‘Black Tartarian’ is a popular large cherry tree that produces luscious dark red, almost black, sweet cherries in summer. This old variety has been around and is tried and tested for a good performance in the garden. It’s a popular choice for commercial growers, so you know it would be a good choice for a home garden.
I. Appearance and Characteristics
Prunus avium ‘Black Tartarian’ is an heirloom cultivar from Russia that came to England in the 1700s. It was originally called ‘Ronald’s Large Black Heart’ after Hugh Ronalds, who was instrumental in bringing the tree to England. In the 1800s, it came to America, where it became a popular commercial choice for its vigorous growth and abundant yields of dark red to black cherries.
This heirloom cherry originates from Circassia, a region named Caucasus after the mountain range of the same name. This region is now part of Russia.
‘Black Tartarian’ is an excellent pollinator variety for other cherries, but it also needs pollinating itself to produce fruit. The best trees to plant with this variety include ‘Bing’, ‘Lapins’, ‘Van’ or ’Stella’, ‘Coral’, ‘Napolean’, and ‘Rainer’.
This popular variety has dark green leaves that turn red and orange in the fall, fragrant white flowers in the spring, and beautiful dark fruits in clusters in the summer.
II. How to Grow and Care
Sunlight
Sweet cherry ‘Black Tartarian’ likes sunshine. As a fruit tree, ample sunlight for photosynthesis is necessary for its growth and to provide sufficient nutrition to develop fruit. It should be planted in a spot that ensures it can receive at least 6 hours of sunlight, and ideally no less than 8 hours of sunlight.
Temperature
Sweet cherry ‘Black Tartarian’ is fairly good at surviving in low temperatures. The temperature it can tolerate ranges from -22 ℃ to 42 ℃. It is also not very picky when it comes to water. It does not need a lot of water and is resistant to both drought and flood.
Watering
You should water sweet cherry ‘Black Tartarian’ and adjust the frequency of watering based on its stage of growth, the local weather, and the condition of the soil. Before budding (in mid-spring), it should be watered once. From mid-spring to just before the fall, it should be watered every month. It needs to be thoroughly watered each time you water it, until the water on the soil surface stops draining away. This will ensure that it has sufficient water for growth.
After watering, remember to loosen the soil and remove any weeds in a timely fashion. Stop watering in the autumn and especially in the winter, otherwise it will suffer from frost damage.
Soil
‘Black Tartarian’ prefers loamy soils but will tolerate a range of soils as long as they are well-draining. A compost mulch will add nutrients to the soil and support a healthy soil texture.
Fertilizing
Fertilize annually for the best growth and performance. This should be done in early spring, just before new growth appears. Use a balanced fertilizer like 10:10:10 and apply it around the root zone, keeping it at least six inches away from the trunk.
Planting Instructions
Get the planting right, and you will be halfway to a bumper harvest of juicy cherries in the summer. Plant in autumn to settle the trees in the ground over winter and spring into bloom, or plant in spring for harvesting the next season.
Make sure you have enough space for a ‘Black Tartarian’ and another variety of cherry tree for pollination. This is a large tree that needs at least 30 feet to grow to maturity. Before you begin, make sure there are no other plants or structures that will impede its growth. Also, ensure it’s in the full sun most of the day. The sun needs to get into the tree for it to set fruit.
Dig a hole at least twice the width and at the same depth as the root ball. Add the tree and make sure it’s straight before backfilling. Plant the tree so the graft union is two to three inches above the soil. As you add the soil, tamp down to remove any air pockets. This prevents any infections from getting to the roots.
Make a basin around the tree to help direct water to the roots and give the tree a good watering. Add a layer of mulch to the whole area, at least three inches away from the trunk.
Pruning
Pruning a cherry tree is done to keep the tree compact, remove any damaged, diseased, or crossing branches, and get light into the center of the tree so that fruit can form. It is a simple process, and it can be done by looking at all the possible angles at which sunlight falls through the tree. For lots of fruit, each branch that has the potential to flower needs the maximum amount of sunlight daily.
Clearing out the center of the tree to form a vase shape is sometimes the best way to achieve this goal. Use a sharp pair of pruners, loppers, or tree saws and cut the branches at an angle. Make sure to clean the tools well before moving to another tree to prevent the spread of potential diseases and viruses.
