Lapins Cherry Tree: How to Take Care of It

It is possible to collect your own cherries from Lapins cherry tree (Prunus avium “Lapins”) without needing to plant a second tree since they self-pollinate. This allows you to harvest your own cherries without having to turn your backyard into a mini-orchard. “Lapins,” which can be grown in USDA plant hardiness zones 5 through 8, yield a late harvest of delicious, split-resistant fruit, which is typically harvested in late June or early July in the United States. If you have a small yard, a cherry tree planted on dwarf rootstock is a good choice since Lapins cherries grown on regular rootstock may grow up to 40 feet tall and 15 feet across.

Preparation of the Soil

Make the necessary soil amendments to ensure that the soil is productive and has sufficient drainage. Improved soil may be achieved by adding around 4 inches of organic material to the soil. This can be accomplished by using compost, aged manure, leaf mold, grass clippings, or sphagnum peat. It is best to choose a location that gets full to partial sun, but avoid locations on the north side of large structures.

Plant the tree in your Garden

Make a hole two to three times the diameter of the container in which the cherry tree was purchased, providing enough space for the roots to spread uniformly around the hole. In order to prevent rot and infestation around the trunk, the root crown should be planted at the same depth as the surrounding soil. To ensure a successful harvest, lapins cherry tree should be planted in late winter, when the plants are dormant.

Be sure to water on a regular basis

After planting the “Lapins” cherry tree, thoroughly water the roots to ensure that the whole root ball is uniformly wet. Water well around the roots, allowing the water to drain, and then repeat the process a second time, this time deeply. Water the tree once a week, at a rate of around 1 inch each week. Install a rain gauge in the ground next to the tree to track the amount of rain that falls. To make up for the difference, add more water as required.

Mulch is used to keep moisture in the soil

Wrap your tree’s whole root zone in a 2- to 3-inch layer of organic mulch (shredded bark, leaf mold, or compost), but leave the area around the trunk unmulched for at least a few inches.

Pruning for even growth is important

When planting, prune the trunk down to around 30 inches above the ground level to encourage lateral branching. Choose five or six of the strongest branches from the tree’s lateral branches as they begin to grow, which is normally during the first summer, to serve as scaffold branches. Ensure that branches are equally spaced throughout the tree, with 8 to 10 inches between each branch. Dead wood should be removed each year in late winter, and branches should be pruned sparingly to keep an open structure. Trim the tops of the branches to keep the overall size under control. In addition, you may prune emerging branches in the spring to lower the overall production, resulting in fewer but better-tasting cherries overall.

The best way to fertilize your lapins cherry tree

Approximately two weeks after planting, apply a high-nitrogen fertilizer to the soil surrounding the tree, using approximately one-tenth of an acre-foot of real nitrogen per pound of fertilizer applied. Feed the tree once a year in the early spring using a complete fertilizer, such as 5-10-10, to ensure that the tree receives about 1 1/2 pounds of fertilizer each year of the tree’s age, up to a maximum of 10 years of life. Mulching the soil with compost throughout the year helps to maintain the soil’s fertility between fertilizer treatments and keeps the soil healthy.

Pests and diseases should be checked for

Keep an eye out for indicators of common cherry diseases and pests, such as leaf spot and brown rot. Other pests and illnesses to look out for include cherry aphids, plum curculio and cherry maggots. One of the best things about Lapins cherry tree is that they are more resistant to disease and common pests than other sweet cherries of a similar kind. Depending on the severity of the disease, a pesticide such as captan, chlorothalonil, thiophanate-methyl, or myclobutanil should be applied to the tree. The tree should be sprayed a second time about two weeks following the initial treatment.