Has anyone ever tried growing seedling cherries from the seeds? I have an unknown type of cherry tree in my front yard that was planted by the prior homeowners at least a decade or two ago. It produces cherries that are around the size of a nickel and we picked a bunch last weekend for some jelly and pie. Now I have a plate full of pits that I'm drying and I'm wondering what I should do with them. I don't know if cherry trees are grafted or if they are all grown from seed, so I really have no idea what to expect. I'll probably freeze a bag of the seeds and plant a few next spring regardless, but I was wondering if anyone else has any experience growing cherries from seeds.
Cherry seedling question
- Thread starter Ben.MN/WI
- Start date
Turkey Creek
5 year old buck +
Cherries are grafted in order to produce desired varities just like apples or pears. Your seeds will be unknown varities. I have never grown them from seed so I cant be of any assistance in that area.
You can grow those cherry trees from the pits but you won't know how long it will take for them to produce or if any disease resistance. You will want to graft the variety you choose. If you are in the south you can choose Mazzard or Mahaleb root stock. In the north, zone 5 or Zone 4, it is imperative to have Mahaleb root stock. This past winter killed all of the Mazzard cherry trees in the north, and a quarter of the Mahalebs. The north is going to be set back 3 years in cherry production and you won't find one cherry farm in the north with Mazzard root stock now. This past winter was a learning year and we will be talking about this past winter for the next 20 years.
I'm in SE MN, which is zone 4. I'll probably throw a few seeds in pots next year and see what happens. I did that with some apple seeds several years ago and ended up with a really nice crabapple tree. Since the tree they came from can grow in my yard, I'll assume that the fruit from that tree will also be tolerant to this weather. I guess there's only one way to find out.
