 
Cherry blossoms
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Thinking of buying Cherry trees for your garden? Learn about Cherry trees in this buyer's guide before making your choice.
The Cherry belongs to the same genus, Prunus, as almonds, peaches, plums and apricot. As it falls under the Rosaceae family, it is a distant cousin of the rose. The name cherry comes from the French word "cerise". There are basically two types of cherry trees, those grown for their fruits - the cherries - and those grown for their flowers. Within the fruit-bearing category are two main species, sweet cherry (Prunus avium) and sour cherry (Prunus cerasus). Cherry trees grown for their ornamental value are of a different species. These include the Japanese sakura (Prunus serrulata). Many of the ornamental cherry cultivars have additional petalsn instead of stamen and pistils, so they are sterile and unable to bear fruit.
Cherry trees are native to the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two species in North America, three in Europe and the rest in Asia. Commercial cherry orchards are found across Europe. Due to its high production cost - the fruits are prone to damage - cherries are expensive fruits but are high in demand.
The health benefit of cherries has been acknowledged. It contains anthocyanins which gives the cherries their red colour. Anthocyanins have been shown to reduce pain and inflammation as well as being a good antioxidant. Cherries have also been shown to have a high content of melatonin, which is important for the immune system.
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| Botanical Name |
Prunus |
| Family |
Rosaceae |
| Type |
Garden trees |
| Choice of cherry trees |
Get the young trees from your local garden centre, as they are more likely to have varieties suitable for your region. Cherry trees are very sensitive to the weather. |
| Position |
The site for planting your cherry tree must be prepared ahead of the actual planting. Check that the soil has a pH of 6.2 to 6.8. It must be well drained. Remove all weed, and dig in well-rotted manure. Planting should be done in early spring or autumn. |
| Care |
Cherry trees are high maintenance. They don't like it if the summers get too hot, they need a chilling period in winter, and they are not fond of a late frost. Semi-dwarf and standard-size sweet cherry trees should be trained to get a central leader shape, with one main trunk and many side branches. Pruning should be done in late winter while the trees are in dormant state. |
| Pollination |
Sour cherries are self pollinating while sweet cherries are cross pollinated - in other words, they need to be near a compatible variety to be pollinated. |
| Watering |
Young trees need plenty of water until they are established. To get juicy cherries, the trees need good watering during hot summers. |
| Feeding |
Apply fertiliser in the spring until the fruit sets, and in the autumn. |
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