Should You Thin Your Cherry Tree?
Fruit thinning removes some developing fruits so the others grow large, sweet, and juicy. It protects your tree from breakage, overbearing, and small cherries. Whether or not to thin a cherry tree depends on the variety and your growing preferences.
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Fruit thinning may seem like an unnecessary chore, but it’s a helpful technique for growing healthy crops on deciduous fruiting species. Apples, pears, and plums especially benefit from thinning, and some cherries do too. Knowing what type of fruit tree you have will help you decide whether to thin or not.
Fruit thinning works in interesting ways. You remove some cherries from each cluster while leaving the others to mature. When you reduce the number of cherries on the tree, it can redirect its energy towards the remaining ones. They’ll have more sugar, nutrients, and flesh than if the tree had to distribute its resources to too many cherries.
Thinning isn’t always necessary—most specimens with small fruits and an annual-bearing nature do not require it. They’ll produce delicious fruit whether you thin them or not. So, let’s answer the question: Should you thin your cherry tree?
The Short Answer
The truth is that cherry trees don’t require thinning! Most sweet and tart cherry varieties fruit on an annual basis, meaning they form a reliable, bountiful crop each year. They also drop some cherries in May or June, thinning themselves so you don’t have to.
You may choose to thin your cherry tree if it’s a biennial bearing variety, has weak limbs, or if you’d like to promote larger cherries.
The Long Answer
Though thinning cherries isn’t necessary for a successful harvest, you may choose to thin your trees if you’d like. Learn how, when, and why to thin a cherry tree.
It May Be Difficult!
One reason you may want to avoid thinning is that it’s incredibly difficult! Pears and apples are larger fruits than cherries, and they form smaller fruit clusters than cherries do. Thinning a large, mature tree requires lots of labor and a tall ladder.
Rather than spending hours cleaning a mature specimen, let it drop its fruit on its own! Immature, green cherries typically fall to the ground in May, June, or July. This dropping period helps the tree refocus its energy toward the remaining fruits so they develop without issues.
If you regularly prune your tree and keep it small and manageable, you may be able to thin it without having to spend hours on the task. Analyze your orchard to determine whether it’s worth it, and consider hiring some friends to help thin large specimens.
Biennial Bearing
Many fruiting species bear fruit biennially, meaning they have large crops one year and sparse ones the next. Apples are like this, and so are plums. If you grow these trees without pruning, thinning, or caring for them, they’ll have giant harvests one year and little to no fruit the next.
Most cherries bear average crops annually rather than biennially. A few varieties tend to perform more as biennial bearers when they mature. ‘Napoleon,’ also known as ‘Royal Ann,’ is one such variety, and so is ‘Van.’
If you’re growing either of these two cherry tree varieties, you might want to thin the fruits to encourage larger cherries and to promote regular, annual crops. Keep them at small heights so you can manage them effectively.
Protect Weak Limbs
Another major reason to remove the fruit is to protect weak, slender limbs that may snap if they have too many cherries. Though this is less of a problem with cherry trees than heavy fruiting species like persimmons or pears, it’s still a concern for young saplings or overgrown specimens.
Young specimens sprout thin branches that need to thicken, while overgrown ones may have weak, wonky ones that grow at narrow angles from the trunk. Inspect your fruit tree, and bend the branches to see how well they’ll hold up.
Weak branches may grow parallel to the trunk, reaching upward rather than outwards. They’re likely to snap under the weight of mature cherries. There are two ways to avoid branch snapping: annual pruning or annual thinning. Remove weak limbs during a late winter or early spring pruning session.
Larger Fruit
Juicy, giant cherries are one of the joys of summer! No fridge is complete without a bag full of this fruit. Though cherries are typically small, regular thinning can slightly enlarge the ones that remain. Choose whether you’d like many small fruits or a few large ones.
Not only does this removal process create large fruit, but it also lets the remaining ones have more sugar, moisture, and nutrients. Thin each cherry cluster to promote big, juicy, and flavorful fruit you’ll enjoy eating.
Tart and sweet varieties benefit from flavor boosts. Though tart types won’t grow sweeter after the removal process, they’ll grow more flavorful and richer to the betterment of homemade pies, preserves, and syrups.
How to Thin Cherry Trees
So, now that we know why you may or may not want to remove some fruits, let’s learn how to do it! It’s simple—grab gloves, a ladder, and a sun hat for sunburn protection. A ladder may not be necessary if your tree sits at a manageable height. You can easily thin the small tree without reaching higher than your head!
Start by locating developing fruit in the spring. They typically form clusters with a few to a few dozen fruits per cluster. You want to reduce each cluster by a third to a half. Remove the smallest, weakest-looking fruits, and let the healthy-looking ones remain.
Rather than removing developing fruit, you can also de-bud the flower buds before or after they open in late winter. The concept is similar; remove flowers from each cluster by a third to a half.
Trees You Should Thin
Though cherry trees aren’t the best fruiting species for thinning, many other deciduous fruit trees are. Using the same process, remove developing fruits or flowers from them to promote big, healthy, and delicious harvests.
These other deciduous fruiting species benefit from thinning:
- Apples
- Asian Pears
- Apricots
- Nectarines
- Peaches
- Pears
- Plums
- Kiwi
- Persimmons
How to manage each type varies depending on its growing habits. Consult growing guides for each species to learn how to best thin the fruits.
Key Takeaways
- It’s not necessary to thin cherry trees, though it can be beneficial!
- The best cherry varieties to thin are ‘Van’ and ‘Napoleon,’ also known as ‘Royal Ann.’
- To thin, remove a third to a half of the fruits from each cluster.
- Consider de-budding flowers in late winter and early spring instead of thinning cherries.
