I have 70 + Rainier and Bing cherry seeds. Has anyone on here grown a cherry tree from seed, or any other stone fruit from seed? I read where it may not even produce the fruit, which would be a shame if the Rainier seeds didnt grow those delicious cherries!! Bing would be to help pollinate.
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I grow all my peach and sour cherry trees from seed
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We have a lot of cherry volunteers, some with great fruit. I’ve never seen a sweet/sour cherry that would not fruit at all given enough time and light.
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Not all seed is viable,but much of it is. Those who grow trees from seed normally dump the seeds in water and those thst float will not grow and those that sink will grow. The trees will be variable with small or large fruits. The trees will be variable in size. You can always graft over any undesirable fruit.
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That is what Im hoping because it would be a lot of years to find out it isnt a normal cherry growing tree with limited space we have. I finally had Rainier cherries for the first time and i snacksidentally ate 60 of them.
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Cherries are designed to be gorged on. Then one can lovinly reminisce on having enjoyed them so much that your stomach hurt…
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Yep lol they got gorged on alright. I had no idea I ate that many.
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As @clarkinks said, they will be highly variable. They will vary in fruit quality, size , resistance to diseases, rot cracking, etc. They also take longer to start producing from seed than a grafted tree. If you have the time, space, and inclination to experiment, go for it. If you’re in a hurry, have limited space, or a low tolerance for uncertainty, get grafted trees.
The other thing to consider is your location. I don’t know where you live, but sweet cherries are one of the most challenging fruits to grow east of the Rockies. In east, you’ll be battling insects, diseases, early frosts, and trees dying for no discernable reason. And the quality of the fruit will almost never be as good as what they grow in the Pacific Northwest. This is very different from most other fruits, where home grown is usually better.
I’m not saying don’t do it. I just think you should understand what you’re signing up for.
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For the fruit variation, I’ll quote myself: Buds Flowers and Fruit - 2024 Edition - #773 by Tana
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Yep, that is absolutely within the realm of possibility. But so are tiny 1 cm fruits that crack at the slightest provocation
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yep. We’ve had some that were almost nothing but the pit +1mm of pulp. But as I wrote, those were extreme vertical growers and would also fruit early being pioneer species and all that.
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Thank you everyone for the input. So what exactly makes the Pacific NW much better for them, do you know much about it? And do you know if theyre grown indoor or outdoor over there
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It’s the climate
Which has a cascade effect on every other thing mentioned
Sweet cherries want to become HUGE trees, it would be extremely extremely difficult to grow one indoors
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I’m sure there are many reasons, but I am guessing it’s mostly the mild, wet winter, cool/damp spring, and a quick transition to a very dry season right when the cherries start to ripen.
I know the trees in my neighborhood here in Seattle, both the sweet and the tart cherries, are looking very good this year. Just starting to ripen now, and it’s been dry and sunny mostly for a few weeks, with highs in the 60s and 70s. There are many trees that tower over houses. Unfortunately, the sweet cherries do often have SWD larvae in them here. The tart cherries are usually left alone.
I think cherries don’t love late hard frosts, but also don’t love the hot, humid spring and early summer weather in much of the rest of this continent.
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Bingo. Plus, there are just fewer stone fruit pest and disease issues west of the Rockies.
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I live in central Kansas. Sour cherries do well here. I was hoping to have a Rainier and Bing orchard lolol. Maybe I’ll have to buy one grafted.
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I think if you are in Kansas you want to get WhiteGold, BlackGold or another disease resistant cultivar grafted on a good rootstock. You need a sweet cherry tree that is known to work in the Eastern United States. Brown rot, cracking, insects and birds make growing sweet cherries in the East very difficult. I would read through the Eastern sweet cherry thread below.
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Wow thank you all for your input, this is truely a great site! Ive never heard of Whitegold, probably somewhat similiar to Rainier?
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