Cherry tree leaves 28 May 2020 at 7:46AM in Greenfingered MoneySaving 5 replies 91 views

MoneySeeker1

Bought and planted a cherry tree last year. It's growing surprisingly well and basically obviously very healthy. Should get my first cherries from it this year - yay! (birds allowing).

One thing though is that some of the newer/smaller leaves at the tip of branches have gone all curled up - obviously courtesy of the fact that opening them up reveals hordes of tiny little black aphids. Yuk!

Not sure whether I should be trying to do anything about that or no - and so that's the first question.

I've wondered whether to spray just the inside of those leaves with something suitable (eg water with a bit of my eco-friendly washing-up liquid in it). But two points there being it's very fiddly to do all those leaves and those sprayer bottles I've got turn out such pathetic tiny little droplets of water (rather than one good strong spray - and onto the next leaf to do the same).

Can also see the bees are obviously loving that tree - and they seem to particularly like crawling inside those rolled-up leaves. Don't want to poison their little tastebuds - as I expect even very dilute eco-friendly washing-up liquid doesnt taste very nice LOL.

Should I just pick all those leaves off - or leave things be and hope Mother Nature will find her own solution to deal with the problem or what? I've started to see a few ladybirds around in my garden latterly (wondering if they are Nature's solution to this??). It's taking a while to "wake up" my garden after the last owner - as it was a barren dead sort of place when I bought the house and not even as much one earthworm to be found in it - and so a LOT of progress has been made since and it's pretty "alive" now.

Goes without saying I only do things organically.

Farway

Personally I leave them to get on with it, my cherry is the same, as are the apples & plum

They seem to survive if unsightly.

I am not organic or averse to spraying chemicals left, right & centre should the need arise. lily beetles & vine weevils watch out, but aphids curling leaves are low priority for me

High priority, is get some netting over your cherry or you'll never taste a cherry. Mine's just colouring & is now covered

Davesnave

Inherited garden cherry =  high maintenance  = firewood.

Wild cherry = nice for the birds, fast growing , short lived = future firewood.

Punnet of cherries = easiest route to success, nice when in season, but no firewood value at all.

 When it comes to tree fruit production, I'm organic too. With 30 trees, all of them bigger than me, why would I be anything else? Leave 'em and let them get on with it. Forget the wassailing; wave a chain saw at them in winter and they'll get the message!

MoneySeeker1

You mean I should stop going out and talking to my plants - a la Charles Windsor LOL?

I have duly got some old net curtains ready to one side to have a go with when I see the cherries are looking nearly ready - so that I'm the one that gets my cherries. Hope I've got enough of those curtains all round - as there's a fruit bush I've got in my garden that has become ginormous and loads and loads of berries and the birds got every single last berry from that one last year. Goodness only knows when I'll get the chance to check out the local charity shops if I need any more in present circumstances...

I could swear the birds in my garden are semi-tame - as they don't seem to worry their little feathered heads that much when they spot me. You know birds don't regard you as a threat when you've spotted one literally going for a walk with you just a few feet away hopping along keeping you company...

Davesnave

Birds get used to seeing you if you're out and about regularly, especially if you supply drinks and baths at this time of year. They take even less notice if you're on machinery, if its also something they see a lot of. The other day I was driving the ride-on mower around a big alder tree and a blackbird was only a few feet away doing its utmost to sing over the sound of the engine. I probably wouldn't have got that close on foot.

My wild cherries are formed, but they won't be much of a bird meal if we don't have some rain.

twopenny

"Forget the wassailing" Never.

Most fun to be had in the middle of winter.

Yes, at the mo I have black cherry bugs, the back of the plum leaves like velvet with plum beetle, greenfly on the roses. It's a battle ground out there this year.