Hello, Matthew --

I'm in Northeastern OH, too -- Medina. Hello, neighbor! I have about 50 fruit trees growing in containers (because i'm too old and impatient to amend the clay. Plus, it turns out that I find container gardening a lot more fun than scrambling around in the dirt.). I bought them all -- and they are mainly different varieties of tart cherries -- from mail order nurseries in the northern part of the country. Every single one of the nurseries I have bought from say that their plants are grown by "tissue culture." I gather it's a somewhat exacting procedure, and it's used because cuttings don't work. So anyway, google tissue culture, is my suggestion. Maybe it's very do-able at home.

Bernard

You can graft cherry. You need rootstock though. I had a big cherry tree (it got canker and died). That tree rootstock while the tree was healthy actually did put up shoots. Several times on big root of the rootstock to air and sun, it produced a shoot. so that is an option. Or you can just purchase cherry rootstock from some online nurseries.

burnt ridge has cherry rootstock if you want to graft

There was an old thread here titled Rooting Peach and Nectarine Cuttings. A gentleman with a handle name Alcedo, wrote about his success rooting peach and nectarine cuttings. You can google that thread and check it out.

No one has posteda about cherry cuttings yet. You need some experience. If you don’t have skills or patience, you’d better off buying rootstocks and graft them with as many varieties as you wish.

Some plants like grapes can root from hardwood cuttings, but I would think rooting cherries like that would be difficult. Air-layering MIGHT be easier, but grafting onto a cherry rootstock would be easiest. Grandpa's Orchard also carries cherry rootstocks. I've succesfully grafted a Jubileum, Balaton, Balck Tartarian and a Gold cherry so far. The Jubileum might produce this year. I'm probably going to try air-layering a Canadian plum this summer but I'm not all that optimistic about the outcome. BTW, I'm also from NE Ohio and like Bernard, I have several tart cherries planted. Carmine Jewel and Montmorency are doing the best so far. Also, Lapins has done well for a sweet cherry.

I forgot all about grafting! The only time I've considered it was last year, when every single cherry tree that was ready to fruit (for the first time, of course) was destroyed by voles. To protect the trees from the weather, I'd placed the containers right next to each other in a big square and put straw bales around the perimeter. All I needed was a sign: "Voles dine here." In February 2017, after I'd noticed the damage and paused to scream and shake my fist at the heavens, I considered grafting. Wasn't even possible. The voles had stripped off the bark from about 5" up the trunks all the way down to the roots. The trees were toast.

Fruity Paws, so sorry to hear about the canker.

So, cherry people, does anyone use anything routinely as a preventive every spring? Copper spray? Don't commercial growers use it every spring? I'm a little afraid of it. Sounds really toxic. So far (I've only been growing since 2015), I've only used neem oil and diatomaceous earth. My luck has been good with just those two. However, regular application -- once a week is good, I find -- is essential. Also, I put on a layer of dormant oil before bud break. Today would be good.

What does everybody routinely apply as a preventive? Should I do anything along with neem and DE? Substitute either or both with something else?

"Copper spray? Don't commercial growers use it every spring? I'm a little afraid of it. Sounds really toxic."

It is considered an organic pest control and approved for certified organic growers. In the grand scheme of things, a copper fungicidal spray is pretty darn benign!!

Thanks everybody for the tips. I guess I thought this was going to be easier than I initially thought. All the online websites infer that cuttings are easy to do. Perhaps that's not the case though. It looks like I should probably consider grafting into a rootstock. I'll check out that idea. Or maybe I'll just look at buying a cherry sapling from a nursery.

The ease of propagation via cuttings depends very much on the species. Many are indeed a cinch but I'd be surprised if you found a website which specifically stated that cherry was easy from cuttings. Watering twice a day is excessive for any cutting. Your chances might improve if you cover the cuttings with a plastic bag to retain humidity. But it's a long shot.

I watered faithfully twice a day. Admittedly, they seemed like they could be too moist, but I figured that was needed for them to form a root system. I did not use a plastic bag, but maybe that would help. Is there any sense in taking cuttings now from the parent tree during the frigid winter? It has no leaves, so I don't know if it's a good idea.

