Pie cherry tree problems...no fruit
 

Hello again,

I have a Starkspur montmorency pie cherry tree. When I first brought
this tree home 3 years ago, it was 5 ft tall with over a half dozen
cherries on it. Since then I've received tons of blossoms every year,
and the tree is 7 ft tall, but this year is the first time I ever
received fruit since first planting. I had _one fruit_ this year...a
great fruit, mind you ;) but still a little lacking on quantity.

I have with me the original card that came with the tree. It says its
a semi-dwarf pie cherry, and "super productive". If one cherry every
3 years is super-productive, I'd hate to see the ones that skimp ;)
It also says it's "self pollinating", which I am also highly skeptical
about.

Since it had tons of fruit while at the nursery, I can only guess it
needs a cross pollinator to set fruit, which it shouldn't, since it's
a pie cherry. If I needed another pie cherry to cross-pollinate this
one, can anyone recommend any? Would another montmorency be
appropriate?

Can pie cherries cross-pollinate each other? Do cross-pollinating pie
cherries set a lot more fruit than single pie cherry trees? It's
been difficult to find this info, everything on cross-pollination is
about sweet varieties. Thanks very much,

Dan

Pie cherry tree problems...no fruit
 

dstvns wrote:
Hello again,

I have a Starkspur montmorency pie cherry tree. When I first
brought this tree home 3 years ago, it was 5 ft tall with over
a half dozen cherries on it. Since then I've received tons of
blossoms every year, and the tree is 7 ft tall, but this year
is the first time I ever received fruit since first planting.
I had _one fruit_ this year...a great fruit, mind you ;) but
still a little lacking on quantity.

I have with me the original card that came with the tree. It
says its a semi-dwarf pie cherry, and "super productive". If
one cherry every 3 years is super-productive, I'd hate to see
the ones that skimp ;) It also says it's "self pollinating",
which I am also highly skeptical about.

I would say a consultation with the nursery is in order. Ask for
a refund or replacement.

--
Travis in Shoreline (just North of Seattle) Washington
USDA Zone 8b
Sunset Zone 5

Pie cherry tree problems...no fruit
 

I don't know the tree, but many require cross pollination and/or do
better when surrounded by a number of other trees.

Other possible problems, weather, local conditions of soil, moisture or
weather or just a lot of transplant shock.

--
Joseph E. Meehan

26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math


"dstvns" wrote in message
...
Hello again,

I have a Starkspur montmorency pie cherry tree. When I first brought
this tree home 3 years ago, it was 5 ft tall with over a half dozen
cherries on it. Since then I've received tons of blossoms every year,
and the tree is 7 ft tall, but this year is the first time I ever
received fruit since first planting. I had _one fruit_ this year...a
great fruit, mind you ;) but still a little lacking on quantity.

I have with me the original card that came with the tree. It says its
a semi-dwarf pie cherry, and "super productive". If one cherry every
3 years is super-productive, I'd hate to see the ones that skimp ;)
It also says it's "self pollinating", which I am also highly skeptical
about.

Since it had tons of fruit while at the nursery, I can only guess it
needs a cross pollinator to set fruit, which it shouldn't, since it's
a pie cherry. If I needed another pie cherry to cross-pollinate this
one, can anyone recommend any? Would another montmorency be
appropriate?

Can pie cherries cross-pollinate each other? Do cross-pollinating pie
cherries set a lot more fruit than single pie cherry trees? It's
been difficult to find this info, everything on cross-pollination is
about sweet varieties. Thanks very much,

Dan

Pie cherry tree problems...no fruit
 

Joseph Meehan wrote:
I don't know the tree, but many require cross pollination and/or do
better when surrounded by a number of other trees.

Other possible problems, weather, local conditions of soil, moisture or
weather or just a lot of transplant shock.

What zone are you in? When I was a kid we had several old sour cherry
trees in the yard. They were amazingly productive in years when we had
cherries -- but only perhaps every third or fourth year was a "cherry
year". The reason being that in Cleveland OH, the average date of last
frost is fairly close to when the cherries are in flower. If there was
a warm spring and then a late May frost, then brown mushy blossoms, no
cherries. Cold March/April with no late frost === many cherries.

