Cherry Tree 'Summer Sun'

[Flytrap]

Anyone know if Summer Sun cherry trees can be grown in a container?
I very much wish to grow this tree as it is self fertilizing, and a reliable cropper in the UK with sweet fruit - or so the blurb says.
However, I don't intend to be at this house for long. Blinking noisy neighbours have made our lives a misery for 3 years now. Need to sell our house in France before we can move. That could take a couple of years with today's housing market. But hopefully will be sooner. PM me if your are interested.
Don't want to plant out permanently at present address but also don't want to miss out on cherries this year.

Any ideas?

Cheers,

Flytrap

[FB.]

The rootstock onto which it is grafted is likely to be the main factor in whether it will be happy in a pot.

[Victoria26]

I have planted my new Self fetile Sunburst Cherry tree in a pot. Its been in a week and already started budding and thriving. I plan to keep mine small so it can be moved too.
I'd say go for it - If you see in struggling then you can rethink and maybe plant it out. Just an idea...

[Flytrap]

Thanks for the replies. I may give it a try. The tree is about £21, will need to also get a big pot/container. Anyone know what the best type of soil/compost is to use, and how regularly to feed (and with what)?

Cheers,

Flytrap

[Victoria26]

I bought mine from tes co and it was 7 quid. I also bought a large rubber trug from there for 2 quid and potted it up using multi purpose and slow release fetiliser.

As I said its going really well right now. Hope to get a few cherries this year!

[Coops]

Hi, I've just planted a summer sun that's grafted on a dwarf (gisella 5) rootstock in a large half barrel. I've used the equivalent of John Innes number 3, basically a mixture of compost and topsoil (30/70) with some vermiculite to help drainage.

The reason I've added soil is because compost on it's own doesn't hold nutrients very well so is ok for annuals but not ideal for trees or mature plants. The soil will help retain nutrients and also make it easier to rehydrate if it does dry out a little too much when I forget to water it

[Rossa]

This is what is says on Chris Bowers website:

"A new very large fruited late Cherry raised by John Innes, Summer Sunshine represents a distinct improvement over other varieties of this Class. The large dark red-black fruits have a delicious sweet flavour and are normally ready for picking in the 2nd or 3rd week of July. In official trials the yield was awarded marks of 8 out of 10 with fruit size described as 'very large'. It is reliably self pollinating providing a good crop when planted on its own and has also shown resistance to bacterial canker. We have also been impressed by the hardiness of the tree and the uniform size and quality of the fruits. Summer Sunshine is quite compact in growth, showing a size reduction of 20 percent over older varieties. An excellent new variety, named and introduced by Chris Bowers and Sons."

On their cultivation pages they say that fruit trees grown in pots need John Innes No 2 soil based compost and can be fed annually with an Osmocote tab or fortnightly with a seaweed extract fertiliser.

All self fertile trees will fruit on their own, but will do better if there are other trees in the vicinity. I've just bought a Sunburst and have also put up a small bee house in a nearby tree to encourage bees into my garden so that pollination can be as good as possible. Growing nasturtiums under the tree which appeals to bees and as a companion plant helps with aphids.

Depending on which rootstock you have you could look at festooning the tree to reduce the room it takes up widthways. Gives it the look of a weeping willow but saves on space.
__________________________________________________________________
"..I went from adolescence to senility, trying to bypass maturity.." Tom Lehrer

[shushkin!]

I bought a nice healthy "sunburst" cherry tree from Morrisons today for £4.99!.
They have quite a good selection of fruit trees. Warning though, I spotted a dead one
in the display, so you have to check them over carefully. You would think someone
would notice when putting them out!
I am feeling very daring so I am going to plant it in a very big pot and keep my fingers crossed.

[rosiepumpkin]

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