Cherry tree, any particular compost?

[4390evans]

I've just got a cherry tree from lidl (£3.99 if anyone is interested) its just a stick at the minute I'm going to put it in a pot.

Can anyone advise
What size pot should I get (it will be in it permanently)
What type of compost should I get?

Thanks
Jen x

[AllInContainers]

Mine has been in standard multipurpose compost with plenty of crocks for good drainage for two years now, and I've just potted it on with more of the same. It's healthy and covered in buds, and I have high hopes of a harvest this year. Many people suggest soil based, or JI3, or composite blends of various stuff, but mine has done just fine with the basic cheapo stuff. On some of my other trees I got more recently, I have mixed in about 30% (store bought) top soil with it for a bit more stability, particularly where the pot is significantly bigger than the root structure it started with.

I notice that you say it will be in the same pot permanantly. I'd still suggest potting it on every couple of years. Whatever size pot you give it, it will aim to fill it quickly. If you work your way up pot sizes progressively, the growth will be more controlled IMO. This will be the third year I've had my cherry, and I'd guess it was two years old when I got it. It's now not much taller than me, with a decent trunk, and ready to bear fruit at a fully accessible height. Had I chucked it in a huge pot straight away, it might have been far more interested in getting as big as possible than giving me some fruit ... which after all is the reason I bought it

[4390evans]

fab advice, thank you

[FB.]

Do you know which rootstock?

If it's the common semi-vigorous 'Colt' rootstock, it is quite vigorous and needs no excuse to grow rather than fruit if the soil is too fertile. If it's Colt I'd use three quarters garden soil mixed with one quarter compost and each year add half an inch to an of compost mulch to the top of the pot.
The usual size guide printed on Colt is 4metres (13ft).

If it's the semi-dwarf rootstock 'Gisela 5' it will need more nutrients and I'd go for half-and-half compost and garden soil, with twice-yearly top-up mulches of compost. The usual size guide printed on Gisela 5 is 2.5 metres (8ft).

Containerised plants tend to be much smaller (or easier to keep small) than those planted in the ground because of their restricted rooting space. I have some several-year-old seedling pears and apples in a 1-litre and other small pots and they're about 1ft in size ('the books' say that seedlings very quickly make enormous trees - but I've proven that they don't if they are cramped, starved, thirsty and neglected - or simply grown in dry infertile soil!).

The type of compost won't matter much - if you're on a budget you could even use compostable kitchen waste; mix it in with the garden soil and let it rot itself down.

An ideal pot size would be at least the size of a builders bucket (approaching 1ft in height and width). Ideally a couple of feet wide and a foot deep.

Remember that containerised plants dry out more easily in summer and they can't search far and wide for water. Most people underestimate how much water potted plants need in summer.

[FB.]

You might also want to decide in the next few weeks how you intend to train it.
Photo and description of what you want it to look like (size/shape etc) will help.

Alternatively, if it's a single-stemmed stick at the moment, decide however long you want the trunk to be and cut the stem a couple of inches above that level to encourage several branches to grow out just below where you cut it.
Cherries and plums are best pruned at the end of winter as spring is in sight (don't prune them in autumn or winter or they may be at risk of canker). This year, after an unusually mild winter in many places, that seems to be happening at the moment.

Getting the right pruning done in the early years will save so much time in later years and the tree will be so much more attractive and productive if you 'do it right' rather than 'put it right'. So get the proper pruning done this spring, next spring and maybe one or two subsequent springs.

[4390evans]

Im not quite sure, Ive gave it to the nursery that my little girl goes to as I have to time to plant it at the min. What sweet variety of cherry tree can anyone recommend?