- Alex

Pie cherry tree problems...no fruit
 

You are being a little impatient. Pie cherries usually start bearing
in 4-6 years, and nothing bears heavily when it is young. Add a year
to account for transplant shock, and you get 5 years at the earliest.
Your tree sounds about five years old.

You might also lack pollinators (bees). Self-productive plants may
still need a pollinator to transfer the pollen from the male to the
female parts of the flower (sometimes, they are diffferent flowers on
the same plant).

Pie cherry tree problems...no fruit
 

On 19 Jul 2003 21:43:17 -0700, (Ben Sharvy) wrote:

You are being a little impatient. Pie cherries usually start bearing
in 4-6 years, and nothing bears heavily when it is young. Add a year
to account for transplant shock, and you get 5 years at the earliest.
Your tree sounds about five years old.

I think I must've asked this question a couple months ago. I will
try to remember this time :)

You might also lack pollinators (bees). Self-productive plants may
still need a pollinator to transfer the pollen from the male to the
female parts of the flower (sometimes, they are diffferent flowers on
the same plant).

Yea, I saw the first honeybee today in about 4 years. Hopefully they
are now recovering.

Dan

Pie cherry tree problems...no fruit
 

Hey Dstvns,
Even self pollinators require pollination by bees and others, including
the wind. That may be the problem. Check how many bees etc are visiting your
tree in the flowering season.
J.Lane
"dstvns" wrote in message
...
Hello again,

I have a Starkspur montmorency pie cherry tree. When I first brought
this tree home 3 years ago, it was 5 ft tall with over a half dozen
cherries on it. Since then I've received tons of blossoms every year,
and the tree is 7 ft tall, but this year is the first time I ever
received fruit since first planting. I had _one fruit_ this year...a
great fruit, mind you ;) but still a little lacking on quantity.

I have with me the original card that came with the tree. It says its
a semi-dwarf pie cherry, and "super productive". If one cherry every
3 years is super-productive, I'd hate to see the ones that skimp ;)
It also says it's "self pollinating", which I am also highly skeptical
about.

Since it had tons of fruit while at the nursery, I can only guess it
needs a cross pollinator to set fruit, which it shouldn't, since it's
a pie cherry. If I needed another pie cherry to cross-pollinate this
one, can anyone recommend any? Would another montmorency be
appropriate?

Can pie cherries cross-pollinate each other? Do cross-pollinating pie
cherries set a lot more fruit than single pie cherry trees? It's
been difficult to find this info, everything on cross-pollination is
about sweet varieties. Thanks very much,

Dan

Pie cherry tree problems...no fruit
 

Being from Columbus Ohio, I should have noted that as well. Down in
Columbus we did not have the problem you may have had in Cleveland, but we
would get an occasional year without cherries.

--
Joseph E. Meehan

26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math


"Alexander Pensky" wrote in message
...
Joseph Meehan wrote:
I don't know the tree, but many require cross pollination and/or do
better when surrounded by a number of other trees.

Other possible problems, weather, local conditions of soil, moisture
or
weather or just a lot of transplant shock.

What zone are you in? When I was a kid we had several old sour cherry
trees in the yard. They were amazingly productive in years when we had
cherries -- but only perhaps every third or fourth year was a "cherry
year". The reason being that in Cleveland OH, the average date of last
frost is fairly close to when the cherries are in flower. If there was
a warm spring and then a late May frost, then brown mushy blossoms, no
cherries. Cold March/April with no late frost === many cherries.

- Alex

Pie cherry tree problems...no fruit
 

"dstvns" wrote in message
...
......

Yea, I saw the first honeybee today in about 4 years. Hopefully they
are now recovering.

Dan


I hope so. I believe I saw a report not too long ago that said some
mite resistant varieties (I believe a behavior change, more grooming) had
been observed.

--
Joseph E. Meehan

26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math

Pie cherry tree problems...no fruit
 

well except for dwarf fruit trees. my cherries on Gisela bore the year after I
planted them. Ingrid

and nothing bears heavily when it is young. Add a year
to account for transplant shock, and you get 5 years at the earliest.
Your tree sounds about five years old.


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