# Cherry trees??



## TIMBOv2 (Mar 18, 2010)

Anyone ever plant cherry trees from pits? When should it be done? Will they even grow here in Matagorda County?

I have about 30 pits in the freezer just need to know when to plant them and if it is even worth trying around here.


----------



## TexasVines (Jan 5, 2012)

fruits do not grow true to type from seed you will get a "cherry tree", but it will not be anything close to the cherry the seed came from it will probably be tart

if you still want to grow one you need to clean it well, put it in some warm water for a bit and then dry it and places it in a sealed container in some soil and put in in storage that is about 40 degrees F for about 110 days them plant it

there are more detailed instructions and different methods online, but it will not come out true to type you would need to graft for that or root a cutting from the type you desire (which would not be as good as grafting to a rootstock


----------



## cva34 (Dec 22, 2008)

All I can say is I been around this area 70y never seen a cherry tree..Surely someone can prove me wrong


----------



## iamatt (Aug 28, 2012)

cva34 said:


> All I can say is I been around this area 70y never seen a cherry tree..Surely someone can prove me wrong


WE had them up North, way up North. Never seen one down here. Too hot. They need what they call chill hours ~800-1000 to make good fruit. They were great to climb in as a kid and eat and cook with. Miss them.


----------



## Muddskipper (Dec 29, 2004)

They are listed on the county extension tree sales- but it's certain ones that work here as we don't have enough could hours....

I would like to here from anyone who has tried as well


----------



## The Driver. (May 20, 2004)

TIMBOv2 said:


> Anyone ever plant cherry trees from pits? When should it be done? Will they even grow here in Matagorda County?
> 
> I have about 30 pits in the freezer just need to know when to plant them and if it is even worth trying around here.


You can try but I would not waste my time.


----------



## TIMBOv2 (Mar 18, 2010)

The Driver. said:


> You can try but I would not waste my time.


Kinda what I figured by looking online.


----------



## mchildress (Jul 11, 2009)

iamatt said:


> WE had them up North, way up North. Never seen one down here. Too hot. They need what they call chill hours ~800-1000 to make good fruit. They were great to climb in as a kid and eat and cook with. Miss them.


This^^^ its not cold enough in this part of the country.


----------



## Ready.Fire.Aim (Sep 22, 2009)

You can grow and fruit cherries in Matagorda County. But not the ones you buy in the store. 

You are getting a range of 180 to 300 chill hours a year. The Bing and Ranier cherry seeds you have need approximate 1000 chill hours. 

Throw the seed away. And don't store seed in the freezer. Keep it in the refrigerator crisper. 

I fruited hybrid sour cherries for 5 years. About 15 miles from you. Varieties were Jan, Joel, and Joy. Dr. Meader developed them. The were bush type plants, pie cherry fruit, mine were reasonably prolific. 
They had morning sun until noon then were in shade. Fruit wasn't that good so I pulled them out. 

I tried other low chill sweet cherries, all grew but never set fruit. Mainly due to low pollen density with only a few trees. There were a few members in the Gulf Coast Fruit Study group like me who were trying, mostly on Dr. Leon Atlas research ( guesses). No one in Houston region had repeatable success. 

I am currently trying Minnie Royal and Royal Lee. They are Low chill varieties developed by Floyd Zaiger. They are blooming but am having pollination issues. 

I've grown a lot of fruit varieties in Matagorda county that many say won't grow. Pushing the "zone" takes a lot of research and networking. And money + desire.

I had my paradigms popped in the 1980s when I saw a retired Dow engineer annually fruiting Oregon 1030 red raspberries in Lake Jackson- at least 5 years straight. He was a member of the old Brazosport Men's Garden Club, those guys were a wealth of experience. One guy had 65 varieties of figs! One of the original members, John Panzerella, currently has the largest private citrus collection in Texas- in his large Lake Jackson yard. 

I subscribe to a lot of fruit growing journals and organizations- you can learn a lot about changing laymen preconceived notions. As an example, There are some commercial Apple production orchards in the tropics that make no sense to classic understandings of chilling. They are buying young trees grown in high chill areas, air freighted to SE Asia, then planted before their first crop-they continue to produce without standard chilling requirements. This is without auxin treatments. 


Have fun
RFA


----------



## Ready.Fire.Aim (Sep 22, 2009)

Early Ruby and Starkcrimson were the two low chill varieties Dr Atlas recommended that I tried. Too high chilling for Matagorda county. Early Ruby has fruited in the San Antonio (Schertz) region. 

If I lived in Austin County or similar locale 3 counties inland --I would plant six trees, three in a hole, each tree angled 20 degrees from horizontal. 
8 feet apart. Or simply plant high density 3 feet apart in a square block domino pattern. 
Mulched in a bed and kept weed free. 
Each planting would have each of Minnie Royal, Royal Lee, and Early Ruby. 

high density planting to maximize pollination.


Have fun
RFA


----------



## TerryM (Apr 19, 2005)

I'm heavy into some of the same fruit groups as RFA. Just a heads-up, pushing the limit on fruit trees is not cheap disease(time and money).


----------



## TexasVines (Jan 5, 2012)

Ready.Fire.Aim said:


> Early Ruby and Starkcrimson were the two low chill varieties Dr Atlas recommended that I tried. Too high chilling for Matagorda county. Early Ruby has fruited in the San Antonio (Schertz) region.
> 
> If I lived in Austin County or similar locale 3 counties inland --I would plant six trees, three in a hole, each tree angled 20 degrees from horizontal.
> 8 feet apart. Or simply plant high density 3 feet apart in a square block domino pattern.
> ...


you can also graft a decent sized pollinator branch onto each tree or every other tree as well


----------



## locolobo (Dec 2, 2005)

With the rate new varieties are being developed, We should have some soon that will grow and fruit on the beach @ South Padre Island.


----------



## TIMBOv2 (Mar 18, 2010)

locolobo said:


> With the rate new varieties are being developed, We should have some soon that will grow and fruit on the beach @ South Padre Island.


LOL, Thanks for all the replies.


----------

