How to plant a cherry tree

With the scientific name Prunus avium, the cherry tree is a fruit tree belonging to the Rosaceae family, of great popularity due to its tasty and striking fruit, cherries. It is a species that is not too demanding with its care and stands out for resisting cold better than many other fruit trees.

If you wonder how you can plant a cherry tree to have one at home, both from seed and from a cutting or branch, join us in this article, where you will find a guide on how to plant a cherry tree and various related tips.

How to plant a cherry tree?

To know how to plant a cherry tree with a pit correctly, follow these tips:

• Planting a cherry pit and getting it to germinate can be very difficult if you use fruits bought in supermarkets or large stores, so it is always advisable to choose cherries from someone you know with a good tree in their orchard or garden or buy them in small shops that offer quality and organic cherries, which have not been picked early.
• Another very useful trick for learning how to germinate a cherry stone is to take the cherry stones, well cleaned of the remains of the fruit, and put them in the fridge, wrapped in moistened absorbent paper, for about 8-12 weeks. If you want to plant without having to wait for autumn to arrive, you can thus give the seed conditions similar to those of winter, which will help it germinate.
• It is convenient to plant several seeds if some do not germinate, even if you only want a cherry tree.
• It is also highly recommended to plant in a pot first to better control the seed’s conditions, which will need an airy and sunny place, and transplant it to its final location only when it has grown enough.
• Do not forget to keep the seed and the plant in its early stages, with the soil always moist, although never flooded.

When to plant cherry trees?

What is the best time to plant a cherry tree? Suppose we are going to plant a young cherry tree. In that case, this fruit can be planted, unless living in an exceptionally cold climate, throughout the season between January and the beginning of summer. However, the best time is undoubtedly in spring, around May or early June.

If what we are going to do is sow the seeds or cherry pits, it is best to do it at the end of autumn so that the seeds spend a few months cold to optimize their germination possibilities.

How to plant a cherry tree from a branch?

When it comes to planting a cherry tree by cutting or branch, the first thing to say is that, like seeds, this method of propagation for the cherry tree may not be successful. Many varieties make it quite difficult to get the cutting to succeed. Still, some varieties greatly improve these chances of success, such as Vladimirskaya, Pink Bottle, Shubinka or Rastunya.

• Take the cuttings of a healthy cherry tree in early June, with green branches and about 15 cm in length.
• Leave just one sheet for them, or two if they’re small.
• Leave them overnight soaking in rooting agent, which you can buy or prepare yourself organically, and plant them first thing in the morning.
• Bury them about 4 cm in the ground, using a light substrate, with very good drainage and rich in nutrients. A mixture of earthworm humus and river sand can work very well, or humus, peat, and coconut coir. A bed of coarse gravel or expanded clay will further improve substrate drainage.
• After this, water frequently but without flooding.
• Keep it in a shady place and not less than 24 ºC and, if you are lucky, the cutting will take root in a few weeks and you can already plant it in a pot so that it continues to grow until it is ready to be planted in the ground.

How to plant a potted cherry?

From cutting and from seed, it is best to always plant the cherry in a pot initially, wait for it to germinate, grow, and, after a year or two, we can transplant it to its final location outside.

However, we can also decide because our cherry tree’s final location is a larger pot, and that is that, although these fruit trees can reach heights of up to 8 meters in a natural environment, in the pot, their size will be much smaller.

Wait until the little cherry tree is at least 15 or 20 cm tall and then transplant it, in early spring or late winter, to a larger pot, with the same type of substrate and being very careful not to damage its roots.

How to make a cherry tree bear fruit?

Whenever we plant a fruit tree, we have to prepare ourselves to gather patience since, in many cases, we will have to wait years for it to bear fruit, especially if we do not graft it.

If you wonder how long a cherry tree takes to bear fruit or how long a cherry tree takes to grow, the answer is that it is very rare that you get your first cherries before the 3 years of the tree’s life, and it will take a few longer to reach true maturity and bear fruit in great quantity.

Also, the amount of fruit that your cherry tree produces will depend a lot on its water, soil and climate conditions. The most optimal cherry climate is a temperate one, with well-differentiated seasons but without very strong frosts. If you give your cherry tree frequent watering, you ensure that it receives at least 8 hours of sunlight a day and add nutrients to the soil regularly in the growing seasons. Your cherry tree should give you its fruits from the age of three.