How to plant a cherry pit correctly so that a fruit tree grows from it?

It is not easy to produce good planting material from seeds - such plants poorly retain varietal characteristics. Planting material must be selected from zoned varieties for a specific climatic zone. Cherry seeds, adapted to the climate of southern latitudes, will feel uncomfortable in the middle lane or in the north. The type of soil, acidity, and the depth of groundwater also have a significant impact on the development of young plants. Even if planting is done for growing stock, it is better to collect planting material from plants in your zone. You can harvest seeds from your favorite plants in your garden, your neighbor's garden or the nearest fruit nursery.

Storage and preparation of planting material

In order for the seeds to germinate, you need to properly store and process them before planting.

Harvested healthy cherries - without damage and signs of disease. Berries that ripen very early are not always healthy. Perhaps they reacted in this way to some kind of stress or illness. A full-fledged planting material is formed during the period of mass ripening of berries. They are left on the tree until fully ripe and soft.

Advice

You should not harvest berries to get seeds from carrion under trees, as they can be infected with fungal diseases.

Cherries of unknown origin, bought at the market or in the store, should also not be used. Perhaps they were removed from the plant before full maturity, zoned in a completely unsuitable climatic zone, or are carriers of fungal spores.

From well-ripened berries, the seeds are extracted quite easily. Then they are thoroughly washed from the remnants of the pulp, deformed or damaged are thrown away. The sorted ones are laid out in the sun in a thin layer and dried well, but quickly, preventing the formation of mold. There is no need to mix the varieties, as they give different results during germination.

Storage conditions depend on the selected planting period.

• For planting in the fall, the material is placed in a plastic bag, into which wet sand can be added, and left in the refrigerator or cold basement.
• For planting in spring, dried seeds are first stored at temperatures up to 20 degrees Celsius in a paper bag wrapped in polyethylene, until early December.

Landing

You can grow cherry seedlings on the street and at home, in a flower pot. The germination rate of stone fruit crops is from 50 to 80%, depending on the variety and quality of preparation. This means that not everything planted will germinate.

The choice of the landing date determines the further work schedule

• Autumn planting

The bones stored in the refrigerator are sown in the open field in October. The soil is preliminarily freed from weeds, fertilized with humus, brought in ash and dug up. In the garden, grooves are made with a depth of no more than 5 cm, seed is laid out in them at a distance of 10-15 cm and covered with soil. If the planting depth is less than 2 cm, germination will be significantly reduced due to freezing and lack of moisture. Given the low germination rate, it is better to plant with a margin. But if the shoots are more active, thinning is carried out in the spring and the best specimens are left at a distance of 25-30 cm between shoots.

In winter, cherry seeds will undergo natural stratification, crack and sprout in spring.

Advice

You should not place your hopes on sprouted shoots that have a withering appearance, curved, poorly developing.They need to be removed, they may be affected by diseases.

Since the seedlings will not appear very quickly in the spring, when planting, you need to clearly mark the rows so that you can loosen the aisles and destroy the weeds.

• Spring planting

Growing seedlings in this way takes more time, but is considered more efficient. The preparation of the material is more troublesome than in the first case. In this case, stratification, that is, the creation of a long cold period, must be carried out artificially. In December, the bones are immersed in water for 4-5 days so that they are well saturated with moisture. The water is changed daily. At the next stage, they are buried in a ventilated container (box or container with holes) filled with wet moss, river sand or sawdust, and kept for about 100 days at a temperature of + 1 to +5 degrees. After a properly performed procedure, the shells of the bones will begin to crack and are ready for planting. The optimal time is the beginning of April, before budding on the trees. To preserve moisture, the bed can be covered with plastic wrap. Under favorable conditions, seedlings should appear in 28-30 days.

Seedling care

Care for young cherry shoots consists of loosening, watering, weeding and feeding during the summer. Top dressing is carried out 4-5 times during the summer growing season, using complex mineral fertilizers, infusion of humus, wood ash. In the fall, an audit is carried out and weak shoots are discarded. The remaining plants are covered for the winter with spruce branches or sawdust.

Annual plants can be planted permanently. To do this, prepare a planting hole with a diameter of 60 cm and a depth of 40-45 cm. The size of the hole should ensure free placement of the root system. The soil for filling the pit is mixed with humus with the addition of superphosphate, ash and potassium chloride. On heavy clay soils, sand is poured onto the bottom of the pit.

The cultivation of a two-year-old shoot is carried out according to the same scheme as in the first year of the growing season. Agricultural technology depends on its purpose.

• If a decision is made to leave seedlings for the production of berries, then from the second year they begin to form a crown. The upper part is cut at a height of one meter so that the plant directs energy to the growth of side shoots.
• If the young plant is used as a rootstock, then in the third year of the growing season, you can start grafting with shoots from cultivated trees that have proven themselves well. An affordable grafting method that provides good engraftment is improved copulation with a cuttings with two healthy buds.

Some amateur gardeners grow cherry seedlings at home in flower pots, and then planted in open ground. For this method, it is necessary to prepare the soil especially carefully in order to prevent the development of mold and fungal diseases. The soil is heated in the oven or spilled with fungicidal preparations.

Let's sum up

Growing cherries from a stone is an exciting activity that will definitely give a positive result. Even if the plant does not retain the best varietal qualities, it can simply decorate the garden, become an excellent stock for cultivated varieties.

Or it may happen that the tree will thank you for your diligence with a wonderful harvest of berries with a completely unique taste.