How to Grow and Care for Fruiting Cherry Trees | Gardener's Path

I have about zero control when it comes to eating fresh fruit.

In the past I’ve cleaned entire raspberry bushes of edible fruit, snagged a few days’ worth of apples and pears, and passed out with a belly full of strawberries.

That last one caused a stir back in the day!

This dedication to sun-warmed produce by the bucketful places cherries high on my list of favorite fresh fruit.

I was fortunate to grow up near a few cherry trees that were at their peak of production, but since then I’ve helped individuals plant their own trees and may have treated myself to a few of those fruits when they were ripe.

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That’s the gardener’s privilege, right there.

Establishing a healthy tree demands some forethought and proper planning that may be intimidating to the casual gardener.

But fear not! We’ve put together an excellent guide for how to start growing cherry trees. Check out our list of suggested cultivars, too, for our recommended picks.

Cherries are stone fruits which produce “drupes,” or fleshy material surrounding a single seed.

They are in the genus Prunus and are closely related to other stone fruits and nut trees such as peaches, almonds, apricots, nectarines, and plums, along with other ornamental flowering trees and wild species.

Fruiting cherries are derived from two different species within the Prunus genus.

Sweet cherries (Prunus avium) tend to grow in USDA Hardiness Zones 5 to 7. These fruits are perfect for fresh eating and will produce plenty of fruit each year.

The sweet cultivars are