Landscaping with a Cherry Tree

Answer 1

Growing fruit trees in your backyard are excellent ways to cut your monthly food expenses in the summer months as well as providing beautiful landscaping to your property. One of the best trees that you can buy to landscape your yard is a cherry tree. They are usually among the first trees to blossom in the spring and can produce succulent, sweet cherries well into the autumn months, making them the perfect choice for a tree landscaping project. Originating in Eastern Europe and Asia, cherry trees have been grown for many thousands of years by humans. In addition to providing beauty and fruit, cherry trees are relatively low maintenance, which makes them the perfect option for even the novice gardener.

Before buying and landscaping with a cherry tree, you have to make sure that your climate is suitable for growing one. You need to live in an area that has long and cold winters, because cherry trees need this kind of environment in order to bear fruit in the spring. This period of time is referred to as the chill time, which begins as soon as the last leaf falls off the tree and ends when the first leaves return. In order to produce a good crop of fruit for the following spring, cherry trees require between 600-700 hours of chill time at temperatures between 32 and 45 degrees Fahrenheit on average.

If your home is located in a climate that is suitable for growing cherry trees, the next thing you need to consider is the amount of space that you have. Cherry trees can grow to heights that exceed 30 feet, meaning that you will need a lot of room for your tree landscaping project. Also, if you want to grow more than one tree in order to increase your fruit yield or to fill up more space in your yard, you will need to space them about 18 to 20 feet apart. You will also need to make sure that you are planting the trees in soil that drains well. Too much water or poor drainage can cause the roots of the tree to rot, which will kill it.

You can grow cherry trees from seeds or from saplings, however growing from saplings is far easier. Once planted, cherry trees require little maintenance other than regular watering. You should water your cherry tree once a day in normal conditions and twice a day in hot weather. Cherry trees do not require fertilizer. Occasionally, you will need to prune your tree in order to provide more sunlight to the inner branches and to allow air to circulate more freely. Three to five years after planting, your cherry tree should begin to produce fruit, which you can enjoy for years to come.