A new cherry tree? What an excellent decision! As well as a juicy homegrown cherry crop every year, you’re going to get some of the loveliest spring blossoms around, a garden full of bees and butterflies and a naturally small tree that’s a breeze to take care of. Now all you need is a bunch of top tips from our expert growers and you’re sorted. Here’s everything you need to know…

Jump to:

• How to choose
• Self-fertile cherry trees
• Growing cherry trees from pits
• How long does it take for cherry trees to grow
• Where is best to plant a cherry tree
• Planting cherry trees
• Watering your cherry tree
• Feeding your cherry tree
• Pruning your cherry tree
• Growing a cherry tree in a pot
• Training your cherry tree
• Cherry tree problems (and solutions)
• Harvesting your cherries
• Storing your cherries

How to choose a cherry tree

There are a LOT of different cherry trees out there to choose from, so here’s what you need to consider before picking yours. Firstly, do you prefer a dessert cherry (for eating) or an acid cherry (for cooking)? Some cherry varieties are dual purpose, meaning they can be used for both. 

Then there’s the harvest time; cherry trees can crop between June and August, depending on whether you choose an early, mid or late season variety. This information is very useful if you usually holiday in one of those months and want to avoid missing your cherry haul! 

Bare root cherry trees are the best choice if you’re planning to plant between November and March. This is when the trees are in their dormant (not actively growing) phase.

Plant them at this time of year and they’ll have the winter to develop a good root system before putting on new growth in the spring. At any other time of year, you can go for a potted cherry tree. Both kinds of tree should be planted on a day when the soil is workable – not frozen or waterlogged. 

You’ll also need to make sure that the tree you choose will fit nicely in the place you want to plant it. This is largely dependent on the rootstock, which determines how big the tree will grow, so if you’re planning to grow in a small space or a pot for example, you’ll need to choose a variety on a dwarfing rootstock.

Don’t worry if your favourite looks too big, though, as any cherry tree can be made to fit the space it’s growing in with regular pruning. You can find lots more advice on how to choose a cherry tree in our four step guide.

Do I need a self-fertile cherry tree?

Self-fertile trees are those which have both male and female flowers and can pollinate themselves to produce a crop without help from other cherry trees: this means they’re a good choice if you only have space for one.

In practice, there should be another cherry tree within a bee’s flight from your garden (about one to two miles) so you’ll be fine even if you have a non self-fertile tree, but if you live in a less well planted area, you may want to ensure you get a crop by planting another tree from a different pollination group. You can check your tree’s ideal partners here.

Can you grow a cherry tree from a pit?

Growing a cherry tree from a cherry pit is a fun garden project, especially for children. I should point out that: a) it will take a long time before you get a cherry from it (around ten years) and b) the tree you end up with will not necessarily be the same as the one you got the pit from. But if neither of those things bothers you, then it’s a reasonable way to get a cherry tree for free. Here’s how:

1. First, wash the fruit off your cherry pit. You can plant the pit as it is, but you’ll get better results if you cut it open and remove the seeds. Soak these in warm water for a couple of hours to rehydrate them, then wrap them in a damp paper towel, put it in a plastic bag and keep this in the fridge for about ten weeks. This will greatly improve your chances of success by stratifying the seeds (simulating the seed’s dormant period), which helps them prepare for germination.
2. After ten weeks, remove your seeds from the fridge and plant them in individual pots of compost or in a seed tray about 7-8cm apart. Place your pots in a warm, sunny spot, such as a windowsill or greenhouse, and water them a couple of times a week. Make sure the soil doesn’t dry out completely, but avoid overwatering.
3. After about two weeks, you should see your seeds start to sprout. When your seedlings are at least 20cm tall and if the last frost has passed (usually by the third week of May) you can plant them outside. Hardening them off will help the new plants get used to the colder temperatures outdoors.

How long does it take to grow a cherry tree?

If you grow your cherry tree from a pit, it can take up to a decade before you see fruit. If you buy a cherry tree from a nursery, however, you can significantly reduce the wait.

At Roots, we sell our cherries as one, two or four year old trees so you can choose the size of your tree and the time it takes to fruit. Typically, you’ll see your first cherries after two years and get a substantial crop within four. 

