Focus on… Growing cherries
CHERRIES are the epitome of a British summer, and life could be a bowl of them if you are living the dream – so how do you get the best from these must-grow trees? In the early 20th century, you would have needed a huge garden in order to grow cherry trees – but with the introduction of self-fertile cherry ‘Stella’ in 1968, this all changed. Until this point, cherry pollination had been a bit of a conundrum, with self-incompatibility compounded further by incompatibility between varieties. Thank goodness for Canada! This is where ‘Stella’ and many other self-fertile varieties (such as ‘Sunburst’ and ‘Lapins’) were bred.
“Just keep chills to a minimum”
The UK, too, has introduced varieties that are better suited to our inclement climate (such as ‘Summer Sun’, see next page), meaning that cherry success is more of a guarantee for British gardens.
Just be sure to position
