Gisela 5 cherry rootstocks

Introduced in the 1990s, Gisela 5 has quickly established itself as the rootstock of choice for gardeners who want a cherry tree with manageable proportions. It produces a tree about 3m / 10ft tall after 5 years or so - roughly equivalent to the apple M26 rootstock, and only about 50% of the size of a "standard" cherry on seedling rootstock.

Cherry trees on Gisela 5 cannot support themselves so you will need a 2m permanent stake or other means of support. Training against a wall or trellis works well with Gisela 5 (and also means you can more easily cover the tree in early summer to keep the birds away).

For best results when using Gisela 5 it is important to provide good growing conditions, including regular feeding and watering, and to keep the area around the tree free from competing weeds or grass.

Gisela 5 is very popular with commercial cherry growers in Europe, and performs well in the cool climates of northern Europe. Commercial orchards on Gisela 5 are typically designed with 2m between trees in the row, and 4m between rows. For the home orchard it is perhaps better to allow 3m between trees.