanking. Gurneys variety sounds perfect.

I tried a Stella from Stark a long time ago and it died...I want a sweet cherry but all I read says they don't do well here....may give it a try anyway.
Related Discussions
Crimson passion sour cherry
Q
Comments (17)
Hello everyone. Well I spoke to my nursery dude and he got me to scrape a few spots on my crimson passion cherry. It is green and wet. He recommended leaving it till the end of July. Do you think it could still be alive if there are no leaves on it??? How long do you think it could live without leaves? It is a really good size. About 5 feet tall and trunk is 4 - 5 inches round at base. Thanks for everyone's advise!
...See More
Could you recommend a sour cherry for fresh eating?
Q
Comments (14)
I grow Northstar. It is a bit tart for for fresh eating although I do eat some fresh. The trick for me is to let them ripen until purple. Do not pick when red. Perhaps too tart for fresh eating for most people. I cook with most of them. I sampled Balaton at my friend's commercial orchard and agree is is fantastic for fresh eating. I was so thrilled that I purchased my own tree bare-root the following spring. It is now 5 years old and I have yet to get a cherry off of it. The tree runted out at 4' and just gets wider but not taller. This year it flowered but a heavy spring frost wiped out this year's crop. I will give it another year, but I cannot get the tree to bear. It has only sparsely flowered the past 3 years. I heard they are shy bearing in youth and are best cross pllinated. With that in mind, I planted a mesabi cherry nearby. I think it is a rootstock issue as the tree is healthy. The source I bought it from did not disclose the rootstock used. It does not grow in size like the Balaton at my friend's orchard. His were 12' tall. My family likes Montmorency as well. They can be eaten fresh if picked late in the season but are not quite as sweet as Balaton. Big issue is Montmorency gets way too large to net for bird control. Has anyone tried growing Montmorency on Gisela 5? I see raintree offers is on Gisela 5. I have been tempted to try one to see if it will stay smaller than the 18' height I see at the commercial cherry orchards in my state (WI) in the Door County area. I have not yet tasted Danube or Jubileum but commercially I hear Balaton was the best out of these 3 introductions from Hungary. Can anyone comment on the sweetness of Danube and Jubileum compared to Balaton?
...See More
Bush cherries vs tree cherries
Q
Comments (14)
In my experience, Evans/Bali is a great cherry for folks in zones 5 & colder - but if you're in zone 6 or warmer, don't bother with it. Photos konrad has posted from his zone 4 setting make it look phenomenal! Have had it here for nearly 20 years (finally pulled it out a year or so back, but there are still a couple of suckers that popped up 30-40 ft away). Yes, it ripens later than Montmorency, but that just allows more time for curculio and other pests to hit it, and it was never as productive as Montmorency. Don't know that I ever saw more than a half-dozen fruits that were worth bothering to pick, and they weren't nearly as plump and tasty as those from the nearby Montmorency. Grew out some row-run Nanking seedlings a number of years back - I'd purchased them for use as dwarfing rootstocks for plums - tiny little fruits with minimal pulp surrounding the pit. Native P.serotina(black cherry) produces larger fruits with more pulp. Maybe I had a less-than-stellar strain, but my impression was, "Why bother with it?" Kinda made me think maybe these bush cherries were for folks in the frigid northland who don't have enough growing degree days to grow a real fruit (tic). lol
...See More
mary liss pin cherry Evans sour
Q
Comments (3)
I think mary liss is our native pin cherry, prunus pensylvanica, you find them in the bush, we have lots up here. If I was you, go with the Evans sour cherry, about 10 X larger berry and make excellent jam. Pick them just before the frost for higher sugar content. [if birds don't get them]. Not sure what you mean by seed rapidly. Evans can stay on the bush if you don't pick them right over winter and dry up..birds will eat some, not messy, nice fall color.
...See More
christie_sw_mo
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks for your replies.

I got my order Monday afternoon. I was out in the yard and was going to get started planting potatoes when the UPS truck pulled in my driveway with my Stark Brother's order. You'd think, since I ordered a month ago that I would have a spot in mind to actually PLANT my new cherry tree and other stuff but I didn't. So I circled my yard a few times, shovel in hand, turning in cirles and staring up at the trees, walking back and forth counting paces a few times. If I carry a shovel, that makes me look less crazy to the neighbors right?

The plants they sent me were bigger than I expected them to be. I spent a good part of the day yesterday digging holes for the Balaton Cherry and for a Jupiter grape. Sure seemed hard to dig. I think my arms are weak from lack of use over winter. I was exhausted yesterday evening.

I read that Balaton has a tendency to form narrow crotch angles will need some training and pruning of course. I've been reading about different methods to help the branches spread out to wider angles but I think I won't have to do that until next year.

Will I need to spray it this year for anything or should I just wait to see what happens?

Related Stories

EDIBLE GARDENS How to Grow Your Own Luscious Cherries

By Marianne Lipanovich

Nope, they’re not the easiest fruit to grow. But with spectacular blossoms and pies as possibilities, cherries are sure worth a try

GARDENING GUIDES 6 Plants That Beat Butterfly Bush for the Wildlife Draw

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

It's invasive, a nonnative and a poor insect magnet. Check out these better alternatives to butterfly bush in the garden

CONTAINER GARDENS Patio-Perfect Berry Bushes Like You’ve Never Seen

Small enough for pots but offering abundant fruit, these remarkable bred berries are a boon for gardeners short on space

TREES 6 Unsung Spring-Blooming Trees

Billowy blooms and rare fragrances will make you wonder how these flowering trees could ever have been underused in landscapes

PLANTING IDEAS Great Garden Combo: Silver Sparkles Amid Purple and Blue Foliage

Get the look of this modern foundation planting by focusing on a restrained color palette with tasteful accents

EDIBLE GARDENS How to Grow 10 Favorite Fruit Trees at Home

By Marianne Lipanovich

Plant a mini orchard in fall, winter or early spring to enjoy fresh-off-the-tree fruit the following year

GARDENING GUIDES 5 Best-Behaved Trees to Grace a Patio

Big enough for shade but small enough for easy care, these amiable trees mind their manners in a modest outdoor space

GARDENING GUIDES Let Lilac Love Flower This Spring

By Alison Hodgson

Whatever you bestow or receive for Mother's Day, lilacs can be an unmatched gift in the garden in May

FRUIT TREES How to Grow Your Own Juicy Plums

By Marianne Lipanovich

Easier than other stone fruits and with a variety of colors to choose from, plums are a versatile garden addition

SPRING GARDENING 7 Spectacular and Practical Spring-Flowering Trees

Put on a beauteous show in the garden with a landscape tree awash in flowers — just do your homework first

Sponsored

More Discussions

verbena (glandularia) canadensis blooming already

6

DNA used to resolve tree theft case

1

Found a stray Metasequoia

2