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| Planting Cherry Trees |
Successfully establishing a young cherry tree begins with your planting site and planting method. After a cherry tree is well established, it requires very little assistance to grow and bear fruit.
Cherry trees need fertile, balanced soil for good development, so before you plant, test the soil where your trees will live -- including the dirt pH. Refer to the section on Soil Preparation for tips on testing your soil.
Take a look at the established trees and plants around the website. Are they growing nicely? This will help give you an idea of the success you can expect with new plantings in the same area. Don't forget to steer clear of heavy clay soil or any soil that is poorly drained, particularly if you're planting sweet cherry trees.
Cherry trees may be planted even when temperatures are quite cool, particularly if they arrive bare-root and dormant. If a hard frost is expected, it's advisable to delay plantingfor a while until temperatures become more moderate. Do not expose roots to temperatures which are freezing or below. Generally, as long as your soil is workable, it's fine to plant.
Steps to Planting Cherry Trees
Planting Bare-root Cherry Trees
- Before planting: soak the cherry tree's roots in a bucket or large tub of water for 1 to 2 hours. This keep the roots from drying out while you dig the planting hole. Avoid soaking roots for more than 6 hours. Remember: do not expose roots to freezing temperatures (or below) before planting.
- Dig the planting hole wide and deep enough so the root system has lots of room to easily spread and grow. Maintain the more nutritious topsoil in a separate pile so you can set it in the bottom of the hole, where it will do the most good.
- To loosen the soil, combine aged/rotted manure, garden compost, coir or peat moss (up to 1/3 concentration) to your pile of topsoil. The peat moss should either be baled sphagnum or granular peat. Notice: Peat is acidic (has a low pH), so if you use this instead of neutral coir, it may affect the soil pH around the roots. Coir, such as our Coco-Fiber Planting Medium, can be added instead of peat -- or just work in 2 inches or more of organic material with the existing soil.
- Place the cherry tree in the center of the planting hole with its origins down and spread out. Holding onto the trunk to keep it vertical, backfill the hole, putting the topsoil back in first. Important: keep the graft union (the noticeable "bulge" in the lower trunk) 2-3 inches above the ground for dwarf and semi-dwarf types.
- Fill in the dirt carefully around the roots, tamping it down firmly as you refill the planting hole. This will remove air pockets which could damage the roots.
- Especially if you're planting on a slope, make a rim of soil around the planting hole about 2 inches above ground level. This is known as a "berm" and it works to catch water so that it can soak in, rather than run off and cause soil erosion. Spread the soil evenly around tree. Cherry trees which are grown and shipped in our Stark® EZ Start® 4"x4x"10" bottomless pots are a result of our continuing quest for supplying you with the best trees using a robust root system. By following these simple directions, you will be sure of getting your new potted cherry tree off to the best possible start.
- Before planting: When your cherry tree arrives, carefully take it out of the package. Your potted tree has been watered before shipment and should arrive with moist soil around the rootsnonetheless, it does require another drink when it arrives in your dwelling. Be sure the water reaches all of the roots, all of the way to the bottom of the container. If you can't plant your tree immediately, keep the roots hydrated and maintain the tree in a sheltered location until you're able to plant. Do not place your potted cherry tree in a bucket of water. This may cause the roots to rot and weaken, or even kill the tree.
- Your potted cherry tree is ready for planting as soon as it arrives. To remove the tree from its temporary container, simply grasp the sides of the pot and carefully slide out the tree. If the tree's roots do not easily slide out of the container, you may want to gently pry the interior edges of the container away from the main system, and loosen it until the roots slide freely in the pot.
- While some potting soil might shake loose, most of it must stay around the cherry tree's roots. Gently separate, untangle, and spread out the tree's roots and place it, soil and all, in the prepared planting hole. Backfill the hole with topsoil, same as you would a bare-root cherry tree (see above). Water thoroughly.
- Your potted cherry tree could have come with a bamboo stake, which helped straighten the tree as it grew in its pot. We suggest that you maintain the tree staked when you plant to help keep it growing straight. You may remove the bamboo stake and replace it with a different tree stake, if you would like. A deep soaking with about a gallon of water is perfect. If a soil test determines that fertilizer is necessary, then it is strongly recommended that you wait a couple of weeks after planting to fertilize fresh cherry trees to protect their sensitive roots. If planting in the fall, wait until spring rather to apply fertilizer.
Mulch
Apply 2-3 inches of organic material like wood bark (instead of an inorganic substance, like rocks) around the root zone of your cherry tree. Mulching helps discourage weeds and protect against evaporation, water pooling and freeze injury around the trunk going into winter. In the fall, double the mulch layer or add a layer of straw for winter protection.
Notice: Rodents and other small gnawing critters could benefit from mulch that is applied too thickly. They may chew the tree's bark as a snack -- a sort of injury that can be deadly, particularly to new cherry trees.
One last point: Please make certain to remove the nametag from your cherry tree. As the tree grows, this little piece of plastic can choke off its flow, causing damage like girdling and even tree death. If you want to keep the tag in your tree, retie it loosely with soft twine and make certain to keep it from becoming restricted as the tree grows.
