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Cherry trees are a sight for sore eyes in springtime and they also give the delicious berries that we all love—cherries.
For these two reasons, people like to plant cherry trees. Do cherry trees need full sun, though?
There are 2 types of cherry trees; tart cherry trees that produce sour, edible cherries, and sweet cherry trees that yield sweet, soft, and juicy cherries.
The tart cherry trees are self-pollinating which means they don’t need more than one tree to produce fruit. However, if you’re planting the sweet variety, you’ll need at least a few trees for proper cherry pollination.
In this post, you will discover:
- how much sun cherry trees need
- if cherry trees can grow well in indirect sun
- if cherry trees do well in shade
- the effects of not getting enough sunlight on cherry trees and
- if cherry trees can suffer from too much sun exposure.
Sweet Cherries And Sour Cherries
Sweet cherries
Sweet cherries have a sweet taste and can be eaten raw any day.
1. Chelan has an upright, vigorous habit with fruits that ripen two weeks earlier than Bing cherries and are resistant to cracking.
2. Coral has large, firm fruits with excellent flavor and low susceptibility to cracking.
3. Critalin produces early and is an excellent pollinator, bearing dark, red, juicy fruit.
4. Rainier is a mid-season cherry that’s yellow with a red tinge.
5. Bing cherries are large, dark and one of the most common commercially sold cherries.
Sour cherries
1. Stella also has a large blood-red fruit. Stella is very productive but sensitive to cold.
2. Tehranivee is a self-fertile mid-season cherry.
3. Sonata is sometimes called Sumleta TM and has a large, black fruit. It is an early mid-season sweet cherry.
4. Symphony ripens late in the season with large, bright red cherries that are resistant to rain.
5. Blackgold is a late, mid-season sweet cherry with spring frost tolerance.
6. Sunburst is very productive with large, firm fruits
Both cherry tree types ripen early and are ready for harvest in the late spring.
Read More:
How Much Sun Do Cherry Trees Require?
Do Cherry Trees Need Full Sun? Yes, cherry trees need full sun to grow and thrive.
You should plant your cherry trees in a spot that receives about 6 to 8 hours of full sun each day and has fertile soil that drains fast.
Direct sunlight is critical to the number of cherries in each harvest yield and the taste of the cherries produced.
If cherry trees receive less than 6 to 8 hours of direct sun, you risk a disastrous harvest with poor fruit. Therefore, plant cherry trees in an area that gets sun all day.
Enabling full sun for your cherry trees also helps prevent fungal diseases and dries to soil faster. For cherry trees that are getting just a little less than 6 hours of direct sun every day, the negative effects may not be profound, but getting much less than 6 hours of direct sunlight a day will hurt your trees.
Can Cherry Trees Grow In Indirect Sunlight?
Cherry trees will produce less fruit if they don’t have direct sunlight but they can grow in indirect sunlight. Without the heat of the full sun, fruit that cannot fully ripen can also be created.
Unfortunately, you may end up without a cherry harvest if this happens. If your cherry tree gets sunshine throughout the day while temperatures are above 38°C, the extra warmth can pressure the developing cherries to grow too quickly.
In this case, shade your cherry bushes with covers that filter rays till temperatures cool down.
Can Cherry Trees Grow In Shade?
Most cherry tree species can grow in the shade, but will not produce good harvests. In most cases, you can expect less fruit and even fewer flowers if you grow your cherry trees in the shade.
This happens because the trees shift their energy and resources from producing fruit to searching for sunlight.
Growing a cherry tree in the shade results in sparse, unpleasant foliage. Certain ornamental cherry cultivars are slightly more shade tolerant, but in the end, adequate sunlight is vital to the health of any cherry tree.
What Happens If Cherry Trees Don’t Get Enough Sun?
A few things can be affected when cherry trees don’t get enough sunlight.
Cherry trees that don’t get enough sun produce fruit that is not sweet. The cherries may not grow as large, may taste bitter, or be dry instead of juicy.
Another result of cherry trees not getting enough sunlight is that they also tend to have fewer flowers. Do not expect the best crop from cherry trees that are deprived of sun.
You should expect fewer cherries overall from your harvest if the tree has no sunlight. Delayed fruit yield can also be a problem, meaning your trees may produce fruit, but the fruit will never ripen.
Sunlight-deprived cherry trees often become leggy and are much more prone to fungal diseases.
Can Cherry Trees Get Too Much Sun?
Do cherry trees need full sun? Cherry trees need sun for at least 6 hours daily.
Leaving cherry trees in the sun for more than 8 hours, though, may or may not pose issues. Cherry trees often develop a shade that provides adequate protection from the strong afternoon sun, but young cherry trees should also be properly protected from the sun’s scorch.
Signs of excess sun exposure include an unpleasant brown or yellowish tint to the foliage or dark spots on the trunk for which no other cause can be found. Cherries can also overripe unusually quickly if not protected from excessive heat and sunlight.
Painting the trunk and larger branches with a mixture of half-white latex paint and half water can help trees reflect the sun’s heat.
FAQ’s
How fast does a cherry tree grow?
around 1-2 feet per year
Do I need 2 cherry trees to get fruit?
Flowering Cherry Trees grow between 1 and 2 feet every year, and after being planted and getting a good foundation, Cherry Blossom Trees require minimal subsequent maintenance.
Can you keep a cherry tree small?
Yup! Oak and cherry trees can also be kept at a modest size. Your arborist will work with you to create a strategy to make sure you’re properly training your tree and shortening its height. Because cherry and oak trees have different pruning schedules, they can also determine the ideal time to prune.
Do cherry trees have deep roots?
Cherry trees tend to have a lot of surface roots and sucker shoots that develop vertically from them, as well as root systems that are closer to the surface than those of many other trees. Cherry trees have the ability to seriously harm surface landscape due to their shallow root systems.
How long does it take a cherry tree to produce fruit?
Cherry trees typically begin producing fruit in their fourth year, though dwarf varieties do it one year earlier. A mature tart or sweet cherry tree of average size will yield 30 to 50 quarts of cherries annually; a dwarf tree, roughly 10 to 15 quarts.
Should you prune cherry trees?
Cherry trees need to be pruned annually to keep their shape and promote wholesome growth. Cherry trees can produce more fruit when they are pruned since doing so increases the surviving shoots’ exposure to sunlight.
Are cherry trees invasive?
Because of the harm they do to structures, cherry trees are invasive roots. Cherry trees can cause damage if they are planted too close to houses or sidewalks. They could sustain damage from toppling over in the wind or by coming into touch with water if they are knocked over during a storm.
Will 2 Bing cherry trees pollinate each other?
Bing cherry trees do not, unfortunately, self-pollinate. To get fruit, you must buy and grow a cherry tree that is compatible. Black Tartarian, Lapin, Van, and Rainier are all excellent choices.
Are cherry trees messy?
Cherry trees that yield fruit can get rather untidy if you don’t pluck the ripe fruits as soon as they ripen. This is due to the fact that overripe fruits frequently fall to the ground, leaving the garden untidy.
Conclusion
Do cherry trees need full sun? Yes, they need full sun for approximately 8 hours daily to produce beautiful flowers and yummy cherries.
If you plant them in shade or indirect sun, they will grow but not thrive and they will produce little or no flowers and cherries that do not taste nice.
Cherry trees beautify your landscape and are easy to take care of. The cherry on top of the cake? They can be used in all sorts of things like making jams, preserving them in a can, or just eating them raw.
Just keep in mind the sun needs the cherry and the care that these trees need and you should end up with a great crop.