If you are just looking for a good tree to provide you with plenty of delicious fruit from and to keep your yard shady, a standard sized tree would be the perfect tree for you. Standard sized fruit trees take a very long time to reach their full height, but they usually begin to bear fruit after only three to five years. When its flowers bloom in the middle of spring, they are very small and white. These trees specifically require moist, but well-drained soil. If your yard can t supply that, then this is probably a tree you should skip. This tree is one of the most susceptible to pests and diseases unless you live in a very cold climate. Having too many branches on one side could cause the tree to become permanently crooked. Many gardeners don t even think about pruning their trees until they start to bear fruit. This is a big mistake, and you should never neglect to care for a tree just because it hasn t yet begun to produce. During the entire process of growth, you should prune the tree in a way that it is even and uniform. It can seem almost impossible to get rid of this pest. After all, they can come in from any angle and make a quick getaway with the cherries. Or they can sit undetected in the branches and munch away all day. A bird certainly has its versatility on its side. Those little guys can be a real hassle to catch or repel. I once had a friend who was dealing with a very bad moth infestation. He couldn t find a single fruit on his tree that didn t have a worm inside of it. He ended up having to cut down the entire tree (the stump was a wriggling mass of white larvae. I threw up when I saw it. Damn my weak stomach!) and have the stump professionally removed to get rid of all traces. The pathogen which causes these cankers usually enters the tree through older wounds. If you prune all of the sprouts that occur in late summer, cankers will have a harder time making themselves known within your tree. When you prune, always allow the wounds to heal naturally rather than use the wound dressings that you can buy at gardening stores.