A cherry tree will live for an average of 20-40 years, although black cherry varieties are generally longer lived, with some even living up to 250 years. Your tree will take around 7-10 years to reach its mature height, with the crop typically increasing every year.

Where do cherry trees grow best?

The best spot to plant a cherry tree is a warm, sunny place away from cold winds and frosts, which can damage the blossom. This could be a lawn, a border against a wall or fence or a large patio pot. Dessert cherries need the most sun to develop their sugar levels (around six to eight hours daily) but cooking cherries can tolerate a little more shade.

All of them like soil that’s rich, well drained and ideally a little acidic (pH 6.5-6.7 if you’re into soil testing). If your soil is sandy or heavy clay, then you’ll need to dig in lots of compost or well-rotted manure when you plant your tree. You can also help your tree to produce more fruit by planting perennial flowers nearby, to attract pollinators.

How to plant a cherry tree

1. When your cherry tree arrives, you’ll need to prepare it for planting. If it’s bare root, soak the roots in a bucket of water for a couple of hours; if it’s potted, give it some water in its nursery pot, then remove it and carefully loosen up the roots if they’ve coiled into the shape of the pot, or are tangled together.
2. Dig a hole big enough for your tree’s roots to spread out, and add some new compost or well-rotted manure to the bottom of the hole. Add more compost or manure to the soil you’ve dug out.
3. Position your tree in the centre of the hole, then fill it in so the graft union (where the rootstock is joined to the scion or main stem) is at soil level. Firm the soil down around your tree and give it a good watering to settle the roots.

Need a hand? Plant along with our tree grower John.

How much water do cherry trees need?

Your newly planted cherry tree will need regular watering for the first year, or so, especially during hot and dry weather, but you can usually leave it to the British weather if you’ve planted in autumn or winter!

Once your tree is well established, its root system will have grown and matured so that you’ll need to water less often – probably only during the summer months. 

The exceptions to this are trees trained against a wall or fence or those in pots. Sometimes, a wall or fence can prevent the tree getting as much rain as one planted in an open position, so it’s worth checking often.

Trees in pots generally need more watering than those in the ground, as the compost or soil in pots tends to dry out more quickly, but be careful not to overwater them as this can lead to root rot.

Do you have to feed cherry trees?

Cherry trees benefit from a feed with high potassium fertiliser (such as tomato feed or fish, blood and bone) in late winter, then again in spring when the blossom starts to appear.

During spring and summer, feed your tree every couple of weeks to encourage fruiting – this is especially important for trees in pots. At the same time, you can apply some mulch around the base of the tree, to keep moisture in the soil and reduce competition from weeds.

How to prune your cherry tree

A little light pruning once a year will help your cherry tree to stay well-shaped, healthy and productive. The right time of year to do this is in July or August (depending on the variety) when the tree has finished fruiting. 

To begin, cut out any dead, diseased or damaged branches. Then take a good look at the shape of your tree – the best shape is a ‘goblet’ form with plenty of open space in the centre to allow air circulation. You can encourage this shape by pruning out any crossing or inward growing branches in the centre of the tree. 

After a couple of years, it’s a good idea to thin out the canopy (the top of the tree) to allow enough sunlight to filter through and reach the fruit. For more pruning tips, see our complete cherry tree pruning guide.

Growing cherry trees in pots

Planting your cherry tree in a pot allows you to position it in the sunniest spot in your garden, so it’s a great idea – make sure you choose a tree with a dwarf or semi dwarfing rootstock though, (often called patio trees) so it won’t grow too large. 

Choose the largest container you can find – 45cm deep and wide as a minimum, but preferably larger so you won’t have to repot the tree so often. Fill your pot with a good quality compost or potting soil and add some general purpose fertiliser to the planting hole.

Plant your tree as above, then water it well to allow the roots to settle. You can find more tips on growing potted trees in our growers’ guide.

Training cherry trees

Training a cherry tree can be a good way of growing fruit in a small or narrow space while still achieving a good crop – not to mention that trained trees look pretty impressive!

Fan or wall training, for instance, offers the tree good protection against wind and frost, preventing blossom damage in spring and allowing the tree to absorb heat from the supporting wall. Suitable forms for training cherries include fan training, half standards, cordons and espaliers.

