I'm in Clark County, SW Washington, and kinda new to fruit trees. I enjoyed many pruning sessions last winter at HOS (thanks Monica!).
A friend showed me a picture of a young cherry tree that is blossoming in the center-middle section (base of scaffolds) but not out on the laterals or tips.
Seems odd. We have been starving for sun this spring, but many cherry trees are in bloom now and I haven't seen any with this bloom pattern.
Anyone like to weigh in on why this might be occurring?
Should action be taken that would extend blooms out further on the branches?
Is this a picture of your friend’s tree or just an anomaly photo they found?
…my guesses are possible winter damage to the outside branches. Or more likely, it’s blooming on ‘two year old wood’ and on a young tree that wood would be to the interior of the tree. And if the tree hadn’t been pruned (much) this year, the exterior wood (furthest to the outside) would look lengthy and barren in comparison… I’ll go with the latter 
I think you nailed it Viron! The picture is of my friend's tree and I don't think it has ever been pruned. After posting my question, I referred to the American Horticulture Society book on pruning and training. They also noted the sweet cherry tree blooms on older wood and on the base of previous year's shoots.
Next, I'll go over and see about pruning. Always an adventure when researching a pruning topic, then applying to the real deal. Any basic pruning suggestions on the sweet cherry?
“Any basic pruning suggestions on the sweet cherry?â€
They shoot for the moon, so removing their central leader/s is a good start. After that you may spread their limbs to force lateral growth. Just remember, when heading back limbs you’ll leave (to make them ‘beef up’), don’t remove too much - as that’s where their next crop will form. And as mentioned elsewhere, it's nice to have a couple of dry days after making the cuts … which appears to be getting a bit easier. I’d say it’s a fine time to prune them.
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