Want dark and sweet cherries? Plant a Bing cherry tree. Wait three years for your first crop. Every spring it will bloom, with white blossoms. And then, there is no fruit. There are just fallen petals and no cherries at all.
What happened? This is one of the most frequent issue in home orchard trees. And typically it’s this: Your Bing tree can’t pollinate itself. Its pollen is useless to its own flowers; it is biologically self-sterile. There are no other trees nearby and no cherries, just showy blossoms.
Why Your Cherry Tree Has No Fruit
Why? It has to do with a gene called self-incompatibility; a genetic rule that says: No, no, no, I am not having sex with myself, thanks. With a cherry tree, you require a different variety whose genetics is compatible. (The bees have to pollinate the two trees.) No ifs, ands, buts, or maybes. Without this, there can be no fruit.
Certain varieties don’t play nicely with others; they won’t accept one another’s pollen. Planting a Bing beside a Lambert or an Emperor Francis isn’t going to cut it. They say no. You need someone special, though not necessarily anyone who happens to be right next door.
Timing also matters. That’s something many gardeners overlook. Even with the best choice of varieties, the thing has to flower in sync with your Bing tree. It won’t last forever; pollen doesn’t wait around for tardy bees. No overlap, no fruit.
It is a good thing to select a Rainier or similar variety (another option is black tartarian, which blooms ahead of Bing but works). Their bloom period are compatible with Bing’s. Rainier is pictured as one such good bet; so are Van and Lapins. See how they bridge the time gap in visual guide.
Pollination is less effective at longer distances. While bees are efficient, they don’t like long trips. They just move from flower to flower. The closer they are to a tree or the farther your pollinator are, the lower the rate of pollination. A hundred feet away (across a hedge or driveway) isn’t very good; you want the trees within fifty feet of each other for best results.
Ideally, plant them closer. Within about fifty feet of each other, and let the bees bridge the gap between varieties naturaly. It increases the odds that there will be fertilization instead of just isolated flowers.
Even the best-laid plans can go awry with weather. For instance, a cold snap at bloom time can halt bee activity. It can also damage some parts of the flowers. Then nothing happen. That’s where moving the pollen manually will come in. With a soft brush, you can pick up pollen and put it on another tree. It actualy does work. Also protect your bees. Don’t spray any pesticide when they are in bloom. They have to be around to pollinate once the flower open.
Cherries do depend on relationships between the trees, rather than on the soil they grow on. Cherries require a compatible partner that blooms at roughly the same time. No, the tree isn’t failing. It’s just waiting for a partner. Choose a compatible variety (such as Stella or Rainier). Put the two trees close together. Leave the matchmaking up to the bees.
In July, you’ll have heavy branches of red fruit. It is worth all the earlier planning. Knowing that your Bing tree needs some help gets you started on a well-pollinated orchard. You should of planned for this sooner.