I took some pits from cherries my wife bought at the local store. Can I just plant te pits and grow a cherry tree? I have dried them out for about 4 months now, must I crack the pits open to plant? I love cherries, but they are about $6.99 a pound around here so I thought I would plant my own tree. There is a place about 2 miles from me that you can go aand pick your own so I thought I would try and grow my own. :-D
First you need to find out what kind of cherry they are. If it's a cultivated variety it will not produce true from seed. And would be easier to buy a cherry tree instead. You don't crack the pits but they do need to be stratified (scratched to etch the surface) before planting. That can either be done by planting them in the fall and letting winter take care of it or you can scratch the surface, then wrap in a wet paper towel, place in a zip baggie and refrigerate for several months (some say 4-5 months) then plant in the spring. Since winter is probably not through in your part of the country, scratch some and plant them where you want them. There may be enough time for that to be complete. Save some to plant next fall and maybe try to manual stratification on a few.
toni, Thank you very much for the information, I will go out tomorrow and plant what I have, after I scratch them. 8)
Hi Ritchie, I think you really need to go buy a cherry tree. I have never had any pits germinate out in the compost or garden. Toni is correct about not knowing what the cultivar is that the pits are from, though. You would not get a tree that produces the same fruit you ate. The cherries are 6.99 a lb beacuse they are not the easiest of fruit to grow or harvest. The birds eat them, they some times dont set fruit, the insects and fungus and diseases need to be sprayed for on a regular schedule....don't forget to prune them...blah, blah, blah.... We had a coulpe of cherry trees in our yard that became fire wood since we only got one crop in about 5 years on a regular basis....that is not a very good return. Lots of work and no fruit. I would rather go buy them for the amount of work they are.
St. Lawrence Nursery, is a drive away from you. But they have a web page and reading is free. If your really having a new York moment wanting a nursery...
