As the spring blooms of flowering cherries are fading, it reminds me of the many calls we get each year from folks who want to plant their own cherries. No one can argue with the beauty of cherries, but cherries are plagued with problems in this area. For this reason, you can drive around most any housing complex or planned neighborhood in the valley and see dead and dying cherries. Many of our streets are lined with cherries in varying states of decline. If the black knot disease does not get them, the borers and internal rots will. Weeping cherries often send out vertical shoots from their graft that will overtake the weeping portion if not cut out early.
If you have your heart set on a flowering tree, consider the lowly crabapple. Many people react by saying, “Oh no! I don’t want all those apples all over my lawn or sidewalk and the darn yellowjackets!” I have a solution for that. Crabapples are also prone to scab and rust. I have a solution for that, too. Have you got your heart set on a weeping cherry? Well, there is even a solution to that. Consider a crabapple for its small size (‘Kwanzan’ cherries can reach 30’-40’ high and wide) and simply choose a scab, rust, fireblight or mildew resistant cultivar. Further, you get to choose your fruit size. Not all crabapples have large fruits. Many crabs have tiny fruit, the size of a berry. The birds usually strip fruit before they make a mess. You might not want to plant it right over a walkway where unripe fruit could blow out of the tree, making a mess. However, if it is in a lawn, any fallen fruit will disappear into the grass and quickly rot. Yellowjackets are usually not an issue. If you are a bird lover, mockingbirds, especially, love the ripe fruit. Below are some crabapple varieties you might want to consider if you want the look of a cherry, but the hardiness of a crab.
From EXTENSION CONNECTION Barbara Leach, Horticulture Technician, Roanoke Cooperative Extension
