Taking cherry cuttings now

Hello there,

I am in zone 5, and have access to a Rainer cherry tree that is being removed this weekend. I would like to take some cuttings to graft onto my tree.

The cherry tree isn’t in dormancy yet, so the cuttings will still have leaves. Is there anyway I could store the cuttings until the spring or do I just need to try and graft them now and hope they survive the winter?

Thank you!

I've haven't tried grafting cherries this time of year before, but I wonder if bud grafting now may work, or storing some of the older new growth from this year in the fridge and grafting it in the spring.

Good luck, interested in how it turns out!

You can try bud grafting if the bark is still slippery.


Otherwise,  you can order scionwood from burnt ridge or grow out a Rainier of your own. For summer budding a little scionwood goes a long way

Scionwood for dormant grafting is best when the trees have gone dormant and before they wake up for the spring, i.e. January, February, in most climates.  Some really cold climates have a huge window for cutting scionwood.

Then you would probably do your grafting in March or April, depending on your climate.

For summer bud grafting, as James says, you cut the buds off of new growth, keep watered and chilled, and quickly bud graft those onto the new tree when the bark is slipping, ie summer in most climates.

John S
PDX OR