All the cherries on the market are grown from grafts or tissue samples, so growers know exactly which product they will get. Planting hazelnuts is a project suitable for those who want to grow a cherry tree at home and want to face a challenge to see what they can achieve. Keep in mind that this tree often grows to 7, 5 meters or even more. It doesn't always produce fruit though, so you need to be sure you really want this plant in your garden!
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Prepare the Seeds
Step 1. Know what to expect
The cherry trees that grow from the seed are not clones of the parent plant, which means that the "child" tree could be of a different variety. You may get a tree that can't survive the area's climate or disease, or that doesn't produce flavorful fruit. However, you may end up with a beautiful new tree, so it will be an interesting and enjoyable experience either way.
If you want to have a few more opportunities, plant a young tree instead of seeds. The nursery clerk will be able to recommend a hybrid plant suitable for the climate and soil of your area
Step 2. Choose cherries
The best thing is to take them fresh directly from a local tree or at the farmer's market in the period from mid to late summer. Varieties that bear fruit too early are often sterile, while fruit you find in supermarkets rarely yields positive results. Get a good handful of seeds, as not all of them will sprout. There are two main varieties of cherries to choose from:
- Almost all the fresh cherries you find for sale are sweet cherries. These are the best to eat, but are mostly grown in particularly cold regions.
- Sour cherries are easier to grow, as they survive even in geographic areas with the most extreme temperatures, but they are not always easy to find fresh, so you should inquire a little at agricultural markets.
Step 3. Eat fruit
Luckily for you, pulp needs to be removed before planting a pit. So enjoy the flavor of the cherries and clean the last residues attached to the seed well with a damp paper towel.
If you are in early or mid-summer, let the kernels dry for a few days on a paper towel, then place them in an airtight container and store it in a cool place. Collect the seeds at the end of the summer and proceed to the next steps
Step 4. Consider sowing in early fall
Cherries need a constant, humid and cold climate for 3-5 months in order to germinate. If you live in a region with a cold winter that does not reach -30 ° C, the situation is simpler and you can plant the seeds in the fall. If you decide to follow this method, go directly to the next section. If the climate you live in is different or you prefer to try a procedure that offers a greater chance of success, continue reading the next steps instead.
Sweet cherry trees thrive best if there is a couple of weeks of mild weather before the cold. Therefore, the ideal is to plant the seeds in late summer or very early autumn days. However, if a momentary heat wave occurs after the onset of the cold season, the seeds could enter a dormant phase. To prevent this from happening, consult an almanac or other similar long-term weather forecast tool
Step 5. Keep the sweet cherry pits covered with sphagnum hot and moist for two weeks (optional)
Many people skip this step and still manage to sprout some seeds; however, be aware that this method increases the chances of seedlings sprouting. This procedure, called warm layering, is described below:
- Buy fresh, sterile ground sphagnum. This material wards off mold, which is the biggest risk at this stage. Handle it with clean gloves to avoid introducing spores.
- Put it in a plastic bag or container and add water at room temperature (20 ° C). Give it time to soak up the water for about 8-10 hours, then squeeze it out to remove excess moisture.
- Make a few holes in the lid so that the air circulates. If you are using a plastic bag, leave it slightly open on top.
- Add the cherry seeds and let them rest for two weeks, always at the same temperature. Check them after a day or two to remove stagnant water and also after a week to extract any moldy seeds (if any).
Step 6. Transfer the wet material to a cold environment
This step is important to accustom the seeds to the winter weather. This "cold layering" procedure is very similar to the one described above, only with a few different small details:
- You can still use wet sphagnum, but peat or an equal parts mixture of peat and sand are more suitable. Eventually vermiculite is fine too.
- Add enough water to moisten the material without soaking it too much, then add the seeds.
- Place the material in the refrigerator or in an area that has a temperature between 0.5 and 5 ° C (the ideal temperature should be closer to 5 ° C, however).
Step 7. Leave the container in the fridge for about 90 days
Most cherries require a three-month cold resting phase before they are ready to be sown; for some varieties it takes up to 5 months. Check the seeds every month or so. Remove standing water if it forms and add more if the material dries.
Checks should be more frequent towards the end of this period. If the hard seed coat begins to crack, plant them immediately or reduce the temperature to 0 ° C until ready
Step 8. Plant them in the spring
As soon as the last cold days of spring have passed, the seeds are ready to be planted. Read the next section for more detailed instructions.
If you want to start growing earlier, you can sow the kernels in a large indoor pot
Part 2 of 3: Planting the Seeds
Step 1. Choose a location with good soil
Cherry trees need a place with lots of sun and good air circulation. They thrive best in fertile, sandy soil, with excellent drainage and a neutral or slightly acidic pH.
- If you have chosen a young tree instead of seeds, you need to calculate the space for the taproot. If you plant it in a pot, make sure it is at least 20cm deep.
- Cherry trees are unlikely to grow in clayey soil. If you want to give it a serious try, build a raised bed of at least 12 inches.
