Cherry season starts with a look at change

Seven experimental sweet cherry varieties planted three years ago will bear fruit this summer.

The Montana State University sponsored project could yield cherry varieties orchard owners might want to add to the Lamberts and Lapins already grown around Flathead Lake.

In addition to introducing new ways of fertilizing and pruning, an update on the test varieties was included on the agenda at the 77th annual Flathead Cherry Growers Cooperative horticulture meeting on March 31.

“They’re all doing well,” said the Flathead County extension agent spearheading the project, Pat McGlynn. “This will be the year we’ve been waiting for.”

McGlynn said some of the trees in the valley are getting older and will need to be replaced in the next few years.

While the size and flavor of the cherries is important, the timing of the harvest is the most important because of competition with Washington state’s cherry harvest. While Flathead cherries aren’t ready until the first or second week of August, some of Washington’s cherries are ready by the end of July.

When the blossoms flower, McGlynn hopes to organize a field trip for cherry growers to see the new cherry trees for themselves.

“It’s a really big investment to tear out your old trees,” she said. “People can make more educated decisions on what to replace their trees with.”

While many of the varieties could help extend the tail-end of Flathead’s cherry season, McGlynn predicts one of the varieties, the Santina, will bear fruit before Lamberts do. Santinas could help growers get a jump on harvesting and give fruit stand owners the ability to sell Montana cherries earlier than normal.

The annual horticulture meeting is one of two times a year, when the 100 or so co-op members get together and it’s a good way to get wind of the best new ways to tackle the basics of cherry growing.

“Some of the tried and true methods are changing,” president of the co-op, Dale Nelson said.

Methods covered at this year’s meeting included a change in the time of year to put calcium nitrate fertilizer on trees.

Nelson said the granular fertilizer is traditionally applied in March, but studies from Washington State University show it’s more affective to apply it in May.

“It gets better results,” Nelson said. “Because it’s actually when the tree really needs it.”

While not all of the orchard owners run back to their trees and change the way they’ve tended them for years, anything that can affect a growers’ pocketbook is important information to have.

“Things are getting more expensive,” he said. “We are always trying to the get the most out of what we buy.”