DIY Network

Planting Tips Kelly Givens shares information to help you raise healthy cherries. From "Fresh From the Orchard" episode DFFO-105

On a visit to Mercier Orchard, where the Mercier family has grown fruit for more than six decades, Kelly Givens picks up lots of great cherry-growing tips. We learn about dwarf and semidwarf cherry trees, find out about the mysterious-sounding "chilling requirements" for cherries and learn how to prune a cherry tree to make it more productive.

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Tree Selection

To decide which type of cherry is best for you, you first need to consider your climate. A USDA Plant Hardiness map (www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html) divides North America into 11 climatic zones. A quick look at the map will show you your zone.

• As a general rule, sweet cherries grow best in zones 5 through 7, where summers are typically mild and where winter temperatures are only moderately cold.

• Tart cherries have a wider range, growing well in zones 4 through 9. If you're not sure which cherries are best for your climate, check with your local extension service.

You will also need to decide whether you want a standard, dwarf or semidwarf tree. Standard sweet cherry trees can reach heights up to 40' tall and nearly as wide. This can be too large for many home growers, so dwarf and semidwarf trees (which can range from five to 20' tall) are more common in home orchards.

You can see a graft union on all grafted trees. It's the rough, bumpy area below which is the rootstock and above which is the variety. It is usually several inches above the root flare.

Dwarf fruit trees can be genetically dwarf trees, like the tart Montmorency cherry, which naturally reaches only about 15' tall, or they can be artificially dwarfed by grafting. Grafting is the process of fusing the rootstock from one tree with the upper part of a different cherry tree. By using the roots of a naturally small tree, growers can make a standard variety cherry into a dwarf or semidwarf tree. Not only can grafting control tree size, but it also can result in a more cold-hardy and disease-resistant tree.

Another factor to take into consideration when buying a cherry tree is its chilling requirement. After a cherry tree goes into dormancy in the fall and loses its leaves, it requires a certain number of hours between 35 and 55 degrees Fahrenheit in order to produce well. Fortunately, this is a factor that is taken into consideration when trees are rated for various climate zones; if you select a variety rated for your zone and recommended by your local extension service, the chilling requirements will have already been factored in.

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