Dwarf Cherry

A year in pictures in the life of a Dwarf Cherry tree located on a south-facing patio. Bought in 2018 it did not fruit in the first year, then in 2019 produced its first crop. A dwarf fruit tree is exactly like any other  fruit tree but its genome restricts its growth to less than 1.5m. It produces flowers, leaves and fruit exactly the same as any other fertile cherry tree. This particular variety of cherry is self-pollinating so does not need another similar tree nearby. Clearly these trees produces masses of flowers but only a small percentage develop into fruits. The flower and leaf buds are formed in the autumn and if they survive the winter,  the flowers emerge first in spring, closely followed by the leaves. The flowers came out slightly earlier this year than last. Last year by June the fruit had formed and was ripe by mid July. The leaves turned red by November and this year the buds were getting ready to open in March and it now in full flower.

July 13th 2019

The fruit is botanically classified as a drupe which consists of three of the ovary wall layers – an outer skin, a fleshy middle layer and an inner stony layer which surrounds the seed. Cherry, Blackthorn, Olive, Apricot, Peach and  Plum fruits are drupes.