Propagation
Sweet cherry ‘Black Tartarian’ can be propagated by grafting. Select healthy and strong that have 3-4 fully developed buds for grafting in mid-spring, or directly use buds for grafting in the summer.
Cut a T-shaped opening in the stock, and insert the branch or bud into the cut between its xylem and phloem, while making sure the phloem vessels are in contact with each other. Then, use plastic wrapping to bind them together. After 10-20 days, when the cut has healed and the branch or bud has survived, the plastic wrap can be removed.
Pests and Diseases
Common Pests
Look out for pests like cherry aphids, cherry fruit flies, leaf-mining moths, winter moth caterpillars, and borers.
- Cherry Aphids
Cherry aphids are easy to see as they are black and attach themselves to the underside of leaves. They will suck the sap from the leaves and cause them to die off quite quickly. If they are not destroyed, it can also encourage black sooty mold.
Beneficial insect predators are helpful in controlling aphids, and a jet of water may dislodge them. Only use insecticides as a last resort on anything edible.
- Cherry Fruit Flies
Cherry fruit flies attack ripening fruit and can infect your whole harvest. The larvae burrow into the fruit, causing huge damage and making it inedible. Action must be taken at the first indication of a fruit fly infestation. Chemical control is required in most cases, and follow-ups are essential as the eggs hatch in stages.
Two types of borer are known to attack cherry trees, the peach tree borer and shothole borer. These pests eat wood, which affects the tree’s trunk and branches, which can be seen by the holes they punch into the wood. Sometimes, a sticky substance is released. They tunnel through the trunk, upsetting the natural flow of water and nutrients throughout the tree and ultimately causing it to die.
It is a difficult pest to control, so the best management solution is to take care of water and nutrients to avoid such pests taking hold. Sometimes, a preventative spray can be used, but it must be applied at the right time to be helpful. It’s best to consult an expert in severe cases.
- Moths
Various moths lay their eggs on cherry trees, and their larvae can cause issues. However, if you catch them early, you can stop any damage that can occur. Leaf miners leave trails through leaf tissue. When you see trails through leaves, remove them and throw them away. Do not compost them, as this will exacerbate the problem.
Winter moths cause problems with fruit development, as larvae hatch from the inner bark of the tree, and climb to feed on buds just as they open. To prevent these, use horticultural oil in late winter or early spring as temperatures remain above 45°F (7°C). This smothers them. Bt and spinosad can be used at bud break to treat any visible caterpillars. However, this can affect pollinators as well. The best treatment is prevention through removal of fallen leaves where moths overwinter.
Common Diseases
Certain diseases to look out for are cherry leaf spot, brown rot, and bacterial canker that tend to attack cherry trees.
- Cherry Leaf Spot
Cherry leaf spot can be seen in the purple spots on the leaves’ upper side. As the infected leaves fall off, they carry the fungus with them and will survive a winter in the pile. The fallen leaves then infect other trees.
As a preventative measure, ensure the tree has proper air circulation and enough sunlight. The fallen leaves must be collected and burnt, and the tree must be treated with a suitable fungicide.
- Brown Rot
Brown rot is a condition that results from continued heavy rainfall during spring, high humidity, and high temperatures. This fungal infection attacks the buds of the flowers and then moves onto the leaves and twigs next to them. A suitable fungicide is recommended for the treatment of this disease.
- Bacterial Canker
Bacterial canker is a disease that often affects cherry trees in particular. It affects the branches, buds, leaves, and fruit by forming dark areas at the base of buds with a sticky substance. This disease is more active in spring and fall. Leaves and buds wilt and die.
Treatment should include an appropriate copper-based product. Preventative measures included making sure damaged tree limbs are removed and that the tree is not waterlogged in soils with poor drainage.
III. Harvesting and Storage
In early summer, you will see the beginning of red cherries turning darker and becoming ready for picking. Cherries will not ripen off the tree so it’s important to ensure they are fully ripe before harvesting.
A taste test is often the best way to make sure, and it is fun, too. Twist the stems, and if they come off easily, they are ready.