Step 2. Plant the seeds less than 2.5cm deep
Dig a hole as deep as the knuckle of your hand with your fingers and put the seed inside. Plant the seeds at a distance of 30 cm from each other for now, but be prepared to transplant those that will survive 6 m from each other.
You can also decide to sow them close together, but you will need to space them out once the sprouts reach a height of 5 cm
Step 3. Coverage depends on the season
If you have chosen to sow in the fall, cover the seeds with 2.5-5 cm of sand. This will prevent an ice crust from forming and blocking the buds. If, on the other hand, you planted them in the spring, a light layer of soil and a little irrigation is sufficient.
Step 4. Protect the seeds from rodents
If you planted them directly in the ground rather than in a pot, rodents and any animals they burrow will be attracted to them. Cover the area with wire mesh or a hard coating, fold the edges and pin them into the ground for several centimeters to form a barrier; you can remove it once the sprouts start to appear.
Step 5. Water every now and then after the last frost
Only wet the soil when it is almost completely dry. Young cherry trees do not survive in a water-saturated land, but they cannot withstand drought for too long.
Step 6. Wait for them to start sprouting
The process is quite slow; if you have followed both hot and cold stratification, the seeds may begin to sprout within the next few months. Others, however, may take a full year to germinate, emerging from the soil's surface the following spring.
Part 3 of 3: Caring for Trees
Step 1. Keep the soil slightly moist
It must be a little wet, but not soaked. Once the seeds start forming taproots, test the soil to a depth of about 7.5cm and wet it whenever you feel dry. Pour the water gently until the soil gets wet to the depth of the roots. At first it won't take long to moisten it to that depth, but remember to adjust the watering as the seedling grows.
Step 2. Transplant the tree once it has stabilized
When the plant reaches a height of about 15 cm or becomes so large that the roots reach the base of the pot, it is necessary to offer it more space. You can decide indifferently to thin out the smallest shoots or to transfer some of them further away. Each tree should have 6 meters of individual space all around.
Keep in mind that cherry trees can grow up to 7.5-15m tall, depending on the variety. By pruning them regularly, you can keep the height around 4.5m or even less
Step 3. Mulch every year
Annually, in early spring cover the surface of the soil with well-decomposed organic material. Begin this procedure the year after planting, as mulch may hinder the growth of the sprouts.
You should avoid fertilizing when the plants are still young, as you could burn them. Compost is enough to provide all the nutrients they need
Step 4. Protect the cherry trees from pests
The most difficult aspect of this cultivation is the susceptibility to pests and diseases. Follow these steps to defend the plants once they start growing properly:
- Surround the seedlings with a metal cylinder to protect them from attack by wild animals.
- Once a month check the logs for holes where sawdust could come out. Stick a needle inside these holes to kill the bugs.
- In spring, wrap the trunks with mosquito nets to block the passage of insects and prevent them from laying their eggs.
- In late autumn, insert a sturdy canvas barrier 5cm deep all around the trunk into the soil to protect it from rodents. Make sure the barrier is high enough to prevent animals from entering even in deep snow.
Step 5. Protect the plants even from the strong winter sun
In early autumn, paint the south side of the trunk with a white, non-toxic, latex paint and dilute it with water to lighten the texture. Cherry trees are susceptible to sun damage at this time of year.
Paint the north side of the trunk if you live in the southern hemisphere
Step 6. Prune the trees as they grow
It is not a difficult process when it comes to cherry trees, but it is an important step if you want to get fruit and make the tree look good. Typically, sour cherry (also called viscicle or amarasco) needs only light pruning to keep the branches symmetrical. Sweet cherries, on the other hand, should be pruned slightly on the central tip to favor growth in width.
Step 7. Consider grafting
Without your intervention, cherry trees can often take up to five years or more to start bearing fruit and in some cases do not bear fruit at all. Grafting is a bit of a risky process with seed-grown trees, as you don't know the variety, but the nursery clerk will be able to help you and recommend a species that produces fruit. You will be able to graft this variety onto a two year old tree and get fruit from the third or fourth year, if grafting is effective.
Step 8. Pollinate the flowers
Cherry trees deserve to be grown for their beautiful flowers alone. But if you want them to be replaced by fruits, you need to pollinate them. For most sweet variety cherry trees, this means that you will need to have other similar plants next to you that bloom at the same time. Bees are the best pollinators of cherry trees; if you have used pesticides, be careful not to damage this important living species.
Step 9. Keep birds away
No one has ever managed to grow cherry trees without sharing the fruit with the birds. If you are lucky enough to notice fruit forming, set up barriers to protect the trees before they finish ripening. There are several ways to distract or scare the birds, including the ability to grow mulberries (which attract birds even more) or hang shiny objects on tree branches.
Advice
- In order to obtain the fruit, two varieties of sweet cherry are usually necessary to fertilize each other. Black cherries, on the other hand, usually self-fertilize.
- Since it takes 7 to 8 years for the cherry trees to start bearing fruit, consider planting a few new ones every year. This will give you more chances in case any trees die before reaching maturity.
- The yellow cherry variety is less appetizing to birds, but you have to wait 6 years or more before you get the fruit.
