Cherries make a wonderful tree for all sizes of garden. Many varieties are attractive trees, bearing spring blossom, colourful fruit, interesting bark and leafy foliage that turns orange, red and yellow in autumn.
Both sweet and sour (morello) cherries are available to grow, each type of tree needing slightly different requirements. All can be grown in containers, as freestanding trees or fan-trained against a wall. They do require careful maintenance, but enjoying freshly picked cherries makes growing them worth the effort.
How to grow cherries
Grow cherries in moist but well-drained soil in a sunny, sheltered spot. Mulch annually with well-rotted compost or manure and prune in summer if necessary.
More on growing cherries:
What to prune in summer
How to identify British native trees
How to train a fruit tree
Trees for small gardens
Dwarf fruit trees
Where to grow cherry trees
Cherry trees do best in a warm, sheltered frost-free spot in well-drained, slightly acid soil. Morello cherry varieties are generally smaller and will also tolerate some shade, so can be grown against a north-facing boundary. These varieties are also self-fertile, so can be grown without a planting partner.
Sweet cherries can be grown as free-standing trees in larger spaces, or dwarf varieties can be grown as fan-trained trees against a warm wall, or in containers, but they do require plenty of sunshine. Some sweet cultivars need to be planted with a partner for pollination, so do check the requirements when choosing your cherry tree.
Planting cherry trees
Pot-grown cherries can be planted all year round but you can usually have a wider choice of varieties, for less money, if you buy bare-root trees in autumn or winter. Plant bare-root cherries
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