I’ve gotten a few inquiries from the neighbors lately about what might be wrong with my cherry tree, since it’s covered up with a strange wrapping that looks like a cross between a bonnet and a shroud. Nothing’s wrong — I’m just protecting the tree from the many roving birds in our yard. This is my third year with this ‘Bali’ cherry tree, a northern-hardy, sour cherry that was developed in Canada where it is called the Evans cherry, and for the first time, I’ve got enough cherries to harvest. The past couple of years, I left the tree uncovered and the birds cleaned me out just as the cherries got ripe.
The day I put the covering over the tree — which is my own combo of netting and garden cloth held in place with bicycle bungee cords — the birds squawked like crazy. I would guess it will be another week or two before the cherries are ripe and I get out my pie-making equipment. I can hardly wait.
Hilarious!
You will have to let us know who wins this battle!
My husband and I planted a cherry tree about three weeks ago. It is very small yet, but we are hoping for cherries in a few years.
Has the net been working? How long will you need to keep the net on — is it a season long commitment?
Wanna be: The net seems to be working. I have some really red cherries and lots of pinkish and green ones. I put the net on about two weeks ago, and in another week or so, when most of the cherries look ripe, I plan to swoop in and harvest them all. After that, I won’t need the net. So, it will be about a month of having a tree that looks weird. You likely won’t get enough cherries to harvest until the third year. According to the northscaping.com link, a five year old Bali cherry can produce up to five 5-gallon pails of cherries. That’s a lot of fruit!
This is a good idea! My Bali cherry is three years old now and this is the first year I had cherries on it. The crows at all but one. So I may have to try this next year. Thanks for the tip!
I was in the Chicago area last summer during the main hatch of seventeen-year cicadas and many trees were covered with netting to protect them. It worked well.
The nets worked beautifully! I harvested about 15 cups of pitted cherries off the tree — not a huge amount, but the tree is not even 5 feet tall, so I was pleased. According to sources in Canada, by the fifth year, the tree should be bigger and harvests will be huge. I can hardly wait.
I’ve got an evans cherry tree that is about 8 years old. It gives so much fruit that I have friends over to pick and take it home. Way more than I need.
It makes wonderful jellies and jams as well as pies. It is tart-sweet and I love the taste. My husband thinks they’re sour. I guess it takes all kinds. Lol