Cherry Tree

Bublin1

My 5 year old dd spotted a cherry tree hanging over into our garden. It belongs to my neighbour. My neighbour said I'm welcome to take a cutting.

How do I do this and what is the best time of year to take it?

theoretica

To take a cutting properly you would need to graft the cutting onto a seedling or rootstock. Something I have always been tempted to try but never actually done. You can see grafting marks on most fruit trees as a bulge in the trunk somewhere between the soil and the branches.

You might be able to take a cutting in autumn with rooting powder, but without garden roots it is not likely to turn out well - either too much or too little roots.

What sort of cherry is it? If it is a native wild cherry or a bird cherry it may not be grafted and I would suggest trying to grow from both cuttings and seed. If it is an ornamental or edible variety I would look to buy a nursery tree to avoid putting years into a tree which eventually fails.

Bublin1

Thanks theoretica, it looks like an edible cherry. I won't buy a tree since taking a cutting was avoiding that kind of cost.

DaftyDuck

You really will struggle to take a cutting, and what you get may grow out of all proportion to whag the neighbour has. If you do succeed, a cherry on its own rootstock will grow in excess of 40 feet tall, and may not fruit for ten years. It will really not be worth doing.

At the moment, many Homebase and other "real" garden centres are selling off potted trees, and you should be able to find a good one for a fiver. If not, in February, Aldi and Lidl sell bare root trees for four quid, all grafted on the right rootstock.

For better quality trees, some of the online nurseries like Blackmoor and (I'll look it up... Did... It's Keepers in Kent) are quite cheap, but postage tends to be on top with the small orders.

Believe me when I admit to being a cuttings addict, and I'm always keen to save myself and others money in the garden, but you will really regret any effort you put into making a cutting of a fruit tree... even if it does grow, which is quite unlikely! (same is true for any self-seeded or rootstock shoots that might appear).

Sorry!

Farway

Have to agree, go and buy one on grafted root stock

A 40 foot cherry tree means you will never ever eat a cherry, the birds will have them before you are even out of bed