Cherry tree problems and how to fix them

Cherry fruit drop

Sounds delicious… But it’s actually disheartening. Cherry fruit drop is when your cherries fall off the tree before they’ve ripened, and it’s much more common in sweet cherries than acid ones. 

It’s thought to be caused by poor weather, low light and temperatures or a lack of water at the time the fruit is developing, any of which mean that the tree doesn’t have enough energy to support its crop.

You can minimise the risk of this happening by keeping your tree’s canopy nice and airy so the sunlight can get through, growing your tree in a sheltered spot and watering it well in dry weather.

Splitting

Cherries can split when there’s been too much rain (or you’ve been overenthusiastic with the watering) at the point where the fruit is ripening. If at all possible, watch out for forecasts of  heavy rain at the time your cherries are ready and pick them before the deluge.

Silver leaf disease

Silver leaf is a fungal disease that can affect cherry trees, giving the leaves a silvery sheen and killing the living wood as it spreads.

The best defence is to prune at the correct time of year – namely after harvest time – when the sap is rising. It’s much harder for silver leaf spores to get in via pruning cuts at this time, as opposed to in the winter when the tree is dormant. You should also take care when strimming or mowing near your tree, so as not to cause any cuts in the trunk. 

If you catch silver leaf early enough, it shouldn’t be a huge problem – just cut off the affected branch and check for a brown stain inside the wood. You’ll need to keep cutting until you can’t see this stain any more. Then get rid of the branch (not in your compost) and make sure you disinfect your pruning tools before using them on any other trees.

Canker

The bacteria that causes canker, Pseudomonas syringae, is a really fascinating organism. It’s frequently found in hailstones and is sometimes used to make artificial snow – but I guess none of this is helpful if your tree is infected by it.

If you find sunken, malformed areas oozing dark gum on the wood of your cherry tree, and yellowing leaves with brown spots and holes on them, it’s likely that canker is the problem.

It gets into trees via damaged plant tissue (often caused by a brutal frost) and the earlier you detect it, the better chance your tree has of recovering. You’ll need to cut out and dispose of/burn every bit of infected wood, but if the trunk is infected, unfortunately your tree is doomed and you’ll have to get rid.

Dispose of any infected leaves, disinfect your tools and plant something completely different there (not a tree with Prunus in the name).

Birds

The biggest problem you’re likely to have with your cherry tree is that the cherries are too good, meaning that birds try to steal your crop before you get a chance to taste it. You can thwart their dastardly schemes, however, by covering your tree in netting before the fruit ripens.

It’s best to stretch this over canes planted next to the tree, so the birds can’t reach the branches easily, but don’t do this too early in the year, as pollinators will need to get access to the blossom in spring.

You could also use a large fruit cage, tie organza bags around the bunches of fruit or even move potted cherry trees into a conservatory or greenhouse while they’re fruiting.

Frost

The other issue you might encounter is a late frost or strong winds affecting the tree’s blossom in spring. You can help to prevent this by planting your tree in a sheltered location or moving potted trees indoors when dodgy weather is forecast.

For trees outdoors, you can also wrap them gently with fleece or bubble wrap on frosty nights, then remove it in the morning.

Harvesting cherries

Depending on which variety of tree you have and the growing conditions, your cherries should ripen at any point between May and August. Early season cherries will be ready from June to July (and even as early as mid May), mid season from mid July and late season from late July to August.

You’ll know they’re ready to pick when they’re full coloured and firm but slightly yielding. It’s best to pick them when the weather’s dry (to avoid encouraging mould) and pull them by the stalk rather than the fruit, to prevent bruising.

How to store your cherry crop

Cherries will keep for about a week in the fridge – make sure you remove any split or mouldy fruit from your haul before storing it, and keep your cherries as dry as possible to prevent any mould developing. 

You can also freeze cherries if you have a lot. Wash, dry and pit them, then lay them out on a baking tray and freeze them for a couple of hours. Then, you can transfer the frozen cherries into a freezer bag or container – this way they’ll stay separate rather than melding into a massive cherry block! You could also make cherry jam, cherry coulis or try drying your cherries.