Late season cherry trees - Ask Extension
Hello, to say my daughter loves cherries is an understatement. We currently have 2 sweet cherry trees - Bing and Rainier, which produce a good harvest...
Knowledgebase
Late season cherry trees #880615
Asked August 07, 2024, 6:42 PM EDT
Hello, to say my daughter loves cherries is an understatement. We currently have 2 sweet cherry trees - Bing and Rainier, which produce a good harvest. We get good pollination from neighboring bee hives.
However, beyond a bountiful month of June, I wanted to see if there were other cherry cultivars that may ripen later in the summer. I know it's hard on the trees to handle our heat and humidity, and I have access to locations with more and less sun if that helps. I'd be looking for something that could ripen in July if possible, as we have other fruit trees that carry us through October (peaches, apples and pears).
Howard County Maryland
Expert Response
I checked with one of our faculty members who also grows cherries commercially here in central Maryland. Tart cherries (also called "pie cherries") fruit slightly later than sweet cherries do, but they tend to be finished producing by about the 4th of July in this area. Some berry bushes -- blueberries, blackberries and raspberries -- would be good options to grow for fruit in July. I know-- you mentioned your daughter loves cherries... but berries would be some good options to fill in that gap until you get the peaches, apples, and pears later in the season. Berry plants also generally have fewer diseases and pest problems in our climate compared to tree fruits (brown rot being one common disease of cherries in particular).
We recently updated our fruit pages (linked above), in which we include recommended varieties for Maryland.
Christa
We recently updated our fruit pages (linked above), in which we include recommended varieties for Maryland.
Christa
Hi Christa,
Thanks so much for the information. If I can find the Danube variety of tart cherries somewhere, I may give that a shot - sounds like they may help us bridge this gap of fruit and make for a good pie fruit as well.
We actually have a bunch of blueberries and raspberries, though I have a very hard time keeping the birds off of the blueberries to get a worthwhile harvest. I surrounded 5 large bushes this year in a 20' x 10' rectangle of bird netting and they still found plenty of ways in. These blueberries also seem to suffer from the heat (I have Bluecrop and Blueray blueberry bushes that are producing now - and a Chandler that is growing well but not really producing yet - all are on year 5 of their plantings). They currently get a good 8hrs of sunlight with some afternoon (4pm onward) shade... are there more heat-tolerate varieties I should consider? I also have grapes, but they are too much of a pain to manage between fungicides, pesticides, wildlife prevention and now spotted lantern flies so those vines may be pulled and the space re-dedicated to berries.
Greg
You're welcome. Yes, for blueberry growers, it can be a real challenge to prevent the birds from getting the fruits. Some gardeners have had success with constructing wooden cages with screens or hardware cloth enclosing the plants entirely to keep the birds (and other animals) out since they can oftentimes find their way underneath bird netting.
Daytime temperatures over 84F and nighttime temperatures above 70F can negatively affect blueberry fruit development and ripening. The types you currently grow are Northern highbush varieties. The Southern highbush and rabbiteye varieties are considered to be more heat tolerant. Several recommended varieties for each are listed on our blueberries page.
Yes, grapes are challenging to grow here -- for all the reasons you mentioned. If you like figs, that might be another option to consider. They have fewer pests and disease problems than some of the other fruits.
Christa
Daytime temperatures over 84F and nighttime temperatures above 70F can negatively affect blueberry fruit development and ripening. The types you currently grow are Northern highbush varieties. The Southern highbush and rabbiteye varieties are considered to be more heat tolerant. Several recommended varieties for each are listed on our blueberries page.
Yes, grapes are challenging to grow here -- for all the reasons you mentioned. If you like figs, that might be another option to consider. They have fewer pests and disease problems than some of the other fruits.
Christa
