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["Mark Lee" <markl@nytec.com>]

I have a 30 year old Montmorency tree.  It bears a good crop every year.
10 years ago it started to slow down, and the cherries it bore were
getting too high to safely pick.  I decided to try and experiment to
bring it back into production.  In the spring, I cut off all of its
branches leaving only the trunk and a few foot-long stubs where the main
branches were.  Two seasons later it started to produce decent crops
again, and hasn't stopped since.  I love this tree.  I don't need to do
anything to it.  No spraying, no watering, not even any fertilizer.  The
fruit is pest free, and the birds leave it alone.  I wish my apple trees
were so easy.
-Mark Lee, Seattle, zone 8a