When to Fertilize Cherry Trees

How to Grow Tomatoes

When to Fertilize Cherry Trees

• In nutrient-rich soil, you can withhold using fertilizers before your cherry trees start bearing fruit (average: 4-7 years for sweet cherries; 3-5 years to get pie/sour/tart cherries). If your new cherry trees don't put on a few inches of green growth consider fertilizing starting the spring.
• Ordinarily for cherry trees, once a year is sufficient -- employ a low-nitrogen mulch in early spring, about two or three weeks prior to the tree blooms. You can fertilize after bud break, but by no means than July. For any fertilizer application instructions, always refer to the information printed on the label of your product. Be mindful that advisories on fertilizing may be in effect during certain times of year. For the sake of the local environment, please adhere to these constraints. Each year, test the soil to find out if the nitrogen levels appear low, and what it requires, then employ a fertilizer in small amounts a couple of weeks prior to bud break in early spring. Mulch your trees since weeds will compete with your trees for nutrients, and keep weeds at bay.

To prevent the chance of injury as the growing season winds down, do not fertilize past July 1st. Cherry trees also need micronutrients in the soil, which help make the macronutrients accessible to the tree. For example, molybdenum helps fix nitrogen to the ground. Copper and zinc prevent misshapen leaves and color mottling. Calcium is another important micronutrient that trees thrive on that enhances leaf and fruit quality. The easiest way to add micronutrients is by incorporating a great, balanced fruit tree fertilizer that states micronutrients are a part of the formula or aged compost.

Micronutrients

Fertilizing is an excellent way to replenish the nutrients in your soil, especially nitrogen. Nitrogen encourages green vegetative growth, which is exactly what its fruit-bearing years before your tree reaches you wish to market.

Fertilizing New Trees

Fertilizing Established Trees

About Fertilizers

• Fertilizers -- both synthetic and organic (naturally derived) -- are soil amendments tagged with a "guaranteed analysis" of nutrients such as Nitrogen (N), Phosphate (P), and Potash (K). They are not technically fertilizers, although they're used like fertilizers. You can make your own soil amendments, such as compost, out of food or garden scraps, or even get manure, and other soil amendments from a trusted local source.
• In general, cherry trees thrive when macronutrients such as Nitrogen (N), Phosphorous (P), and Potassium (K) exist. Nitrogen helps promote vegetative growth (branches and leaves). Blossom and root development encourages. Potassium/Potash accounts for systems supporting its health and the effectiveness of the natural disease-resistance of the tree. A fertilizer that's formulated for use on cherry trees provides the nutrients as they become established, these trees participate in during their initial years in the ground.

Before applying any fertilizers always test your soil. Different soils can have varying amounts of native components necessary to support tree growth and development. If you find your soil lacks any necessary nutrients (nitrogen, phosphates, potash, etc.), be sure to pick a fertilizer that supplements the soil's nutrient deficiency.

Macronutrients

Cherry trees are light feeders and prefer a fertilizer such as 5-10-10 or 10-15-15. Be careful to not over-fertilize, or you may produce a tree that's unbalanced, which may affect fruit production and leave the tree vulnerable to disease and pests. Nitrogen, phosphorus/phosphates, and potassium/potash would be the "large" macronutrients cherry trees need to grow normally. When soil is deficient they are present in soil, but may be added. Nitrogen is the nutrient utilized by developing trees; synthetic or organic compounds must moves throughout the soil, is leached off by normal growth and replace it. The main source of nitrogen is decaying organic matter. Signs of deficiency in trees include spots on leaves, leaves that are narrow or shrunken and pale or reddish colored leaves.