Cherries are in peak harvest season—time to indulge and replenish your postpartum body. Are you ready?

It’s cherry‑harvest season, yet many growers tend to overlook the application of “post‑harvest fertilizer,” assuming that once the cherries have been picked, additional feeding will no longer benefit the trees and that it’s fine to wait until next year. In fact, this is far from the truth. After bearing a full crop, large‑cherry trees are already exhausted; harvesting removes substantial nutrients, and any reserves built up over the previous year have been depleted. If adequate nutrition—known as “post‑harvest fertilizer”—is not provided at this critical juncture, the tree will lack sufficient resources during its recovery phase, leaving it poorly positioned to lay a strong foundation for producing high‑quality, vigorous blossoms next season. Thus, this period represents a nutritional tipping point, making timely fertilization all the more crucial.

The initial stage of flower bud differentiation in sweet cherries occurs 20–25 days after flowering, with the peak period concentrated within 1–2 months following harvest. Flower bud differentiation depends on three key factors: (1) an adequate supply of nutrients; (2) sufficient water, adequate light, and optimal temperature and humidity; and (3) hormonal balance and coordinated growth. Only when nutritional requirements are met can high‑quality, vigorous flower buds develop; therefore, timely post‑harvest fertilization is crucial for ensuring an ample supply of robust, superior flower buds next year.

Within 20 days after cherry harvest, apply a balanced NPK fertilizer, with particular emphasis on a high-phosphorus formulation, and supplement it with 5–8 kg of bio‑organic fertilizer per tree. This practice helps restore tree vigor, promote flower bud differentiation and root growth, enhance nutrient accumulation, and lay a solid foundation for high yields and increased income in the following year.

When applying fertilizer, combine it with rainfall or irrigation, placing it at a depth of 15–20 cm in radial trenches. Be sure to thoroughly mix the fertilizer with the soil during application to prevent root damage.

Cherry trees have a well‑developed fibrous root system that spreads shallowly and widely in the soil, with most roots concentrated in the 5–35 cm layer beneath the surface, particularly at 20–25 cm. Conventional fertilization practices—such as digging large holes or creating radial or arc‑shaped deep trenches around the tree canopy—often result in extensive root damage. To minimize this risk, Nongda Fertilizer has specially formulated and produced a drip‑irrigable, cherry‑specific “post‑planting” fertilizer: a humic acid‑based, high‑nutrient water‑soluble fertilizer containing 64% total nutrients (9‑40‑15). This product promotes root growth and flower‑bud differentiation; when applied in spring, it helps protect flowers and fruit, boosts fruit set, enhances sugar accumulation and coloration, and improves overall fruit quality.

With timely fertilization and optimal soil temperatures, fruit trees exhibit exceptionally high nutrient uptake and utilization efficiency, which promotes robust flower bud formation, results in abundant, high-quality blooms, and increases the number of differentiated flower buds.

With the onset of the rainy season following cherry harvest, brown‑spot leaf‑fall disease becomes particularly severe. In addition to spraying fungicides, it is essential to apply a high‑quality foliar fertilizer to protect the foliage, strengthen tree vigor, and promote the development of more robust, high‑quality flower buds. For example, adding a humic‑acid‑based foliar fertilizer—such as Heizefeng—to Bordeaux mixture can both bolster tree health and supply ample nutrients for bud differentiation.

In drought years, when summer rainfall is scarce, it’s crucial not to neglect irrigation, as summer is the period most prone to midsummer drought. In recent years, large cherries have increasingly exhibited conjoined fruits and deformed fruit—conditions largely attributable to high summer temperatures, prolonged dryness, and inadequate moisture, which impair flower‑bud development and predispose the trees to double stigmas and malformed flowers. This issue is particularly pronounced in the ‘Hongdeng’ cultivar, which warrants extra attention.