Cherry Tree: A Springtime Symphony of Joy
Cherry tree is an exquisite silent artist that turns every spring into a masterpiece with its spectacular blossoms. Discover how to find the best cherry tree for sale and bring perpetual joy into your garden.
If you are near Chichester, West Sussex, you are more than welcome to visit our Arundel Arboretum nursery and meet our experts. They will gladly chat with you, show you around, answer your questions, share some valuable advice, and offer you the best cherry tree UK selection.
If you are looking to buy cherry trees online, explore our web store and our carefully curated, both young and mature cherry trees for sale.
How to Choose Your Cherry Tree?
Before heading to a cherry tree farm or browsing to buy cherry tree online, you need to figure out what is the best cherry tree variety for your garden. Check out this simple guide to help you decide.
How to Choose Your Cherry Tree?
Before heading to a cherry tree farm or browsing to buy cherry tree online, you need to figure out what is the best cherry tree variety for your garden. Check out this simple guide to help you decide.
Sweet Cherry vs. Sour Cherry
When looking to buy a cherry tree bear in mind that dessert (sweet) and cooking (sour) cherry are two different species. Still, they can cross-pollinate.
Sweet cherries (Prunus avium) have glossy, red to dark purple skin and smooth and juicy flesh. They are sweet and delicious but do not keep well. Therefore, they are best to be eaten fresh. The popular sweet cherry tree varieties that you can find in our nursery are:
Sour cherries (Prunus cerasus) are smaller than sweet cherries and have red to dark red skin. Their flesh is juicy and less firm than sweet cherries. They have a tart and tangy flavour and are perfect for cooking, baking, and preserving. The popular sour cherry tree varieties are:
Self-Pollination vs. Cross-Pollination
A self-pollinating tree pollinates itself and does not need to be pollinated by other varieties to bear fruit. Cross-pollinating cherries need pollination from another cherry tree that flowers at the same time. For a beginner gardener, it is best to plant a self-pollinating variety first and add other compatible varieties later.
Self-pollinating (self-fertile) cherry trees:
Cross-pollinating (universal donors) cherry trees:
Colt Rootstock vs. Gisela 5 Rootstock
Cherries, like many other fruit trees, are often grafted onto rootstocks. In Arundel Arboretum, our best cherry trees for small gardens UK selection are grafted on Colt and Gisela 5 rootstocks. Here are the main characteristics of these two rootstocks:
Colt Rootstock
Colt rootstock is a semi-vigorous rootstock producing trees 6 to 8 m tall. It tolerates poorer soils than Gisela 5 and needs less care. It is used for growing bush or half-standard trees. Roughly similar to MM111 apple rootstock. Sour cherries reach 3-3.5m on this rootstock.
Gisela 5 Rootstock
Gisela 5 rootstock produces a 3m tall tree, roughly equivalent to M26 rootstock and about half the size of a Standard cherry on seedling rootstock.Â
It needs a 2m permanent stake and is good for training against a wall or trellis. It needs good growing conditions, fertile soil, regular pruning, and the area around it free from weeds and grass.