The semi dwarf Starkrimson sweet cherry was planted in 2007 and after several years of regular sprays, pruning, fertilizing, etc. this is the year the tree is ready to produce a crop (almost nothing in prior years) and there are probably 500 cherries on this 16 foot tall and in diameter spread tree. It wasn't easy getting this far as there was an episode of bacterial canker and other issues along the way...

Yes, I have been salivating for this day for 5 years and come to the realization there is no way to net this tree to keep all the cherries for me! So , i am trying mesh bags at a few of the clusters, sections of netting around clusters on branches, etc. but finding keeping the fruit is more difficult than growing it! HA HA HA!

So, should i cut the tree way back so it is only say 8" tall/diameter this winter so next year i can build a pvc tent to encapsulate the tree surrounded with bird netting? Is there a spray i can spray onto the cherry tree now which makes the cherries uninviting to animals , but OK to humans once washed off the fruit? Or just go to whole foods when sweet cherries are in season and leave the growing of non indigenous fruit trees to newbies!?

HA HA the bitter sweet irony of tasting the almost ripe sweet cherries realizing you will probably end up with very few (if any) of them once ripe! Here are pictures:

The one on the rain gauge is kind of like a skimpy mop made with say foot long pieces of the fishing line. It tangles near the rain gauge and no bird had pooted since. If you can not do it the way they say to do you might be able to hang a bunch around your tree.

Fully ripe

Great looking cherries!! I especially like the last picture, fully ripe. Many who've never had fully ripe cherries and fight the birds and rain might think the second to last picture is "ripe". Mine are best after a couple weeks looking like the last picture.

What other cherries do you like?

My collection sweet cherries:
Burlat
Starkrimson
Samba
Grace Star
Korvik
Carmen
Sunburst
Lapins
Stella
Skeena
Rootstocks: Inmil, G5 ,Maxma14
Wishlist: Penny, Giant Red

I wasn't finding fault with anything you are doing. Quite the contrary I pointed out how good your fruit looked. And I was pointing out to others who might not know what ripe fruit looks like.

Nice collection, but which are your favorites? And where do you live, that would help others evaluate your picks. Thanks!

My first four favorites are:
Starkrimson
Samba
Korvik
Grace star

If I'm not mistaken you can pick ripe cherries soon?

Thanks for the clarification. You mostly have European varieties. The only one of your favorites I might find would be the Stark selection.

Do you do anything to protect your cherries from rain? Many who post here from humid climates would love to know how to grow cherries like yours.

My favorites are Van, Selah, Royal Rainier, and Sandra Rose. But I don't have 25 years experience like you. I've only recently learned how to grow cherries well in my greenhouse. My cherries are coloring up now.

Above is the starkrimson sweet cherry in bloom 3-17-12 .

Fruitnut- thank you for the tip.
Randy- thank you. the article stated there are some birds the fishing line is not effective against and those are some of the birds in my neighborhood!
Axel- where did you find tulle in that large a piece?
alcedo- i have cherry envy! Thank you for the pictures and advice.

The easiest approach seems to be cutting the cheap black plastic bird netting into pieces about 3' long by 2' wide, wrapping them around the cluster of cherries and then using twist ties (left over from food storage plastic bags) to tie
every 8" along the branch. Man, even with small pieces the bird netting is very difficult to handle. I also found the cherry tree is more flexible than i though... grab a branch and just pull it down so some of the work can be done from the ground . Can't wait to try them when ripe.

You don't suppose a squirrel could be trained to chase the birds away and not eat any of the fruit either, just pay it with almonds?

I tried wrapping the clusters of cherries with a couple layers of standard plastic bird netting from home depot and despite what appeared to be well fortified protection, the red headed woodpeckers and other birds would still land on the branches, compress the netting and pound away towards the cherries until they got some. Next years strategy will be to net the exterior perimeter so the birds cannot land on the tree.

The green tulle draw string bags worked very well protecting cherry clusters, and my guess is their green color must keep the birds from seeing the ripe red cherries. Also, we had a 3 minute hail storm a couple days ago and the cherries inside the tulle bags were protected from the hail which ripped apart many leaves. The ripe cherries had turned dark like a bing cherry and were absolutely delicious! Perhaps this approach should be considered for protecting ripe cherries from a rain splitting their skin?

To add to the fun one of the main cherry tree limbs showed bacterial canker oozing and thus i just cut if off.

Thanks for all your help and i hope this like so many other postings helps others in the future doing research!

And yes, the cherries were soo much better than store purchased cherries it has been worth the effort. Kind of like comparing a store purchased tomato to a garden tomato.