Cherry trees are mostly grown from seeds. To germinate cherry seeds, they must be soaked in water for a day and then kept at room temperature until they sprout. If you put the cherry seed in some soil after soaking it in water for a day, the seed will germinate easily. Here, we will present how to germinate cherry seeds.
How to germinate cherry seeds?
- First, collect fresh and ripe cherries from a tree that bore them well the previous year. When dried by air, the seeds will drop out easily.
- You can separate the seeds from sticky flesh or fruit pulp with your nails, but if the fruits have been allowed to ferment on the tree before gathering, it is very easy to shake the seeds out by crushing the fruit.
- If you want to grow two or three trees from each seed, choose seeds with plump red centers. However, if only one tree is desired, the largest seed will do fine.
- Wash off any sticky matter on the seed with water running over it under a faucet. There is no need to dry the seeds before sowing.
- Fill small cups or paper cups with moist, but not wet, soil and plant four or five seeds to each cup. Punch a hole in the center of the soil with your thumb first so that the roots will have an easier time growing downward.
- Place the cups on a warm windowsill in a room where it does not go below freezing at night. The temperature should be between 65 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Keep the seeds moist, but not soaking wet. Moisture is required for germination, so keep an eye on the cups to ensure that they do not dry up.
- In about two weeks, the seeds will absorb enough water to break their coats. At this time, they are ready to plant outdoors in permanent locations.
- If you plan to grow only one tree from each seed, plant three or four seeds one foot apart in a single deep hole filled with good garden soil.
- The seeds must be planted in full sun, and the soil level should come up to just below the lowest leaves.
- Water the seeds once a day or even more if there is no rain in the forecast for several days.
- In a few weeks, you will have a delightful supply of fresh cherry trees!
Before germinating cherry seeds
Soak the seeds in a glass of water for a day. After that, remove them from the glass of water and keep them at room temperature for 4-5 days to germinate. Then, plant the cherry seed into some moist soil with half an inch of depth. Keep it inside at room temperature until the young root is around 3 cm in length. You can transplant the seedling into a pot after that.
If you are planting several cherry seeds, remove all non-viable ones so only the strongest seedlings remain. It is illegal for some countries to collect some wild plant species with seeds, so be careful when collecting some wild plant species which have their fruits with viable seeds. You may also like to read this article germinating seeds in a paper towel in House I love.
