On Sunday, May 12, 2013 1:53:55 PM UTC+1, Jake wrote:
On Sun, 12 May 2013 12:56:32 +0100, Sacha wrote:







They look very like cherries. Once they get growing they grow like

weeds so you might want to be quite sure you want more than one!



Adding to Sacha's comment - you've got 5 (I think) saplings in very

close proximity to each other.



If they fruit, and that's not guaranteed, any crop is likely to be

poor and nothing like the cherries from which the stones came. The big

unknown is how big they might grow. Commercially grown trees are

grafted onto rootstocks which influence their shape and size.



If you want to keep all the trees, it will be best if you move them

around now while the root systems are still small enough to dig up.

Aim to place them about 20 feet apart and, unless you have friendly

neighbours, 10 feet from the boundary of your garden.



Without pruning, the trees will develop into rather untidy bushes.

Pruning is best done in mid-summer (the usual rule of pruning while

trees are dormant doesn't apply to cherries). This year you should

just remove the lower third of leaves from the main stem and any side

branches that have formed in the bottom two-thirds. Once a good crown

has developed, remove all the leaves on the main stem, together with

any side branches, below it. Over time, as the tree grows higher, you

may be able to raise the crown gradually by removing the bottom

branches from it. Google something like "pruning saplings" for more

info.





--

Cheers, Jake




Wow thanks all.. that was a really swift response and I am so pleased that my hunch was correct. Yes they all came from stones planets about 3 years ago but to be honest we forgot about them completely until last year when they went from 3 inches to about 3 ft. We have other trees in our garden Apple & Plums and we did used to have a nice peach tree but suffered about 7 years ago from Peach Blight and never recovered. So if nothing else the cherry tree will have company

Thanks to all for your help and I will start reading up specifically about cherry care. I'll post back maybe with any developments.


Cheers,