Fruiting North Star Cherry - Ask Extension
Hi- For the past two years my west facing North Star cherry tree has flowered, then the flowers start to turn into cherries, but they never do. Some g...
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Fruiting North Star Cherry #925673
Asked March 09, 2026, 10:47 AM EDT
Hi- For the past two years my west facing North Star cherry tree has flowered, then the flowers start to turn into cherries, but they never do. Some get the flesh, some do not. The ones that do get some flesh never change to pink or red. They just fall off the tree. It is very odd. The tree is probably 10 years old, leafs and flowers wonderfully. The North Star cherry across the street that is older does produce a good quantity of cherries. This tree used to produce a big bucket of cherries, but not lately. I cannot figure out what is wrong with it. Any ideas?
Hennepin County Minnesota
Expert Response
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/cherry/cherry-tree-not-fruiting.htm
https://extension.umn.edu/fruit/growing-stone-fruits-home-garden
The most common causes of a lack of fruit are poor pollination, pruning and excessive nitrogen. Because the tree across the street is producing fruit pollination is probably adequate. If the tree hasn’t been pruned is the tree inadvertently getting too much fertilizer? This could happen if the lawn is fertilized within the trees root zone. Trees also alternate years of fruit production and then a year of rest. A late freeze can also prevent fruit. I hope you get fruit this year in spite of the abnormal weather.
https://extension.umn.edu/fruit/growing-stone-fruits-home-garden
The most common causes of a lack of fruit are poor pollination, pruning and excessive nitrogen. Because the tree across the street is producing fruit pollination is probably adequate. If the tree hasn’t been pruned is the tree inadvertently getting too much fertilizer? This could happen if the lawn is fertilized within the trees root zone. Trees also alternate years of fruit production and then a year of rest. A late freeze can also prevent fruit. I hope you get fruit this year in spite of the abnormal weather.
