A cherry tree is a great addition to any yard with a sunny spot and at least one annual cold season. Read on for simple, straightforward specifics about growing cherries.
Jump to:
Family | Container Size | Good Companions | Bad Companions | Soil Conditions | Germination | Sun | Water | Temperature Range | Height | Lifespan | Reproduction | Yield Per Plant | Ingestibility | Further Reading
What Family Do Cherries Belong To?
Cherry trees (Prunus avium and Prunus serotina) belong to the Rosaceae family, also known as the rose family.
Some of their relatives include roses, apples, and strawberries.
What Size Container Should I Use for Growing Cherries?
Since cherry tree roots need about 40 feet of space in each direction, they cannot be grown in a container.
Cherry roots can grow around many things within this radius when in the ground. But since containers set a finite limit on growing space, container gardening and other setups that limit space such as raised beds do not allow cherry trees to thrive and produce fruit.
Certain cherry varieties are suitable for bonsai and will even fruit as a bonsai. This requires bonsai techniques that go beyond traditional gardening practices.
Younger cherry plants may fit in containers temporarily. For more information, see Question 2 of the Purpose section of the article Choosing the Right Planter for Your Container Garden here.
What Are Good Companion Plants for Cherries?
Some of cherries' best companions are as follows:
- Lilac
- Dandelion
- Chives
- Chamomile
- Pear
- Rosemary
- Lavender
- Caraway
- Marjoram
- Marigold
- Geranium
- Comfrey
- Lovage
- Dill
- Parsley
- Cilantro
- Thyme
- Beans like green beans
- Peas
- Echinacea
- Turmeric
- Lettuce, chard, and other plants that tolerate dappled to part shade and do not have deep or thick roots
What Are Bad Companion Plants for Cherries?
Cherry trees are not compatible with every plant. Some things to avoid planting with cherries are as follows:
- Walnut
- Most plants with deep and/or thick roots
What Soil Conditions Do Cherries Need?
Cherry trees prefer well-draining soil.
Beyond this, they are adaptable. They can tolerate sandy, loamy, and clay soils that are light, medium, heavy, or somewhere in between.
How Long Do Cherries Take to Germinate?
Cherry pits germinate in the ground in 90-150 days.
This time can be reduced to 30 days by cold-stratifying them before planting. Cold stratification is a great way to accelerate germination during a warmer time of year like summer.
Regions without a cold season are not suited to growing cherries since cherry trees require chill hours to set fruit. See the temperature section below.
How Much Sun Do Cherries Need?
Cherry trees need full sun. More specifically, they need at least 8 hours of sun per day.
How Much Water Do Cherries Need?
Young cherry trees should be watered deeply every other day for the first year of their lives.
After the first year, cherries need 1 inch of rain every 7-10 days.
What Is the Ideal Temperature Range for Growing Cherries?
Most cherries grow in temperatures of -15 to 90°F.
Cherries will not produce fruit until they have received 500-800 chill hours, which are hours where the temperature is 45°F or lower.
How Tall Do Cherry Trees Get?
The average height of cherry trees is 20-80 feet.
Are Cherries Annual, Biennial, or Perennial?
Cherries are perennial, meaning that they live longer than a couple years.
Specifically, most cherry trees live for 15-30 years.
How Do Cherries Reproduce?
Cherries reproduce by pit and by root suckers.
How Many Cherries Are Produced Per Plant?
For cherries, how many are produced per tree (also called the yield) largely depends on the type of cherry and, at times, the variety.
Cherry trees start producing fruit when they are 5-6 years old. Mature trees produce 50-100 pounds of cherries per year.
Can Cherries Be Ingested?
Cherry fruits are edible.
There are conflicting reports on whether or not cherry leaves are edible. Like cherry pits, cherry leaves contain higher amounts of pre-cyanide compounds than the fruits do. Since our livers can process low amounts of these compounds without issue, some people feel comfortable with eating a few cherry leaves occasionally.
Cherry bark has antispasmodic, expectorant, and anti-inflammatory properties. It can be used in herbal preparations. The most common preparations are tea and tinctures. An herb:solvent weight ratio of 1:5 at 40% alcohol is suggested for a cherry bark tincture.
Be sure to fully dry cherry bark before using it in herbal preparations. Dried bark has significantly fewer pre-cyanide compounds than fresh bark.
The term "cherry bark" refers to the the branch bark and root bark. Harvesting bark from the trunk and limbs of the tree is not recommended.
Cherry bark is considered safe for most individuals in normal and therapeutic amounts. Consuming a very high amount of cherry bark in a very short period of time (such as a single sitting or a single day) could potentially be unsafe.
Any information about herbs provided on the Plant to Plate website is not intended to diagnose, treat, prevent, or cure any disease or condition. It is provided for informational purposes only. It should not be construed as medical advice or treatment. See the Using Herbs article for more information.
Further Reading
This article is intended as a quick-reference guide for gardeners. Consult your seed packet or seed catalog for variety-specific information.
When you have a bumper crop of cherries rolling in, you may not have enough time for long, complicated recipes or many-step preservation procedures. Check out my article on quick, simple uses for cherries here!
Cherries are featured in these Plant to Plate articles: