Why cherry blossoms, but does not bear fruit and what to do about it?
It is generally accepted that the better the culture blooms, the more fruit it will bring. However, this is not entirely true; abundant spring flowers on cherries do not always guarantee a good harvest of berries. The question arises: what is the reason for such trouble? Let's try to figure this out.
What is the reason?
Regrettably, there can be many reasons why cherries bloom and do not bear fruit. One of them is improper planting of seedlings.
To avoid this error, you should pay attention to some points. First of all, you need to consider that for good cherry growth, you need to choose the right soil. The best option would be sandy neutral soil. Fertile soil, as well as shady areas, as well as swampy areas, will not work. Seedlings should be bought in trusted places so that there is confidence in their quality. During planting, you need to ensure that the root neck coincides with the level of the soil.
The landing site itself also plays an important role. The area where the tree grows should be warm and sunny, and strong winds should be excluded. Soil drainage and neutral acidity are prerequisites for a good harvest.
You should also pay attention to proper watering and feeding. In order for the tree to develop well, it needs to be watered abundantly several times during the season.If there are not enough nutrients, this can lead to the formation of an ovary, but in this case there is no need to wait for fruits.
The problem can be solved by top dressing with complex mineral fertilizers. Organics won't hurt either. The increased acidity of the soil must be brought back to normal. This is done by adding wood ash.
Sometimes cherries can bear fruit for several seasons, after which they suddenly stop producing berries, while flowering, as before, does not portend trouble. In this situation, it is possible that unsuitable weather conditions are to blame. They affect the tree in several ways.
For example, flower buds may die if there were severe frosts, as pollen loses its quality at very high summer temperatures, and flower pollinating insects are less active in rainy and high humidity conditions.
It is impossible not to pay attention to the pruning of the plant. It is necessary for the cherry to develop correctly.
However, here it is necessary to take into account all the subtleties and nuances of the work, since mistakes can lead to unpleasant consequences. If you cut the bouquet branches, you can lose a fairly large number of berries, because each of the branches can bear fruit for up to 3 years.
If the branches are pruned too much, the tree will be injured, which will affect its general condition. Also, one-year-old shoots cannot be removed, as they will turn into bouquets by the next season. However, this does not mean that pruning should be abandoned or carried out superficially, as this is fraught with thickening of the crown, as a result of which the berries will be much smaller, and their number will decrease significantly.
If the spring was cold, with occasional frosts, this can lead to freezing of fruit buds. The situation is unpleasant, as in previous cases: there are flowers, but no fruits.
For the ovary, temperatures below zero degrees are detrimental, it will freeze and crumble. However, this does not mean that there are no options for saving the crop, because the wintering of cherries can be extended if desired. For starters, do not get rid of the snow that is located near the tree trunk. If the cherry has reached a large size, a fire built nearby will help, emitting a lot of smoke. A small plant is best wrapped with a cloth that will help you better survive the cold.
In the autumn period, you should stop watering the cherry; you should not feed the plant with nitrogen either. If this is not done, the root system may freeze in winter.
Lack of pollination
Inexperienced gardeners, in the hope of a bountiful harvest, can plant only one tree on their site.
If the variety does not provide for self-pollination, the cherry will not please with delicious berries. In order for fruits to appear, in addition to the self-pollinated one, another variety must also be planted, only this guarantees good fruiting. Bees are also responsible for pollination. If there are not enough of them on the site, the result will not be good. The number of bees depends on weather conditions and the impact of pesticides on the plant.
The way out can be spraying a tree in bloom with sugar syrup, for its preparation you will need a glass of water and a tablespoon of sugar. If desired, sugar can be replaced with honey.
The distance between the trees also plays an important role. If they are located far from each other, effective pollination will not work. The distance between seedlings should be no more than 40 meters, and flowering should occur at the same time. Stimulating the process of drugs are "Ovary", "Bud" and "Flower".
Diseases and pests
If the gardener could not wait for the harvest, fungi and various infections may be to blame. It is also possible that this happened due to the impact of harmful insects. Among cherry diseases, coccomycosis and moniliosis cause the most problems. As soon as the first factors indicating their manifestation are noticed, measures should be taken immediately.
Coccomycosis is a fungus that causes wood to mature worse, the shoots become more tender and cannot always survive the winter. This leads to the fact that the flower buds freeze slightly, and the cherry cannot bloom and bear fruit. The disease appears already in late spring or very early summer and initially presents as small reddish spots on the leaves. Later, the leaves turn yellow, curl up and fall off.
The most unpleasant thing about this disease is that it proceeds very quickly and can affect a large number of plants.
All cherries nearby are under threat. Hot weather and high humidity have a beneficial effect, as a result of which the tree may soon remain completely bare. Therefore, it is very important to periodically carefully inspect the cherry.
Moniliosis is a systemic disease, it affects cherry flowers, which can lead to the absence of fruits and the death of the plant.
Spots appear on the leaves, similar to burns, and the berries become covered with rot. A favorable factor for the development of the disease is the coolness and high humidity at the moment when the tree has blossomed. The fungus begins its destructive effect from the shoots, gradually moving to the berries themselves. Also, carriers are harmful insects, for example, weevil, aphids and codling moth.
