Q. From my Googling, it
sounds like if I want cherries in this climate a good strain is royal Lee with
Minnie Royal as a pollinator tree. Do
you know if they will grow and fruit well here?
sounds like if I want cherries in this climate a good strain is royal Lee with
Minnie Royal as a pollinator tree. Do
you know if they will grow and fruit well here?
A. Cherries produce
erratically in the Las Vegas Valley. In some locations cherries produce
abundantly and in other locations they produce almost nothing.
erratically in the Las Vegas Valley. In some locations cherries produce
abundantly and in other locations they produce almost nothing.
For
instance, at the University Orchard in North Las Vegas we produced about 15
cherries in 15 years from 17 different varieties of trees. Virtually nothing.
They flowered every year abundantly, there were no freezing temperatures after
flowering that would eliminate fruit but the fruit failed to mature. In other
words, the fruit failed to set.
instance, at the University Orchard in North Las Vegas we produced about 15
cherries in 15 years from 17 different varieties of trees. Virtually nothing.
They flowered every year abundantly, there were no freezing temperatures after
flowering that would eliminate fruit but the fruit failed to mature. In other
words, the fruit failed to set.
However,
some people in backyard locations here have produced cherries abundantly every
year. Reports to me by homeowners are anecdotal but varieties that produced here
include Bing, Lambert and a few others known to have a high chilling
requirement.
some people in backyard locations here have produced cherries abundantly every
year. Reports to me by homeowners are anecdotal but varieties that produced here
include Bing, Lambert and a few others known to have a high chilling
requirement.
In
the Las Vegas Valley we don’t have enough cold winter weather to satisfy fruit
trees with a high chilling requirement. Picking fruit trees with the proper
chilling requirement for a certain climate is thought to be a cornerstone of
good fruit production.
the Las Vegas Valley we don’t have enough cold winter weather to satisfy fruit
trees with a high chilling requirement. Picking fruit trees with the proper
chilling requirement for a certain climate is thought to be a cornerstone of
good fruit production.
A
chilling requirement is the amount of cold temperatures fruit trees should
sustain during the winter in order to flower and produce a normal crop of fruit.
Most research supports the concept that all fruit trees must satisfy their chilling
requirement in order to produce fruit abundantly.
chilling requirement is the amount of cold temperatures fruit trees should
sustain during the winter in order to flower and produce a normal crop of fruit.
Most research supports the concept that all fruit trees must satisfy their chilling
requirement in order to produce fruit abundantly.
My
observations at the University Orchard in North Las Vegas don’t agree with this
universal concept 100%. When I interview homeowners about their abundant cherry
crop and the location of their trees, one common theme seems to appear; cherry
trees that produce fruit abundantly are located in areas where there is higher
humidity such as near a lawn area or a swimming pool. Higher humidity may also
play an important role for a good crop of Hachiya persimmons.
observations at the University Orchard in North Las Vegas don’t agree with this
universal concept 100%. When I interview homeowners about their abundant cherry
crop and the location of their trees, one common theme seems to appear; cherry
trees that produce fruit abundantly are located in areas where there is higher
humidity such as near a lawn area or a swimming pool. Higher humidity may also
play an important role for a good crop of Hachiya persimmons.
In
my opinion the location of the cherry tree is more important than selecting a
variety. My recommendation would be to locate cherry trees near a lawn area or
swimming pool to improve your chances of having a good crop. Otherwise it’s a
crap shoot regarding cherries regardless of the variety.
my opinion the location of the cherry tree is more important than selecting a
variety. My recommendation would be to locate cherry trees near a lawn area or
swimming pool to improve your chances of having a good crop. Otherwise it’s a
crap shoot regarding cherries regardless of the variety.
Hi Bob. We are successfully growing both the Minnie Royal and Royal Lee cherry trees in our backyard orchard.
Our trees are now four years old and are planted along the west side of our property about 8-10' away from a block wall that helps to provide shade for the trees in the afternoon. They are not planted anywhere near a pool, pond or anywhere they would receive humidity. They also receive no extra water or special care than the rest of our orchard.
As an experiment, we planted a dwarf Royal Lee and a dwarf Minnie Royal on root stock 3CR178 (now called New Root 1 or Z-dwarf). These two trees were planted in the same hole. In a separate hole, we also planted together a semi-dwarf Royal Lee and a semi-dwarf Minnie Royal on Colt root stock. The 3CR178 performed exceptionally well and last year produced several pounds of the sweetest most delicious cherries I've ever tasted. The tree is currently loaded with flowers so we can't wait until this year's harvest in May. One note, the trees did take a couple of years to flower at the same time.
The trees on Colt struggled and performed extremely poorly with very little growth, very little flowering, couple of cherries ~ nothing to write home about. We're definintely going to replace these two trees on Colt with the 3CR178 root stock cuz you can never have enough cherries.
Ted and April Asher 🙂
Great information! Thank you for sharing. It will help others who are making these kinds of decisions. I would encourage people to follow April and Ted Asher on their Las Vegas gardening blog The Artistic Gardener https://artisticgardener.wordpress.com/for some great information on nutrient dense gardening. Always impressive!!!!
We had Lapins at the University orchard in North Las Vegas and had no luck with it in ten years of testing.
Just a quick note…sour cherries seem to produce better than sweet cherries here. And I think they are much more versatile as a food crop. You can do more things with them. Also they are much more appreciated as a crop internationally.
I have a Lapin's cherry in its first year here in SW Vegas. We shall see how that goes. Ive heard of many in Phoenix having good success with a Barbados Cherry(Acerola). I'm thinking about giving these a try here in Vegas. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malpighia_emarginata
which cultivars have you tried there Bob? I always thought Montmorency and English Morello might do well in Phoenix.
The only sour cherry we tried before I left was English Morello. It did set fruit.
When to plant cherry tree at 89143 las vegas thank you
Plant cherry trees in the mid fall or very early spring. In Las Vegas they are planted from late January to early March or, if you can find a variety you like, plant in late september and into early to mid November. Avoid planting them when it is hot or cold…Dec through early January and from March through the early parts of September.
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