Twice a day is far too much. As is twice a week. Try twice a month. The cuttings have no roots so where is all that water going to go? Under a plastic bag watering is barely needed at all til roots form. Now is an ideal time to take hardwood cuttings. But cherry is not a common or easy subject for cuttings so it's all going to be in the lap of the gods.

I'll give this one more shot and take some cuttings now. I understand my chances are low, but I don't really have much to lose. I think I'll use a milk jug or 2 liter pop bottle. Does it matter if it is clear or opaque? And can I leave them set on my countertop out of direct sunlight, or should I tuck them away somewhere in darkness?

Clear or opaque doesn't matter but it must have drain holes. Light not dark. I've never even tried cherry so this us all based on what works on much easier subjects. You could try some outdoors too.

Drain holes? What exactly do you mean? I was going to cut the top off of a pop bottle, invert it, and set it atop the pot/cutting where the cutoff end of the bottle would return the moisture into the soil. Then I assumed the moisture would just work through a cycle in the bottle, constantly returning the moisture to the soil. Is my understanding correct or were you referring to some other drain holes?

Oh, I see. I thought you meant you were growing in the pop bottles, not under them.

I took 2 cuttings last weekend. It had been raining for hours so I imagine the tree was in a vibrant condition. I shaved off the bark from the bottom of the cuttings and applied rooting hormone. I placed them in 50/50 moistened peat moss and perlite. I inverted a plastic bottle over them to retain the heat/moisture. I'm happy to report that they appear to be doing something. The tiny buds on the cuttings are opening slightly. I assume this is a good thing and will continue to watch their progress. I'll water them every 2 weeks. <fingers crossed>

The opening buds don't necessarily indicate that they're rooting so don't be tempted to pull them up to look. Roots will take a lot longer, if indeed they develop. Think in terms of weeks, not days. Or even months. I'd also do a lot more than two to increase your chances.

Nope, I'm definitely not pulling them up to check roots. I understand they take a lot longer. But I guess I was just sharing the fact that they're not dead at the moment. Haha! I really can't do many cuttings at once although I'm sure my chances would be much better. I just don't have all the resources to tackle this on a large scale. So I just piddle around with a couple and hope for the best.

I don't quite understand when you say you don't have all the resources. If you have the plant material you can stick multiple cuttings into the same pot. Up to 10 or 12. If they root they can be separated out later.

I only have two 4" pots and limited counter space where they reside in my kitchen. But I'll see about adding some more cuttings to the pots I have.

You could put 6 in each 4" pot. Do you have bottom heat?

I already have a cutting in the center of each pot. Would I risk ruining their progress by tampering with them and adding other cuttings?

Bottom heat? I don't understand what you mean by that.

Yesterday, I added cuttings to my two pots. Each pot now has 5 cuttings. They are kind of crammed in there but not too bad. I watered them well and am waiting to see how things progress. <fingers crossed>

Hi, Matthew --

Way back there I said all my cherries are from tissue culture. That was wrong. A lot of them were grafted -- hmm, maybe the scion came from tissue culture and then later grafted to rootstock. Whatever.

Just writing to say, keep up the good work.

Bernard

See the attached photo of my pot with 5 cuttings. The center cutting appears to have fuzz growing on it (blue circled areas). It so happens this this cutting was planted 1 week ahead of the others, so its the oldest. My other pot of 5 cuttings also has the same issue on its oldest cutting. I'm not sure if its mold or not. I only water every 2 weeks, so I don't think that's excessive. I have a pop bottle (with top cut off) inverted over top the cuttings to retain moisture in the environment for the cuttings. Does anybody know what the fuzz is? Is it bad? How do I deal with it?

Hard to see, need close up picture, could be mold but also could be wooly aphids..almost impossible to root.

Squash a bit of the fuzz with your fingers. Mold won't have a mushed insect body in it. I agree that successfully rooting cherry is a very tall, indeed almost impossible, order. But there are ways of improving the odds and that's what I've been trying to convey.