Damaged areas of the cherry must be carefully treated, because it is in them that the accumulation of spores of the fungus appears. Circumcision of such an area must be done by capturing some healthy material, after which treatment with copper sulfate or Bordeaux liquid is necessary.
When the cherry recovers, you need to periodically carry out prophylaxis. In addition to the fact that pests can carry an infection, they themselves are quite capable of harming cherries.
Cherry aphids and slimy sawflies cause serious damage to the leaves of the plant. Weevils are especially dangerous for flowers, it is on the ovary that they lay eggs, from which larvae later hatch, which leads to fruit drop. The hawthorn feeds on buds and young foliage, and the caterpillars of the cherry moth destroy fruit buds.
Nutrient deficiency
Caring for cherries is quite difficult. For her, both the deficiency of nutrients and moisture and their excess are equally bad. Any of these conditions can cause the tree to drop the ovary. As a result, waterlogging of the soil, its overdrying, lack of minerals and excess nitrogen should not be allowed.
As soon as problems begin with the ovary, you need to normalize the amount of top dressing and properly organize watering. Excess nitrogen fertilizer will negatively affect the plant.
Also, if there are problems with flowering and ripening of berries, fertilizing with manure should be abandoned, as it stimulates the vegetative process, which can affect the normal maturation of the kidneys. Also, to eliminate nutrient deficiencies, potassium-phosphorus fertilizers should be used.
Corrective action
So what to do if the cherry blossoms, but does not give long-awaited fruits? First of all, you need to provide the tree with proper care and carefully monitor all its changes.
If there is concern that flower buds may freeze, try to delay their flowering. This is done as follows: the trunk circle is covered with snow, and the tree must be covered with a special material on top. In the event that the flowers have already opened, and the weather forecast predicts the onset of frost, you need to treat the cherry with Epin-Extra.
In order for the disease not to develop, it is necessary to periodically inspect the cherry to see if pests and fungus have settled on it. If a problem is identified, it should be corrected immediately.
As for coccomycosis, gardeners recommend treating the affected tree with a solution based on wood ash and soap. To prepare it, you need to mix 1 kilogram of ash, a little grated laundry soap and dilute it all in 5 liters of cool water. Processing should be done once a week, procedures should begin at the end of May.
With proper care, it is necessary to carry out 4 treatments per season. They are made after the plant has finished blooming, a second time in June and July, and again after the tree stops producing fruit. To prevent the disease from returning next year, the cherry should be treated again in the fall.
Treatment of the fungus should be carried out in 4 stages:
- before swelling of the kidneys;
- before flowering;
- after the completion of the fruiting of the tree;
- before the leaves start to fall.
Iron or copper sulphate, as well as Bordeaux liquid, helps to cope with the infection well. You should also whiten the trunk in time.Pest control is carried out by loosening the soil, removing parasites from the tree and spraying it with chemicals.
Prevention
Any problem is easier to prevent than to get rid of trouble later. This applies to the lack of fruits in cherries. Therefore, special attention should be paid to preventive measures that deal with the underlying causes.
If we talk about preventive measures, we can not ignore the spring time. During this period, you need to trim the cherry and process it using copper sulfate. On the damage left after pruning, be sure to apply garden pitch. Also, do not forget about the whitewashing of the trunk and main branches.
In addition, the tree and its near-trunk circles can be sprayed with urea; a bucket of water will take almost a kilogram of the product. This will help get rid of fungal spores and harmful insects, in addition, the composition includes nitrogen, which is necessary for the development of greenery. However, it must be borne in mind that after swelling of the kidneys, it is too late to carry out such treatment.
In such a situation, store-bought drugs, such as Fitoverm and Nitrafen, will come to the rescue. To make the tree more easily endure adverse climatic influences, as well as to increase its immunity, Fitoverm and Akarin preparations should be used.
In the autumn, it is very important to carry out sanitary pruning using copper sulfate and garden pitch. Removed elements, like all plant residues, must be burned. Also, copper sulphate needs to be treated with both the cherry and the ground around it after the first frost hits. Be that as it may, the main preventive measure is a careful and regular inspection of the tree and the timely identification of possible problems.
Tips
Experienced gardeners say that only those who properly and, most importantly, regularly care for the plant have a good harvest. Preventive measures are a must. What should be paid attention to with proper care?
First of all, we must not forget about loosening the soil and its mulching. Throughout the summer, you need to monitor watering, it should be quite plentiful. However, at the end of August, it is no longer necessary to water the cherry.
Organic and mineral fertilizers are also good for the culture, they give the tree the necessary nutrients that promote growth and fruiting.
In addition, cherries need to be thinned out and trimmed. It is recommended to choose the right crops that will grow next to the cherry. The tree does not tolerate the proximity of conifer, honeysuckle and apple trees. Among flowers, tulips, daffodils, irises and pansies should not be placed nearby. Cherries have a good relationship with grapes, raspberries, roses and lilacs.
You can learn about the problems of fruiting cherries with abundant flowering from this video.