Taking Cherry Cuttings

Sooooo for starters I'm very new to growing things. I would like to know how to take some cuttings off of two cherry trees near me.

They are of the edible kind but have not clue what variety.

I've read conflicting info all over the internet and have some questions.

When is the best time to take cuttings from the trees? When dormant or early spring....

What growing medium or mix should I use? I've heard about putting them in the ground with sand in the winter, or using all peat moss, or compost or perlite or any variation of all of the above

What size container should I use? 12" pots?? 6"??

Also when taking the cutting I cut the top of the cutting at an angle but the bottom straight? Which end do I stick in the soil?


Thanks all! I really appreciate any info.

If you don't use special hormons, you will not be able to root cherry cuttings.
Usually it's better to take scions and graft them on cherry rootstock.

Can we cut and graft in one swoop? If so when would be a good time?

Jennifer Smith wrote:Can we cut and graft in one swoop? If so when would be a good time?

It wouldn't be advisable. To get the best results, you want to cut the scion wood when the tree is deeply dormant, and graft when the tree is pushing out leaves. In Indiana, that generally means cutting scion wood mid-February and grafting some time in April.

you could try air layering...

i just did about a dozen different branches on different trees using this method. now i am hooked and want to do tons more!
actually i may make a thread, upload some pictures, cause i decided to photo document the process.

another thing with cherry (and plum as well) is that they make a lot of suckers, and spread via roots underground. if you look around your two mature cherry trees you might find a few little ones that are coming up from the roots....then you can dig these up and move them.

but with regular cuttings, i havent had much luck with cherry. plums re root pretty easily but not cherry, even using the rooting hormones...

heres another webpage on air layering: http://www.wildchicken.com/nature/garden/ga005_air_layering.htm

of course theres a few different ways to do it, but its easy !
now hoping it works and i get some new trees this way...

Air layering is an option, i just saw wonderful thing the other day on these forums - http://backyardgrowers.com/clamshell-propagator/

leila hamaya wrote:another thing with cherry (and plum as well) is that they make a lot of suckers, and spread via roots underground. if you look around your two mature cherry trees you might find a few little ones that are coming up from the roots....then you can dig these up and move them.

This is true, but if trees you are taking from were grafted, these suckers are not true to varieties, because they come from rootstocks which are in many cases wild cherries or even unknown stuff.
For plums it's a bit different, you can get good fruit, but still you are not sure you will get the same thing.

As for grafting, OFFTOPIC sorry, most of the time i take scion wood on the same day as i graft. Take a look here, where i used bark graft on cherries - https://permies.com/forums/posts/list/43072#343879
It can be a challenge to find proper scions in april, that's true!
Taking in dormant time is always a good tip.

Last year I desperately needed to prune my precious cherry tree so studied on it. By the extension, March is the time to prune here. After freeze is past but before bud break...a fine line but very workable. I will try grafting as well as air layer. Air layer is how I propigate figs.

I have read that dormant cuttings of one-year-old wood can be taken. Use about 12" long pieces, dip the ends in rooting hormone, then bury them 2/3rds deep in a trench in a moist, shady location. As they break dormancy they should root as well. Give them a good long time before moving, however, as the roots may be quite tiny at the beginning.

Aljaz Plankl wrote:Air layering is an option, i just saw wonderful thing the other day on these forums - http://backyardgrowers.com/clamshell-propagator/

leila hamaya wrote:another thing with cherry (and plum as well) is that they make a lot of suckers, and spread via roots underground. if you look around your two mature cherry trees you might find a few little ones that are coming up from the roots....then you can dig these up and move them.

This is true, but if trees you are taking from were grafted, these suckers are not true to varieties, because they come from rootstocks which are in many cases wild cherries or even unknown stuff.
For plums it's a bit different, you can get good fruit, but still you are not sure you will get the same thing.

