new Cherry Tree question

[Dogs and Veg]

So yesterday when I was returning some items to the shop I decided to spend double my refund and amongst my purchases was an impulse cherry tree buy!

It looked pretty so i picked it up, even although I have overstretched myself in my first year with the amount that i've planted, i thought I would still give it a bash!

It is in a small pot, the label says Prunus Mini (avian Morello) and is currently around 45" tall. All my plants this year are going into containers rather than the ground so could you advise...

When should i put into a big pot and put outside? My predicted last frost is mid may?

Do i transfer just into MPC and should i add B, F &B or bonemeal or something different?

I didn't realise Morello was a sour variety, would have preferred to grow a sweet eating variety but thats what happens with impulse buys when you haven't got a clue!

[nickdub]

You are asking some perfectly reasonable questions, but ones which are rather difficult to answer accurately, as these things get "complicated".

First off the label does not fill me with confidence - by the sound of it you have a morrello type cherry but within that there are a range of possibilities, the most important from a growing POV is the rootstock. On the other hand, from the photo, you have a very healthy tree albeit it doesn't look much like a typical young cherry at all.

So down to practicalities :-

either pop it in to a container about 3 times the size of the current one, use a mixture of MPC and good garden soil and add a bit of BF&B. Then you might want to read up a bit on pruning young cherries - morellos are treated differently to other cherry types because of the way they set their fruit buds.

or return the tree to the shop and hopefully swap it for one where you have a clearer idea of what you have, and hopefully of the type you'd prefer

[TrixC]

I inherited a Morello cherry and after initially being unsure what to do with the fruit I now wouldn’t be without one, it’s probably my favourite fruit tree that I have. Eating cherries are great, but the sour ones have so many more uses. My favourite recipe is to preserve them in syrup and serve them in the winter on top of porridge or as a dessert over ice cream.

[Dogs and Veg]

So, common sense prevailed with ND’s advice and I phoned shop to see if they would return it and they said yes so it went in the car

by time I finished work today and drove to said shop it was closed!

So I’m now back home with cherry tree and it’s going in a pot and I’ll give it a bash - even if it gives the birds something to keep them occupied!

[nickdub]

Good luck with it - I'm very fond of morello type cherries, and the one I have is fine for eating raw when ripe IMO.

when you have got it in a larger pot I think it would be an advantage to try to get the branches to fan out a bit so the center is more open. If you fancy trying this you can either tie some bottles of water on the ends of the branches you want to bend, or just use string tied to pegs in the ground.

[Gardener4Deaf]

I bought 2 cherry and 1 plum rootball tree from Tesco before the beast from the east and planted straight out. I planted 1 each variety in huge pots. Just used standard multipurpose compost mix with some soil. Sprinkled some BFB on top and left it. The other one straight in ground. I honestly thought they would die from the cold and my have they grown since! All 3 looking looking lush and green. Perhaps you are overthinking it? I tend to all the time!