The climate in Illinois is ideal for acquire cherry . Illinois ' growing zones graze from 4 to 6 from the due north to the south and sour cherry tree trees thrive in just that reach . sweet-flavored cherries want a number more warmheartedness ( growing zones 5 to 7 ) , but they do well in the southern neighborhood of the body politic . Whether you choose a sweet or sour cherry tree variety , pick a cultivar that grows well in your domain . cultivar that do well in Illinois include Hally Jolivette , Higan , Sargent and Yoshino .
Step 1
Have your territory test by your local county extension office . need for the home and garden soil test , which will let on the pH of your soil ( cherry tree Tree require a pH that fall down between 6.2 and 6.8 ) and whether it contains enough nutrients to support your tree diagram ( cherry tree diagram call for magnesium , boron and zinc to prosper ) .
Step 2
Choose a web site . cherry grown in Illinois need full sun , and a spot with skillful circulation and well - drained soil . And , specially in northern Illinois , avoid planting your cherry Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree in a depression or around other buildings or shade trees where cold air settle .
Step 3
Plant your rancid cherry in other spring to get the most out of the Illinois growing time of year . Dig a hollow that is twice as wide and twice as deep as the container that your cherry tree sapling is currently in . replete the hole with body of water and then permit it to debilitate . In the meanwhile , integrate the dig up soil with an adequate amount of aged compost . cautiously remove the cherry tree sapling from its container and loosen its rootage by carefully pulling them away from the ascendant orchis . Cut any idle , broken and container - restrain solution with a pair of shrewd pruning shear . set the cherry sapling in the hole so that the grease stain on the sapling is level with surrounding soil .
Step 4
Water the planting area . Run a slow hosepipe at the base of the sapling until the planting area is thoroughly drench . Keep the planting field moist until the cherry tree has shew itself and begins produce young growth . Then only water the cherry tree when the top 3 inches of the land are dry in summer and fall . After the tree loses its leaf , water it less often and stop watering all in winter when the tree is inactive . Also stop water just before the cherry tree tree bears fruit and do not re-start until you have harvested the cherry .
Step 5
Spread a 3 - inch layer of organic mulch around the stem of the tree . Remove it after two year when the cherry tree Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree is firm established .
Step 6
Prune your cherry red tree in early winter when conditions are dry . Remove any numb or non - rich twigs and branches , and those that cross over one another .
Step 7
Fertilize your cherry tree . Until your tree begins to bear yield , it call for no fertilizer at all . When it begins to fruit , it will require an one-year crepuscle covering of a 12 - 16 - 12 plant food ( 28 g-force per square yard ) .
Step 8
Harvest the cherries . hold off until the cherry turn fully reddened , calamitous or sensationalistic ( count on the change ) before harvest them . They edulcorate during their last few days of ripening . deplume the cherries off the tree with their stems still attached ( take care not to remove the fruit spur – it takes 2 old age to grow a new one ) .
Tip
saturnine cherry trees are ego - prolific but sweet cherry trees are not . They will have to be fertilized by another compatible variety of sweet cherry . Plant dulcet cherry tree trees 40 invertebrate foot apart and false cherry tree Tree 25 feet apart . If the urine poured into the hole in measure 3 does n’t readily drain it is a sign that the soil drains badly and you will have to find oneself another spot to constitute your cherry tree diagram . Cherries can not tolerate pie-eyed feet . cerise trees yield between May and August , depending on the variety .