As for grafting, OFFTOPIC sorry, most of the time i take scion wood on the same day as i graft. Take a look here, where i used bark graft on cherries - https://permies.com/forums/posts/list/43072#343879
It can be a challenge to find proper scions in april, that's true!
Taking in dormant time is always a good tip.

ah yes thats true. but the OP doesnt know what it is to begin with.
but it is likely to be grafted, if its a cultivated tree bought at a nursery.

the cherry trees we have here are mostly on their own roots, i sort of forget how unusual that is...even though it seems more normal....but then we are also growing cherries from seed, so i am down for experimenting...and knowing its experimental, no guarantees.

one of our trees here IS a wild cherry, i think the cherries are great. i dont know if other wild cherries are similar, but the ones i have known were still pretty good, so???

i would think "mazzard" is the most common rootstock??? dont know, a guess....

but yeah a number of times i have thought i found some seedling off to the side or underneath the cherries or plums, and then when i dig them up, found they had a long thick root that went over to the mature tree. and often three or four sucker trees coming up from the long root...

anywho, i think its good to experiment and try things out. if you try a hundred things and half of it works, youre way ahead than if you never tried anything =)

i do think its possible to get some cherry cuttings and get them to root, which is why i have tried a bunch of times. i dont have the best luck with cuttings, because i do them the lazy way without rooting hormone. i get one or two out of a bunch, often, without too much fuss. but i really wanted to root out one of them so i tried some last year a bit more precise than usual and used the rooting hormone, none of them rooted.

so i am thinking this new air layering kick i am on is going to be THE WAY. eventually i am going to do each of the cherry trees here, right now i am going for the peach and service berry.

David Goodman wrote:I have read that dormant cuttings of one-year-old wood can be taken. Use about 12" long pieces, dip the ends in rooting hormone, then bury them 2/3rds deep in a trench in a moist, shady location. As they break dormancy they should root as well. Give them a good long time before moving, however, as the roots may be quite tiny at the beginning.

How long do you think they should be left in the shady area? A full year? Till spring?

I'll look into the clamshell and air layering. My only concern is that I don't own these old cherry trees. One is in an empty farm lot and the other is at my in-laws which is a few hours away.

I'll also look for suckers popping up too.

Maybe some day I'll learn how to do grafting too

Not gonna give advice on rooting cuttings as my luck with it is terrible ( I couldn't even get a mulberry cutting to root lol). But overall been looking into air layering as well. Saw something called "the rooter pot". Works similar to the clamshell but contains a water reservoir so you don't have to open the device to moisten the soil. No experience with either, but it just looks to be a better system.

http://www.leevalley.com/US/Garden/page.aspx?cat=2,47236&p=46938

Jennifer Smith wrote:Can we cut and graft in one swoop? If so when would be a good time?

I've done that with Asian pear and it worked. I sprouted Ajou pear seedlings and used that as grafting rootstock. Beside grafting scions from dormant store-bought trees, I tried grafting scions cut directly off the neighbor's asian pear and grafting them within minutes of cutting. Those cuttings were successful, and I now have those trees replanted in my orchard. I did the grafting though in early spring, before bud break, when the Asian pear tree was still dormant. I'd say at least give it a try.

Rooting cuttings is much, much more difficult, and maybe impossible for cherry. Right now I'm experimenting with Japanese plum, and I'm treating them just about as well as they possibly can be. I made the cutting while totally dormant, I treated them with rooting hormone, and I also co-planted them along side good rooters such as pomegranate to act as nurse cuttings. All the plum cuttings sprouted green leaves, but they are all drying out one by one. It looks like 80% mortality right now. There are still two cutting with green leaves, but they are starting to dry out too. I am not hopeful.

Along side these, I'm also trying air-layering the same plums. Those cuttings are still attached to the seedling tree, and have plastic bags full of moist paper towels inside. Those cuttings are starting to produce leaves, and I'm a little more hopeful for them. Will get back to you later if turns out to be successful.