Quantcast
Cherries: How to Plant, Grow, and Harvest Cherries | The Old Farmer's Almanac

Order Your Almanac Today!

Cherries

Cherries are much better picked off a branch at home than from the supermarket.

Botanical Name
Prunus avium (Sweet Cherries), Prunus cerasus (Sour Cherries)
Plant Type
Fruit
Sun Exposure
Full Sun
Soil pH
Slightly Acidic to Neutral
Hardiness Zone
4
5
6
7
No content available.

Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Cherries

Print Friendly and PDF

Cherry trees are a sight to behold in the spring, when they’re covered in white or pink blossoms. After that, they produce the delicious cherries that most people know and love. Here’s how to grow cherry trees in your own garden!

About Cherries

  • Sweet cherries are the variety most often found in markets. They have a thick, rich, and almost plum-like texture. Sweet cherries grow in hardiness zones 5 to 7; they are self-sterile and best for an orchard or a large garden. You’ll need at least two or three trees, as they’ll need to pollinate each other. If space is limited, consider the dwarf, self-pollinating cultivar â€˜Stella’.
  • Sour cherries are not usually eaten raw, but are widely used for preserves and other cooking uses. Sour cherries are much smaller than sweet cherries and all varieties are self-fertile. They grow in zones 4 to 6.

Cherry trees generally start bearing fruit in their fourth year; dwarf trees bear fruit a year earlier. One mature, standard-size tart or sweet cherry tree will produce 30 to 50 quarts of cherries each year; a dwarf tree, about 10 to 15 quarts.

Plant cherry trees in early spring or late fall (when the ground is soft and has a higher moisture content) in a sunny site with good air circulation and deep, well-drained soil. Apply mulch and water well. After flowering in a fruiting year, you’ll need to drape trees with wildlife-safe netting to protect the fruit from birds.

Planting

Plant cherry trees in a sunny site with good air circulation; avoid planting near larger trees or buildings that will shade the cherries. Ideally, cherry trees should get at least 6 hours of sunlight each day.

Cherry trees do best in deep, well-draining soil that has a pH of 6.0-7.0.

Space sweet cherries 35 to 40 feet apart; dwarfs, 5 to 10 feet apart. Space tart cherries 20 to 25 feet apart; dwarfs, 8 to 10 feet apart.

When to Plant Cherry Trees

  • Plant cherries in the late fall or early spring (when the ground is soft and has a higher moisture content).
  • When selecting sweet cherries, make sure the different varieties will pollinate each other.

How to Plant Cherry Trees

  • Trees on standard rootstock should be planted with the graft union a few inches below the soil level. Trees on dwarf rootstock should be planted with the graft union several inches above the soil level, which will prevent the graft from growing its own roots and bypassing the rootstock.
  • When planting fan-trained trees, construct the necessary supports before planting. Plant fans only 12 to 15 feet apart.
  • For bareroot trees, place the rootstock on a small mound of soil in the center of the planting hole, and spread the roots down and away, trying not to bend the roots. Backfill with soil.
  • For container-grown trees, first remove the rootball and set the tree on its side; cut through any pot-bound or encircled roots with shears. Don’t cover the top of the root-ball.

Check out this video to learn more about how to plant a bare–root fruit tree:

Growing
  • There is no difference in care between sour and sweet cherries.
  • Apply mulch to retain moisture.
  • Drape netting over trees to protect the fruit from birds.
  • Water routinely in dry areas.
  • Thinning the fruit is not necessary for cherry trees, as they typically thin naturally in early summer.
  • Prune trees every year in late winter to encourage the growth of new fruiting wood. Don’t prune in the fall.
  • Fertilize early in spring with a low-nitrogen fertilizer (such as 5-10-10) a few weeks before trees start to flower, then fertilize as necessary (check soil fertility by testing the soil) until cherries are harvested. Do not fertilize after mid-summer, as new growth needs time to harden off before fall and winter.
Recommended Varieties

Sweet Cherries

  • Early - ‘Black Tartarian’
  • Midseason - â€˜Bing’
  • Late - â€˜Stella’

Sour Cherries

  • Early - ‘Early Richmond’
  • Midseason - â€˜Montmorency’
  • Late - â€˜Meteor’
Harvesting
  • Pick fruits only when FULLY ripe (dark red, black, yellow); the sugar content rises the few days before fully ripened.
  • Be ready to harvest within a week’s time. Eat or cook immediately.
  • Pick fruits when firm if they are to be frozen.
  • Be sure top pick with the cherry stem so you do not tear into the fruit, however, take care to lead the fruit spur to produce fruit next year.
  • Hand-picking may injure the shoots and cause infection; Cut the stalks with scissors.
  • Remember that cherry trees do not typically bear fruit until their fourth year. Thereafter, they should produce about 30 to 50 quarts of cherries each year.
Wit and Wisdom

A cherry year, a merry year.

There is a famous myth that President George Washington cut down a cherry tree and then admitted his wrongdoing to his father. This myth was invented by a biographer of President Washington, who hoped to display his honesty. We still think it’s a great idea to commemorate President’s Day with a delicious cherry pie recipe!

Pests/Diseases
  • Aphids
  • Japanese beetles
  • Caterpillars
  • Brown Rot
  • Black Knot
  • Bacterial Canker (cut out any branches with signs of black knot or bacterial canker as soon as possible)
  • Birds
Recipes
No-Lie Cherry Pie
Rhubarb-Cherry Crunch
Cherry Berry Pie
Fruit

More Like This

Gardening Calendar

Comments

Mike Hutchko (not verified)

9 months ago

My biggest problem is I live out in the country and if it isn't possums, raccoons or birds, I never get any of my bing cherries. How can I prevent this? I've tried metal shields up 4 ft from the ground around the trunk; chicken wire around the tree; hanging silver streamers on several branches; even tried putting net bags over the fruit on the branches but nothing seems to keep these critters away from me harvesting my own. One year, we were watching the berries as they got a little yellow with a tinge of pink and the next day every last cherry was already gone. VERY FRUSTRATING!

We feel and understand your pain. One of our editors planted a peach tree and had a similar experience. It sounds like you’ve tried all of the usual and recommended techniques. We found an idea from the folks who grow Bings best—cherry orchardists in Washington state. Here’s the solution (Hint: it involves sugar): https://www.goodfruit.com/sugar-sours-birds-on-eating-valuable-cherry-crops/ You might also reach out to the source of this information for more advice or ideas.

Wendy Webb (not verified)

9 months 2 weeks ago

We have a lot of roots that grow up out of the ground from the cherry tree(suckers). My husband is thinking rototilling the whole base under the tree would help. I am worried about rototilling hurting the roots. It is a small rototiller. Any thoughts?

Prune the sucker-roots to the ground; as soon as the roots appear; do not rototiller; REPLANT TREE IN A DEEPER SOIL or ADD alot TOP SOIL around Tre;

I had both a Nanking and a Hansen bush cherry in AR. Both set cherries very well. Did they pollinate each other? My grandkids loved them