The white stuff looks like mold to me (i.e., not powdery mildew, not wooly aphids). I sometimes see that happen on cuttings that are kept too wet and without any air circulation.... Like wood does when it's kept in high humidity.

When I get out to do some pruning, I will try taking some cherry cuttings just for kicks. I'm no expert but I've been gardening and propogating for a lot of years and here's what I'll do:

I never use a clay pot for cuttings... Too porous and makes it difficult to control moisture. I'd use 4" plastic pots, one cutting per pot. I use moistened Pro-mix, make the center planting hole, take a fresh cutting (angled cut) and dip the end in water and then in rooting hormone before placing the cutting in the hole and then firming the soil. I would never shave the bark! Poor thing. Lol. I place the pot inside a clear plastic bag (I use gallon-size/bread bags) and water until fully saturated, but no standing water. Then I bring the bag up over the entire pot/cutting and gather around a piece of drinking straw (allowing some air exchange) and secure with a twist-tie. Done. Except for the waiting. :)

Re dealing with that mold -- you can leave it uncovered for awhile and see if it dries up. Or you can remove the molded cuttings.

Thank you, I've heard loud and clear that what I'm attempting is nearly impossible. It's not like I have much to lose though except a little time and effort to snip the branches from the parent and slap them in a pot and water them every so often. So it's kind of like a little science experiment for me and I'm enjoying it. Along the way, I'm seeking bits of knowledge from you all, who likely know more than me, rather than constant scorn for trying the impossible.

I'll try a couple of the suggestions for the fuzz and see what happens.

Yes, probably mold caused by the humid conditions under the soda bottle. You need to keep the cuttings moist (humid), but every couple of days, lift up the humidity dome to refresh the air. This helps with reducing mold. I do not recall what people use to get rid of the mold - a dilute peroxide spray? Look it up before doing this!

I've had a hard time with my fig cuttings as they dry out and die on me after producing roots and a few leaves. Still working on my technique!

Hmm, I dug around about peroxide. In doing so, I learned a little about "barking" that can be confused as mold. Would this be possible? Like I mentioned, I only see this on the two cuttings that are 1 week older. The other 8 cuttings have none (yet). If it was mold due to excessive humidity, I might expect mold to show on all cuttings, correct?

Yes, I'm going to lift the dome every couple days to refresh the air. Great idea! Thanks!

No idea what 'barking' is. Can you give a link? Seems to me the most likely explanation is mould, nothing more complicated.

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/saving-cutting-from-mold-pastiliere-dsvw-vd~1881083

It's a long thread. Search keyword "barking" and find comments by "danab_z9_la" stating that barking is often confused as mold.

I also found the following for hydrogen peroxide advice. Therein, the last post mentions about a tablespoon or two per gallon of water to lightly water the potting soil mix. https://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/782392/#b

If there is anything to be gained from that thread to which you link is that you should read and can accept as truth anything that Al (tapla) has to say. He is extremely knowledgeable and experienced in container gardening and is also a bit of an authority on bonsai and by default, striking cuttings. He is extremely well educated and published in various hobby and industry publications. The rest of the info from other contributors that may contradict his advice you can toss out as being self-serving nonsense.

The term 'barking' is just barking mad :-) What is on your tree is mold. Period.

Haha! Fair enough!

I'll mix up a small mixture of hydrogen peroxide and moisten the soil soon. And I'll lift the dome for a short while to air out the environment.

Well I finally found the expression 'barking'. I have no idea what that guy is on about and it's not a term I've ever seen anywhere else. And he's talking about figs which are easy to grow from cuttings and nothing like cherries. Forget it. And forget the chemicals. Just give the cuttings some fresh air.

Should I wipe away the existing fuzz with a tiny toothbrush (I would sterilize the brush first in a bleach solution) or let nature whisk it away?

Just out of curiosity, do you know what kind of cherry tree this is? I'm guessing it must have some special qualities that you want to preserve.

I do not know what kind of cherry tree it is, but it is the only cherry tree I have. My wife and I love how gorgeous it is in the spring when it blooms. So we'd like to have more in our yard. And since it's a cheap, fun science experiment, we decided to try propagating the tree we have.