Until now we have had no option other than facing the danger and inconvenience of having to climb ladders to pick cherries from a tall tree. That is until Cherry Porthos and Cherry Athos were bred, and we are now able to grow cherries as a bush. These naturally dwarf, bush varieties that grow on their own roots rather than as a tall grafted tree, take a lot of the difficulties away from growing cherries. They are heavy cropping and the fruit can easily be picked from ground level, with and eventual height of only 2m (6ft).
Both varieties boast full winter hardiness. Their minimal height also makes it much easier to drape the bushes with netting to protect the precious fruit from being eaten by birds. They are 100% self fertile, so do not require other trees to pollinate them. They also provide stunning, fragrant cherry blossom in spring. They can be grown in a large patio pot, and it has even been suggested that they could provide a productive hedge.
The fruit of Cherry Porthos and Athos is described as follows:-
“The delicious fruits are super sweet and have an old fashioned mouth-watering aromatic flavour – each bush will produce up to 5kg (approx. 12lb) of fruit per year once fully established.”
In the U.K Porthos will crop in July and August. Athos will crop in August and September providing a continuation of cherries when Porthos finishes cropping.
Care After Planting
Established bushes require little pruning to keep them fruiting, just take off any diseased, dying and damaged branches, in spring. Check the overall shape and aim for an open structure of branches and remove any that cross over so they don’t damage each other. Trim longer new shoots back in mid-summer for better shaped bushes. You may need to protect young bushes from rabbit damage.
To view Cherry bush Porthos at YouGarden click here
To view Cherry bush Athos at YouGarden click here
Mark Snelling
All images copyright YouGarden
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