Thinking about planting a cherry tree from the pit of one you just enjoyed? People have been eating cherries since the earliest days of human culture.
Archaeologists digging in ancient caves across Asia and Europe have unearthed fossilized cherry stones that date back to the dawn of civilization.
The Greek scholar Theophrastus mentioned the fruit in his 300 BCE book, History of Plants, the first recorded reference we know about. Centuries later, European colonists carried the sweet red fruit to North America during the 1600s.
Scientists today catalogue more than 1,000 named cherry types. Commercial farms rely on about twenty, yet shoppers can find roughly five hundred sweet and nearly five hundred tart kinds around the globe.
In the United States, sweet cherries mainly come from Washington, Oregon, and California, which together grow over ninety-four percent of the total. Michigan leads tart-cherry production, supplying most of the fruit used in pies, sauces, and other cooked dishes.
A healthy cherry tree generally sets around seven thousand cherries in a single season. In commercial orchards, workers use a vibrating shaker that grips each trunk, rattles the branches just long enough for the ripe fruit to drop, and then the cherries land on a broad tarp that slides into a conveyor.
While you may not yet own a shaker or a belt, planting even two backyard cherry trees brings you one small, satisfying step toward a personal orchard,
Varieties of Cherry Trees
Cherries come in two main camps for the home grower; sweet cherries and tart cherries. Sweet varieties are picked for fresh snacking while the tarters shine in pies and preserves.
Both types finish ripening in late spring, so harvesting can happen almost at the same time. Most sweet cultivars require another variety nearby to set fruit, but most tart trees pollinate themselves. Here are a few favorites from each group.
Sweet Cherries:
Black Tartarian – A reliable early bearer, Black Tartarian produces large, nearly black or purple fruit that is exceptionally sweet, juicy, and tender. The tree itself bears abundantly, making it a long-time gardener’s go-to.
Bing – Bing cherries rank among the top commercial varieties because they are easy to grow and taste great. The berries are large, dark red, and ripen in the middle of the season.
Chelan – Chelan cherries set on upright branches, crack less, and mature roughly two weeks before Bings.
Rainier – Rainier cherries also ripen around the seasons middle. Their glossy yellow skin blushed with red makes them visually striking, if somewhat less ubiquitous than darker types.
Coral – Coral cherries are favored for their bold flavor, large size, and firm flesh that holds up well after rain.
Benton – Growers claim Benton cherries outshine Bing; this self-pollinating variety reaches full color and sweetness at mid-season.
Stella – Stellas big, blood-red fruit comes late in summer, packing sweetness that few late varieties match. The tree yields heavily when conditions are right but fails to thrive in severe cold.
Sour Cherries:
Early Richmond – Early Richmond delivers bright tang early in the season, making it a must-have for pie lovers.
English Morello – English Morello is the go-to sour cherry for preserves and dark juices sought by bakers around the world.
Montmorency – Montmorency remains the most famous sour cherry and by far the variety grown in largest quantity. Roughly ninety-six percent of all sour cherries picked worldwide belong to this single cultivar. It matures in the middle of harvest season and ripens into bright red, juicy fruit.
Meteor – Meteor comes later in the season. This dark-skinned, pleasantly tart cherry bears a flavour all its own. Many growers prefer it for pies and preserves despite the later arrival.
How To Plant A Cherry Tree – Part One – Preparation
First, you need to find fresh, unsprayed cherries, preferably from a local-farm market or pick-your-own orchard. Cherries bought at a supermarket spend days in a cold room, and that low temperature hardens the seed coat, turning germination into a long, unlikely gamble.
Instead, visit a local farmers market or call an orchard to pick-your-own. After you snack on the fruit, soak the pits five minutes in warm water, then gently scrub off pulp. Finally, set them on a dry paper towel in bright, indirect light for three to five days so they harden before you plant.
Next, transfer the pits to a sturdy, sealed container and secure the lid so it closes completely. Clearly mark the label so you remember the contents later, then set the container in the refrigerator for a full ten weeks. Begin this procedure in early January to ready the seeds for successful germination when spring arrives.
That chilly stratification simulates the winters the seed would face in nature, so the pit emerges primed to sprout as soon as spring warms the world. After ten weeks in this cold, your cherry stones are set to grow into young trees.
How To Plant A Cherry Tree – Part Two – Germination
When the ten weeks end, bring the stones back inside and let them warm gradually to room temperature, shedding the frost of their artificial winter. Once the pits feel warm all the way through, they are ready to go into the soil
Fill small pots with damp potting mix, place two or three soaked cherry pits in each one, then water gently to settle them beneath the surface. Keep the containers in bright light and the soil evenly moist until the first green leaves appear.
How To Plant A Cherry Tree – Part Three – Transplanting
When the seedlings reach about two inches, pick the stoutest plant and tip away the others without disturbing its roots, leaving it alone in the pot. Set the remain-ing seedling in a sunny indoor spot until frost threat passes, then move it outdoors into rich, well-drained soil.
Once your young tree stands eight to eleven inches tall and the nights stay warm, dig a hole big enough to welcome its roots, water it well, and mulch around the base to hold moisture. As a rule, plant each cherry tree at least twenty feet away from its neighbor.
Growing Conditions For Cherry Trees
Cherry trees generally survive in USDA hardiness zones five through nine, depending on the cultivar. Full sun is essential; soil can be sandy, loamy, or clayey so long as it drains well, is deep, and sits within a slightly acidic to neutral pH.
With sweet cherries, however, cross-pollination requires at least two compatible varieties blooming together.
Care For Cherry Trees
Care for Cherry Trees Basic husbandry is much the same for both types, though individual cultivars may demand slight adjustments.
Overall, cherry care follows a familiar routine. Spread three inches of mulch to hold moisture after watering or rain. Fertilize each spring until the tree begins bearing fruit; then apply feed right after harvest instead. Water steadily during hot or windy spells, soaking the root zone without letting it sit in puddles.
As fruit ripens, drape bird netting over the branches to keep mockers, crows, and squirrels away. You neednt thin blossoms or small fruit-healthy trees will drop excess crop on their own in early summer.
Prune cherry trees in late winter each year to spur fresh growth. Avoid trimming them in fall. Pick fruit only when it is completely ripe. Never yank cherries free with your fingers. Use clean scissors to snip each stem.
Health Benefits Of Cherries
Cherries pack a large dose of antioxidants. These compounds help cells resist aging and lower the risk of chronic diseases including heart problems, diabetes, some cancers, Alzheimers, and obesity.
Regularly eating cherries may also cut gout flares, ease arthritis pain, and shield against diabetes. The fruit promotes sound sleep, keeps cholesterol in check, and lessens soreness after exercise.
Cherry Tree Pests And Diseases
Although cherries are hardy, they can attract pests and scavengers that threaten the crop. Stay alert and ready to defend your trees when trouble appears.
Common foes include aphids, Japanese beetles, caterpillars, and, of course, hungry birds.
Three diseases-brown rot, black knot, and bacterial canker-can occasionally strike cherry trees.
Branches affected by black knot or bacterial canker should be pruned and removed at once to limit spread.