What's eating my morello cherry?

Morello, an acid cherry often grown as a fan on walls, is susceptible to birds targeting ripe fruit and to cherry blackfly (black aphid) severely distorting shoot tips. Cherry leaf scorch (Blumeriella jaapii) attacks foliage badly. Its wall-fan habit makes netting easier than for standard trees. Aphid control in spring is the first priority.

Colonies on shoot tips from April causing severe curl and distortion; Morello is notably more susceptible than sweet cherries; growth stunted; honeydew attracts ants and sooty mould Plant-oil winter wash on stems from November; spray insecticidal soap or pyrethrin as buds break; pinch out infested tips before colonies establish

Bullfinches strip flower buds in winter and spring; starlings and blackbirds eat ripe Morello cherries in summer Net fan-trained trees with fine netting from January (bud protection) through to harvest; fleece can protect buds in winter on wall-trained plants

Slimy larvae skeletonise leaf surfaces in July–August; Morello foliage (already stressed by leaf diseases) is weakened further Dust with wood ash or diatomaceous earth; spray pyrethrin; remove and compost affected leaves in autumn to reduce overwintering pupae

Occasionally infests Morello cherries in mixed orchards; larvae tunnel inside ripe fruit near the stone Pheromone traps from late May; remove fallen fruit promptly; a secondary risk compared to aphids and birds on this variety