Hi,

I'm new to this group and gardening, having just bought my first house. I am
currently attempting to tame my back garden (the previous owners had done
nothing for a whole year), once I have expanded the lawn into the old
allotment and border I would like to plant a cherry tree. But I am not sure
about what type of tree or the best place to plant it. I want something that
will stay pretty small (under 12ft tall) and will withstand the Scottish
weather.
Any advice on verities to look at or where to plant it?

Cheers,

Daniel

Danielb wrote:

Hi,

I'm new to this group and gardening, having just bought my first house. I am
currently attempting to tame my back garden (the previous owners had done
nothing for a whole year), once I have expanded the lawn into the old
allotment and border I would like to plant a cherry tree. But I am not sure
about what type of tree or the best place to plant it. I want something that
will stay pretty small (under 12ft tall) and will withstand the Scottish
weather.
Any advice on verities to look at or where to plant it?

Cheers,

Daniel

Scotland is cold, isn't it?

Sour pie cherries are more winter hardy than sweet cherries, and most
(if not all) varieties are self-pollinating. And the trees are
naturally semi-dwarf. Sweet cherry trees are a lot taller (unless
grafted onto a dwarfing rootstock) and they need a pollinator.

I live in Minnesota, and my cherry tree is either "Meteor" or
"Northstar" -- I can't remember which. That probably doesn't help much
if you are in the UK, but just look for any sour pie cherry variety you
can get locally and you should be OK. With minimal pruning it should
top out at about 12 feet tall, and begin fruiting in about 2 years.

Best regards,
Bob

--
"Stealing a Rhinoceros should not be attempted lightly" --Kehlog Albran

Cherries are not a good bet for Scotland. They like fairly cold
winters, and are prone to many diseases in wet climates. Scotland is
USDA zone 8 or 9; zone 9 is definitely pushing it for cherries.

A Japanese plum or black mulberry might be a better bet. Pears
tolerate wet conditions well, but you need two.

In article ,
(Ben Sharvy) wrote:

Cherries are not a good bet for Scotland. They like fairly cold
winters, and are prone to many diseases in wet climates. Scotland is
USDA zone 8 or 9; zone 9 is definitely pushing it for cherries.

A Japanese plum or black mulberry might be a better bet. Pears
tolerate wet conditions well, but you need two.

Zone 9? Scotland? Are you sure? South Florida is (was until a couple of
weeks ago) zone 9. And I'm fairly sure Scotland gets a little more snow
and colder winters than Miami. I didn't realize that Scotland was
subtropical.

dementia13 wrote in message ...
In article ,
(Ben Sharvy) wrote:

Cherries are not a good bet for Scotland. They like fairly cold
winters, and are prone to many diseases in wet climates. Scotland is
USDA zone 8 or 9; zone 9 is definitely pushing it for cherries.

A Japanese plum or black mulberry might be a better bet. Pears
tolerate wet conditions well, but you need two.

Zone 9? Scotland? Are you sure? South Florida is (was until a couple of
weeks ago) zone 9. And I'm fairly sure Scotland gets a little more snow
and colder winters than Miami. I didn't realize that Scotland was
subtropical.

South Florida is zone 10. Parts of Scotland are zone 8, parts are zone 9.

The USDA zone map is a blunt instrument.

dementia13 wrote in message ...
In article ,
(Ben Sharvy) wrote:

Cherries are not a good bet for Scotland. They like fairly cold
winters, and are prone to many diseases in wet climates. Scotland is
USDA zone 8 or 9; zone 9 is definitely pushing it for cherries.

A Japanese plum or black mulberry might be a better bet. Pears
tolerate wet conditions well, but you need two.

Zone 9? Scotland? Are you sure? South Florida is (was until a couple of
weeks ago) zone 9. And I'm fairly sure Scotland gets a little more snow
and colder winters than Miami. I didn't realize that Scotland was
subtropical.

Ben is correct. There are tropical gardens in the islands (Hebrids?)
off the west coast. Zones only describe minimum temps. The Gulfstream
makes sure there is never a frost there, even though it is the
latitude of Anchorage. The max, on the other hand, may never exceed
70F.