Cherry

Cherry blossom

Wild cherries grow in most of Europe, western Asia and parts of northern Africa. The cultivated cherry has its origin in Turkey, from where it spread to Europe. Cherries can grow in most temperate climates.

Cherries fruits are drupes (stone fruits), best known for their bright red color. Most sweet cherries are eaten fresh, while sour cherries (another species) are used for cooking.

Cherry trees are closely related to almonds, peaches, plums, apricots, which all belong to the same genus.

Names

Scientific
   Prunus avium
Synonym
   Cerasus avium
English
   Cherry
   Gean
   Sweet cherry
   Wild cherry
Dutch
   Kers
   Zoete kers
Spanish
   Cereza
   Cerezo
French
   Cerise
German
   Kirsche
   Süßkirsche
   Vogel-Kirsche
Italian
   Ciliegio

Taxonomy

Genus
   Prunus
Family
   Rosaceae
Order
   Rosales

Basic information and facts

Origin:

Wild cherries grow in most of Europe, western Asia and parts of northern Africa. The cultivated cherry has its origin in Turkey, from where it spread to Europe.

Distribution:

Cherries can grow in most temperate climates. Highest production is in Turkey, USA, Italy, Itran, Russia, Syria and Spain.

Evergreen or deciduous:

Deciduous

Flowers:

Cherry blossoms in spring. The white flowers have 5 petals and grow on a 2 to 5 cm long peduncle in groups of 2 to 6 together.

Leaves:

Cherry leaves are 7 to 14 cm long and 4 to 7 cm wide. They have a serrated margin.

Fruits:

Cherry fruits are drupes with a diameter of 1 to 2 cm. Depending on the variety, mature cherry fruits are bright red or dark purple, sometimes almost black.

Climate and weather:

Cherry trees grow in temperate climates.

Pollination:

Cherry flowers are hermaphroditic. They are pollinated by bees.

Height:

Cheery trees can be quite large, often 10 to 20 meter high or even higher, but for commercial production shorter varieties are used.

Blooming period

Cherries blossom in spring at the same time when new leaves are formed after the winter period.

Type of soil:

Preferred pH:

Cherries need a pH of at least 7.0

Moisture:

Light:

Growth rate:

Spacing

Bigger varieties of cherry (9 meter or higher) are grown at a spacing of 6 x 7.5 meter, while the dwarf varieties (about 4 meter high) are spaced much closer, usually at 3 x 3 meter.

Propagation:

Cheery trees grown from seeds do not produce good varieties. It is better to propagate cherry trees using hardwood cuttings taken during the fall or during the early spring season.

Insect pests:

Cherries have not so many insect pests but can be attacked by Borers, Black Cherry Aphids and some other insects. Cherries are frequently attacked by birds. Cherry trees are often covered in nets to keep the birds away.

Diseases:

Cherry diseases include: Black Knot, Silver Leaf, Cherry Leaf Spot, Powdery Mildew, Bacterial Canker and Brown Rot.

Fruit development:

Cherries have a short growing season and are harvested in summer.

Harvesting:

Cherries are hand picked when they are ripe with a bright red color.

Uses:

Sweet cherries are usually eaten fresh as a snack or dessert. Canned cherries are used in cooking, usually in desserts or fruit cakes.

Proverbs and Quotes

A cherry year, a merry year; a plum year, a dumb year.
A dead cherry tree will not blossom.
A woman and a cherry are painted for their own harm.
Break open a cherry tree and there are no flowers, but the spring breeze brings forth myriad blossoms.
Don’t expect a cherry tree from an acorn.
He who eats cherries with gentlemen risks getting the pips in his nose.
He who likes cherries soon learns to climb.
In the cherry blossom’s shade, there’s no such thing as a stranger.
Life is just a bowl of cherries.
Money buys cherries.
Neither give cherries to pigs nor advice to fools.
One must ask children and birds how cherries and strawberries taste.
The cherry blossom among flowers, the warrior among men.
The olive grove of your grandfather, the cherry trees of your father, and your grape vines.
Without wine, even beautiful cherry blossoms have small attraction.
Ye have a ready mouth for a ripe cherry.
You need plant only one cherry and one plum tree.
If you were looking at where you would like your career to go, then you would have to cherry pick The Stones. People love coming to see them. They are it, they are the most definitive rock n roll band ever. (Andy Taylor)
About the woodlands I will go, to see the cherry hung with snow. (A.E. Housman)
If life is a bowl of cherries, then what am I doing in the pits? (Erma Bombeck)
The man for me is the cherry on the pie. But I’m the pie and my pie is good all by itself. Even if I don’t have a cherry. (Halle Berry)
I want to do to you what spring does with the cherry trees. (Pablo Neruda)

Recipes

Cherry pickle

Ingredients:
10 cups sweet black cherries with stems and pits, 2 cups water, 1 cup cider vinegar, 1/2 cup brown sugar (firmly packed), 2 Tablespoons pickling salt

Instructions:
Wash the cherries and dry them. Put water, vinegar, brown sugar, and pickling salt in a large stockpot and bring to a boil. Simmer and stir until all the sugar is dissolved. Then pack the cherries in hot, sterilized canning jars. Pour syrup over the cherries, leaving about 1/8-inch headroom. Seal with hot, sterilized lids. Process 10 minutes in a boiling water bath. Now store the cherries 2 to 4 weeks before eating. Serve as condiment for meat, poultry, and wild game.

Cherry Juice

Ingredients:
1)  Cherry 100 grams
2)  Syrup 30 grams
3)  Boiled water 200 grams
4)  Salt 1 gram or 1/5 teaspoon

Instructions to make the juice:
Clean the cherries. Blend them in the blender with the boiled water 100 grams then pour through a sieve and keep juice in a glass.Pour the cherry from the sieve in another container then add another 100 grams of water then drain juice thru the sieve again. Mix both juice together, add salt and syrup as you like.