Minnie Royal Cherry Tree

The Minnie Royal is a red sweet cherry tree that produces fruit in the mild Winter climates of Southern California. Since much less cold weather is needed to produce Minnie Royal, the tree is good in many areas of Los Angeles, especially during colder years and when planted in the morning sun and afternoon shade. Estimated to only need 400 chill hours below 45°F in the Winter. The fruits are medium size, firm and tasty. Pollinated by Royal Lee Cherry, Fruits ripen in the early Summer month of May. (US Plant Patent # 12942 – Zaiger)

Not compatible with your zone (2a)

General Plant Information

Minnie Royal Cherry Tree Information and Care

The Minnie Royal Cherry tree is a beautiful, compact, deciduous fruit tree. Springtime brings a flush of tiny white blossoms, followed by Summer fruit. Planting a Minnie Royal Cherry tree is a nice choice for the home orchard where soils drain well. Plant where Summers are relatively cool. Cherry trees can grow as large as 20 feet tall and wide but can be kept half that size with regular pruning.

Planting and Watering Cherry Trees

Plant as close as 10 feet apart and prune trees to be kept short for easy pruning or tall and narrow. Plant the cherry tree in well-draining soil. Water regularly during the Spring and Summer growing season. Deep water once to twice per week until trees establish. Reduce irrigation frequency once the weather cools in the Fall. Discontinue supplemental irrigation water in the Winter while the tree is dormant. Begin watering once the tree leafs out in the Spring.

How to Fertilize a Cherry Tree

Fertilize cherry trees with manure and other organic fertilizers with higher phosphorus and potassium in the late Winter. Fertilizers like bone meal, humus, and flower n bloom fruit tree foods promote spring blossoms and fruit production. Promote Springtime growth with Nitrogen fertilizers such as blood meal or feeds with 2-1-1 or 3-1-2 NPK ratio.

Tips When Pruning Cherry Trees

Trim trees in the Winter while dormant. Top the tips to reduce the height and encourage lower branches to grow. Remove any growth below the lowest main branches and the graft. Cut off dry twigs and growth crossing towards the center. Do some thinning in the Summertime to direct the plants energy. Remove excess fruits to help remaining fruit to develop larger.

Pest Management

Use organic horticultural dormant sprays like Neem oil in the Winter.

In the home orchard, plant trees about 10 feet apart, and trim them to stay between 8 – 15 feet tall. In a commercial farm, apple trees are spaced 15 feet apart with 20 feet rows are machinery. These trees are grown to 25 feet tall. An apple tree can become almost 40 feet tall in nature.

Standard and Semi-dwarf Form: Our trees are grown in standard and semi-dwarf forms. A standard tree grows tall because the tip continues to grow. The tip of a semi-dwarf tree has been cut about 2 feet from the ground, therefore the tree has a shorter branching structure for easy picking. xxx xxx

Additional Information

Harvest Time : Summer
Bloom Time : Spring
Bloom Color : White
Sun Exposure : Full Sun and Part Sun
Watering : Regular
Plant Type: Deciduous
Chill Hours: Less than 400 hours below 45°F
Pollination: Pollinated by Royal Lee Cherry
USDA Hardiness Zones: 6-10

Planting Information

Step One:

Soil and Planting: Plant in soil that drains well. Dig a hole that is as deep as the tree’s roots and at least twice as wide.

Step Two:

Place the tree in the hole and backfill around the plant’s roots with a mixture of the native soil and high-quality planting mix that has washed sand and organic fertilizer.

Step Three:

Create a basin around the roots drip zone so that water collects. Water deeply until the roots and nearby soil is saturated and reaches field capacity.

Plant Care Information

How To Fertilize

Fruit trees and edible plants need nutrients to grow. This is called fertilizer and comes in different forms. Use organic manure, bone meal, blood meal, and humus based fertilizers. Apply fertilizers like manure along with a bone meal, humus based phosphorus fertilizer (1-2-2) NPK ratio in the late winter, right before spring growth. Reapply with organic high nitrogen (2-1-1) or fertilizers with a 1-1-1 NPK as directed by the label during the Spring and Summer growing season. Do not fertilize in the Fall, new growth at this time will be thin, lanky, and weak.1

Winter Pruning and Summer Thinning

Prune fruit trees in the Winter to maintain size and shape to prepare for Spring growth. Thin the tree in the Summer, and remove excessive fruits. Remove any dry twigs and branches. Cut off any new growth below the graft or very low in the tree, this will direct the plant’s energy to its main branches. Thin your trees during the Spring and Summer seasons to ensure the plant’s energy is directed as desired. If the plant provides an overly large quantity of fruits for that branch. Reduce the quantity of fruit so that what remains grows larger. This will also prevent broken limbs. Harvest ripe fruit to prevent undesired pests.

Harvesting and Pest Management

The basics of integrated pest management is cleanliness and the use of a combination of methods. This means we use of organic pesticide when the pest population reaches a threshold that requires action. Horticultural oils such as Neem oil is an organic pesticide that controls tiny, soft bodied insects. Use organic Bordeaux and Liqui-cop to manage fungus causing diseases such as powdery mildew, rust, and leaf-curls.

Keep a clean environment, free of weeds and dropped fruit that host insects or attract animals. Harvest when fruit reaches size and store indoors. Use repellants and bird netting to protect your harvest from other animals.

Sun Exposure: Full Sun

test. Full sun in mild summer climates or Afternoon shade in areas with hot summer climates.

Limited Guarantee and Returns

Our plants are guaranteed to be true-to-name as labeled and in good condition when received. “Local pickup” means the customer will pick up at our nursery. “Delivery” does NOT include planting, and customer must arrange to receive items once offloaded from our truck. Our driver may move items as a courtesy, but is not responsible for moving items further onto your property. Returns/Refunds are subject to a 10% restocking fee.

Compatibility

The two factors that determine if a deciduous fruit trees will grow well and produce fruit in a certain area are the Chill Hour Requirement and the Cold Hardiness. “Chill hours” are the amount of cold a deciduous fruit tree need to produce fruit. This is measured in the number of hours below 45 degrees Fahrenheit a plant must experience during its winter dormancy. Paradise Nursery only grows Low Chill fruit trees that meet the chill requirements of all areas of the United States.

The second factor is Cold Hardiness. Cold Hardiness refers to the minimum temperature a plant can tolerate. The USDA’s Cold Hardiness Zones indicate the average minimum winter temperatures of areas. Based on the shipping zipcode, our website will only allow you to add plants to your cart that grow within your USDA Hardiness Zone, and tolerate your climate.

Pollination & Propagation

(Grafting/Cutting) Most of Paradise Nursery’s edible plants are self-fruitful. Self-pollinating trees do not require an additional tree to produce fruit. For your convenience, we have indicated which trees require a pollinator, and their associated pollinators. Only the sweet cherries, avocados, and some plums require a pollinator. All of our other propagated edible plants do not require a pollinator. All of our edible plants are either grown from cuttings, budded, or grafted. This way, we can ensure that our plants are high quality and fruit immediately. Plants will generally begin fruiting within a year of planting.

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