If you’re a cherry lover, you’ve probably spit your share of cherry pits…or maybe that’s just me. At any rate, if you’ve ever wondered how to grow cherry trees from seed, you’ve come to the right place. Planting pits from store-bought cherries is possible, but it’s not quite as easy as you may hope.
Thankfully, we have all the expert info you need to go from a cherry pit to your own cherry tree, including selection, stratification, and germination. Read on for the ins and outs of growing a cherry tree from seed.
Can You Grow a Cherry Tree from a Pit?
Is it possible to grow a cherry tree by planting a pit? The simple answer is yes, as long as you know the basics of how to grow a cherry tree from seed. However, there is a significant “but.”
Seed Cherries Aren’t True to Type
Pits from cherries will not grow true to type. What does this mean? Seeds will produce plants that are hybrids of two plants: the “mother” tree where the fruit grew and the “father” tree that produced the pollen.
If you’re eating a cherry, chances are the tree it’s from is grafted. This means a branch of a delicious cultivar is grafted onto a hardy rootstock, forming a new tree. Any seed from that tree will have different genetics and will taste completely different. Unless you’re grafting, you won’t produce the same fruit.
This isn’t discouraging if you’re simply engaged in the gardening adventure of sprouting a seed. If, however, you’re hoping to produce a tree that has the same delicious fruit, you’re out of luck. Planting a pit from your favorite sweet cherry will not produce similar cherries, and they will likely not taste as delicious.
