How to grow Cherry in Australia

Where to plant

Cherries need full sun and deep, very well-drained soil; they do not tolerate wet feet. Above all they need a long, cold winter: estimates range from about 700 to more than 800 chill hours for most sweet cherries, depending on how chill is measured, and low chill varieties need less. They also dislike humid summers, and rain on ripening fruit makes it split.

Plant them where you can net the whole tree, as birds strip a crop quickly.

• Hobart: Tasmania grows some of the best cherries in Australia, with deep chill and clean ripening.
• Canberra: excellent; the chill suits all sweet and sour cherries.
• Adelaide: a crop for the Adelaide Hills and the cooler south east; on the plains choose a low chill variety and expect light crops.
• Perth: the Hills and the south west have enough chill; on the coastal plain only low chill varieties set fruit, and crops are light.
• Melbourne: the cooler eastern and hills suburbs suit cherries best.
• Sydney, South East Queensland, the Northern Rivers and the tropics: not reliable, as there is too little chill and too much humidity. Bilpin and Orange are the nearest cherry districts to Sydney.

Choosing a variety

• Stella is self-fertile, with large, dark red, heart-shaped fruit, and pollinates most other cherries.
• Lapin is a self-fertile, large, dark red, sweet cherry.
• Sunburst is self-fertile with very large red fruit.
• Self-fertile varieties crop alone, but even they crop better with a second variety nearby.
• Low chill varieties such as Minnie Royal and Royal Lee are sold for milder areas, but they remain a gamble in warm gardens.

How to plant

1. Plant bare root trees in winter while they are dormant.
2. Dig a hole wider than the roots; on heavy soil plant on a mound so water drains away from the roots.
3. Spread the roots, keep the graft union above the soil, water in and mulch, keeping the mulch off the trunk.
4. Begin shaping the tree to an open vase or a central leader, keeping it low enough to net.

Watering and feeding

Water deeply and regularly from flowering while the fruit swells, then keep watering steady as it ripens. A sudden soaking, from heavy watering or rain, on ripening fruit makes it split, so avoid big changes in soil moisture close to harvest.

Feed lightly with compost or a balanced fertiliser in late winter or early spring. Too much nitrogen gives soft growth and more disease.

Pruning and care through the year

• Prune in dry weather in late summer after harvest, never in wet winter weather, to keep silver leaf and bacterial canker out of the cuts.
• Keep the tree small enough to net. Dwarfing rootstocks help.
• Net the tree well before the fruit colours.
• In wet districts, a cover over a small tree keeps rain off ripening fruit and reduces splitting.

Harvesting

Cherries ripen from late November into January, and into early February in Tasmania. Pick them when they are fully coloured and sweet, as they do not ripen further once picked. Pick with the stalk attached, by the stalk rather than the fruit.

Cherries keep a few days to a week in the fridge. Freeze, bottle or make jam from any surplus.

Growing in pots

Choose a dwarf, self-fertile tree and a pot at least 50 cm wide with a quality potting mix. Water regularly and evenly, feed lightly in spring and net the fruit. A potted tree still needs a cold winter to crop.