Request: Starting a Cherry Tree from a Pit
Archived on 06/02/2009
By Ellen Brown
 | | Picture of Cherries on the Tree |
Question: How do I start a cherry tree from the pit?
Hardiness Zone: 7a
Edie White from Whitmore, CA
Answer: Edie,
To start a cherry tree from a pit, remove the pit from the fruit and clean off any remaining flesh. Don't try and remove the hard part of the shell that surrounds the pit. Cherry pits need a chilling period before germinating. To mimic the necessary winter-like conditions, place the pit in a plastic bag filled with moist vermiculite or peat moss (or damp paper towels) and store the bag in the refrigerator for about 10 weeks. Check the moisture level in the bag now and then and don't let the pit dry out. After about 10 weeks of chilling the pit is ready to be planted. You can start it in a pot indoors or plant it outside. Plant seeds about 1/2 inch deep in nutrient-rich well-drained soil with exposure to full sun. You should expect to see growth in after a few weeks. If our planting outdoors during cold weather, the seedling may just stay chilled and resume growth the following spring. After planting, you can expect to see mature fruit after 7 to 10 years. Grafting your seedling onto an already mature tree will reduce the waiting time considerably. It's best to plant several seeds at one time, because a good number of seeds may fail to germinate. It's also helpful to understand that the fruit you eventually harvest from the "pit" tree is not likely to be the same juicy cherries you ate from the parent tree. Commercial fruit trees are propagated from grafting or budding so your seeds will not likely reproduce true to the parent plant. The fruit from your seedling may be somewhat bitter, then again, it might taste even better than the original cherry.
Good Luck!
Ellen
About The Author: Ellen Brown is our Green Living and Gardening Expert. Click here to ask Ellen a question! Ellen Brown is an environmental writer and photographer and the owner of Sustainable Media, an environmental media company that specializes in helping businesses and organizations promote eco-friendly products and services. Contact her on the web at http://www.sustainable-media.com
Feedback:
RE: Starting a Cherry Tree from a Pit
I got at least 50 by throwing the pits left from canning out into the flower bed. We gradually trimmed out all but one. It doesn't produce heavily, but it's in mostly shade. What it does beautifully is give us shade on the house. Between the cherry and the apricot we got when one of the kids put a pit out, the house is a good 20 degrees cooler in the summer. We like it so much, we planted some plum trees on the other side of the house. (06/20/2006)
By coreenhart
RE: Starting a Cherry Tree from a Pit
Plant the pit in the ground and treat it like a seed. I know a woman whose granddaughter planted her peach pit in the garden when she was little. Now they eat peaches from that tree. (06/23/2006)
By Carol in PA
RE: Starting a Cherry Tree from a Pit
I have about 6 cherry trees that have volunteered themselves from pits that I threw into my compost pile this year alone. They always come up on their own. I also have peach and plum trees that were started the same way. I always worry about which to keep, since I don't know if they're sour, Bing, or Rainier. (06/23/2006)
By susanmajp
RE: Starting a Cherry Tree from a Pit
So I have stored my seeds in a container for 10 weeks now and they look like they are moldy. Is this normal? And if not, should I throw them out or will they still grow? (10/11/2008)
By Brandon
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