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How to Grow Cherries: The Complete Guide

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

Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Cherries

Written By: Catherine Boeckmann Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Cherry trees are gorgeous all year long, from their spring blossoms to their luscious fruit in midsummer. Learn how to grow and harvest both sweet and tart cherries. Also, be sure to protect your cherries from bird damage!

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 ‘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.

Read Next

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 around the tree to retain moisture, but leave several inches of bare earth around the trunk.
  • 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.

Types

Sweet Cherries

  • Early - ‘Black Tartarian’
  • Midseason - ‘Bing’
  • Late - ‘Stella’

Sour Cherries

  • Early - ‘Early Richmond’
  • Midseason - ‘Montmorency’
  • Late - ‘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.

Gardening Products

Pests/Diseases

Birds are common pests, especially with sweet cherries (versus tarts). To avoid bird damage, you can drap nylon mesh netting over dwarf trees, but it’s difficult to cover the larger standard-size sweet cherry tree. Distracting objects such as pie pans can help, but birds can get used to them. 

Another solution is to grow a fruit tree nearby that will ripen before and during the cherry season, such as mulberry trees. (Avoid planting ‘Illinois Everbearing’ mulberry which ripens too late.)

Learn more about keeping birds out of the garden.

Other pests that attack cherries include fruit flies, apple maggots, peach tree borers, and caterpillars (specifically the larvae of the plum curculio). Ask your local garden center about approved sprays.

Brown rot and cherry leaf spot affect both tart and sweet cherries. Black knot and powdery mildew are potential problems for some areas.

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!

Recipes
No-Lie Cherry Pie
Rhubarb-Cherry Crunch
Cherry Berry Pie
Fruit
About The Author
Catherine Boeckmann

Catherine Boeckmann

Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Catherine Boeckmann is the Executive Digital Editor of Almanac.com, the website companion of The Old Farmer's Almanac. She covers gardening, plants, pest control, soil composition, seasonal and moon c...
Read More from Catherine Boeckmann

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Comments

<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Tue, 09/02/2014 - 08:28

Cindy, There are some cherry trees that can grow in Panama City, FL, with the right care. Your zone is 8B. Search online nurseries by your zone. Here is an example of several cherry varieties that can grow in your zone. We hope that this is helpful.

 <span>Colleenm</span> Sat, 07/19/2014 - 21:08
I have a very large flowering tree in my front yard in noth west B.C. In the past 3 to 4 years, I have started getting fruit. Each year the berries get larger, darker & sweeter (though still a bit tart). They taste like cherries & look like a bing cherry but about 1/2 the size, with small pits. My question, 1. What might the variety be? 2. Can I do anything with the fruit?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 07/21/2014 - 16:13

It would be hard to identify the tree, and especially the variety, without a sample--there are lots of cherry species and cultivars, as well as cherry lookalikes. We'd suggest that you take a sample (flower or fruit, and a branch with some leaves showing how they are arranged on the branch) to your local garden nursery. A horticulturist there might be able to give you some advice. Good luck!

 <span>Michelle Goodall</span> Fri, 07/18/2014 - 15:47
hello i have a wild cherry tree which i planted in january it was growing really well then the last couple of weeks the leaves have all withered and dried out ive watered it can anyone tell me what im doing wrong thank you
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 07/21/2014 - 16:07

Has it gotten enough water? Be sure to water deeply. Was there a heat wave recently? The tree is clearly under some type of stress, whether from weather, pests, disease, or cultural or physical damage, such as to the base of the trunk when mowing (which sometimes happens). Check the root zone--has there been any disturbance recently? If watering doesn't work, and the trunk and branches don't appear damaged, and the root zone is undisturbed, it might be a disease--several cause wilting/drying leaves in cherries, unfortunately. In this case, you might want to prune out infected branches (unless too widespread) to see if this prevents it from overtaking the entire tree.

 <span>Alan Nilsen</span> Fri, 06/27/2014 - 20:40
We have purchased "cereza" Cherry trees. We have both full sun and shady areas and both wed and well drained soil. Altitude is about 4K ft ASL and temp only varies from 65 to 80 degrees F. lease advise.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 07/21/2014 - 15:59

Do you mean Barbados cherry trees (Malpighia glabra, aka M. punicifolia)? If so, you might be interested in this growing information.

In general, choose a site in full sun to partial shade (full sun is better for fruiting) with fertile, well-drained soil. It is hardy in USDA Zones 9 to 11.

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<span>Alan Nilsen</span> Fri, 06/27/2014 - 20:36
we have purchased "cereza" cherry trees. Our altitude is about 4K ft. We have a variety of locations waring from full sun to shady and wet to well drained. Temp varies between 60 to 75 degrees F. Please advise. Regards.