Growing Evans Cherry

Actually, this article will apply to Rose cherry and all the other cherries.  Grow slowly and drought in late summer!

These cherries are not heavy feeders and really do not want a lot of fussing.  Tough love will help!  They prefer heavy or sandy soils.  If you are growing them in rich soil, underseed them to grass.  The grass draws down the moisture levels and ties up some of the ample nitrogen.  Many gardeners kill cherries, and many other fruit trees for that matter, with kindness.  Cherries are not native plant material and like apples, they do not get the photoperiodic message to shut down like Saskatoons.  If you water cherries into August and September, just like apples, they will grow lush and look great.  Wrong!  If they are growing too lushly, late in the season - August and September, there is a good chance they will winter injure.

Evans cherry pie.  Delightful!

Heavy crops of Evans cherry

We can get Evans Cherry to grow five feet in a season, but this is not necessarily good or desirable.  These plants need to be hardened off with drought and zero fertilizer in the late summer, so that they can shut down in time to make preparations for winter.  Observe the 2 photos.  this is what  you want to see happening in August.  Now that the cherry has set its terminal bud, it will get woody and make preparations for winter.  In our experience, nothing stops these cherries easier than drought.  So persevere and learn to grow these cherries and you will be rewarded with fruit like you can not believe.  These cherries are growing west of Edmonton in Wabamun, to the Saskatchewan border at Wainwright.

In this picture you see dormant buds

In this picture, the plant is actively growing

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