Brown rot is also extremely bad on cherries, and is worsened by high humidity and rainfall near harvest. Mazzard may be the best choice for heavy, wet soils, while mahaleb does best in well-drained soils. Mahaleb is good for sweets on calcareous, droughty soils. In the U.S., most sweets are grown on Mazzard and most sours on Mahaleb. Sweet cherries are trained to central leader or modified central leader, since the growth habit is naturally upright.
Young trees are particularly difficult to train due to vigor and strong apical dominance.
Trees require minimal pruning since fruit is borne on long-lived spurs, and many fruiting points are needed for full production. Hence, closer spacings are used, e.g. 18 x 24 ft. Some selective limb thinning may be necessary to maintain adequate light and spur development inside trees. Trees are headed high to allow room for shaker attachment. E. Backyard considerations.