After buying a plum tree for the allotment, I started to think about other fruit that I have a soft spot for. So I couldn't resist ordering a morello cherry tree.
After buying a plum tree for the allotment, I started to think about other fruit that I have a soft spot for. So I couldn't resist ordering a morello cherry tree.
Sour cherries never seem to be available to buy, so I have to rely on the generosity of my sister-in-law, who has one on her allotment. I'm not sure why we've fallen so out of love with morellos. Henry VIII apparently loved them, and before the war there were dozens of sour cherry varieties in British orchards. If you love cooking, morello cherries are a fabulous ingredient to have around (don't compare the real thing to the soggy, sorry, tinned cherries). Their tangy tartness makes for a refreshing non-alcoholic cordial. Mix them together with almonds in the form of a Bakewell tart and you have a marriage made in heaven.
As trees, morello cherries are a little less ornamental than sweet cherries; the leaves, bark and blossom are not as dramatic looking, but they do have other advantages. Sour cherries grow on less fertile soil and tolerate more shade than sweet cherries, though beware of claims that they grow well on north-facing walls as they can become spindly. When it comes to planting on an allotment or small space, their size and spread make them ideal.
I've ordered a variety called 'Morello Crown' on Gisela 5 dwarfing rootstock. It's smaller than the 'Colt' rootstock, so the tree should reach around six to eight feet after 10 years. The 'Crown' variety is a slightly larger strain than the usual morello cherry, it's the one which is often used by commercial growers.
My sister in law never nets her tree and still has plenty of fruit after the birds have had a peck. Morellos flower later than sweet cherries, which is an advantage in parts of the country susceptible to late frosts. Prune them in summer (fruit develops on new wood) and give them a liquid seaweed feed once a year and they will thank you for it.
Since morello cherry trees are self-fertile, you will only need one tree to get any fruit.
If only I had a bigger garden, my next tree would be a quince...
See more comments...
