need advice on rooting cherry trees from cuttings

ive been reading and trying to learn.  id like to ask some questions if anyone is willing to answer.  i have apple and cherry trees on my property.  the cherry tree does have excellent fruit.....so id like to try rooting some cuttings....since i dont have any other trees near to graft to.   1. is it to late in the year to try this.  2. if i am able to try it out.....and it works....can they be kept indoors and growing over the winter....to be planted in the spring? ..... any thoughts.....or advice for me going forward?

Hi!

So, you could root it, or up can see if there are any suckers and graft a branch to a sucker. That way you get the right root stock. Also, cherry seeds seem to grow well enough from seed when stratified. We got like 3-4 trees from a bag of store bought cherries we ate last year.  You could grow out some seedlings and if you don't like the flavor of the fruit, then you can graft a branch. As for timing, I don't remember hearing a timing issue with rooting if you're still in spring. Once they have roots though, I would think you should ensure the clones go through that dormant cycle on time so they don't get "confused" and get burned when they have to deal with winter. Growing too much can make them sensitive to winter. You could put them in a semi cold place, if you are worried the winter might be too harsh for the younguns. Or, heel them in the ground and wintering cloth/straw/branches. Just my thoughts.

thanks for your reply.  i am new to this and i am going from all teading online.  this will be my first attempt. id like to try rooting from cuttings......but we do get winters here that drop below zero at times.   im pretty sure that would kill a very young tree.....thats why i was wondering if growing it indoors for this winter until its bigger for next spring....then plant it outdoors. is that possible??

If the tree is made to withstand the winter, it doesn't matter how old it is. I'm not sure if you mean zero C or F but we get sometimes 5°F and my baby transplanted apple trees did just fine.

°f we get below zero.  cold weather at times.  the parent cherry is very mature.....so handles the cold well.