Hello folks, I have a bag of cherries in my fridge that are past their prime now, and I figured it would be fun to try and make something out of the pits. (a plant). I'm going to state very clearly that I don't care if it doesn't produce any fruit. How would you suggest I germinate the pits? just plop them in some peat moss potting soil? I'll be doing this indoors (at least for now) and we'll see where it goes from there. Thanks.
First hurdle is embryo dormancy requirements. Try looking up growing cherries from seed, on the internet - maybe "cherry propagation" etc. Seedlings you get almost certainly will flower and set fruit (if pollination occurs) when old enough. Being trees they may take some years to reach flowering size. Being seedlings the fruit size and quality will vary.
See my post for a similar question at http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/forums/showthread.php?p=119958#post119958 Look at the responses if any can help. What I learned is that it will take months and monthe to germinate if bad soil conditions do not rot the seeds. The seeds need a chill period, as Ron mentions in terms of dormancy. Scratching of the seed (stratificatio) can help in germination to some extent because of relative ease of moise ingresion through the scratch area of the otherwise hard core (I guess that is why it is called stone fruit !). My wife does the same with orange seeds (but no scraching). She just drops them in a potted soil after eating an orange and forgets about it. She feels good when these germinate and then she thinks the rest is my responsibility. She never asks what happened to the germinated seeddlings because by then she might have eaten another orange and the cycle restarted. But good for her curiosity or hobby, orange seeds germinate much faster than cherry seeds.
BTW, it is no surprise that my Brazillian Whit Cherry seed has not germinated after a month (& probably not expecting for some months. I will post the results if and when I get the surprising shoot. Another thing, cherries never ever survive in our fridge that long. Everything else can get pushed back in the fridge, lost and then found and find its way to my compost but not cherries. Everone at home can locate it no matter which corner it gets pushed to, and know how much if any still left. Whoever is the last one to empty the bag, he remove the bag quietly so the empty bag will not become a conversation piece sooner than otherwsie. Cherries are cherries. Too bad you are doing it only for the plant.
http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=27618&highlight=cherry+seeds Above linked thread deals with this subject. I've had some sour cherry pits in moist vermiculite refrigerated for about 30 months. One germinated recently, and I transplanted it to a pot. Two others have germinated before, out of 20 or so. I check on them monthly and carefully handle any that have germinated, for they are delicate. You see it can take from a couple months to a couple years, so start with a quantity of seeds for early success. A high-quality succulent/cactus potting mix would be an okay choice for planting into, or mix a couple handfuls of sand with a quart of ordinary potting soil. Still use a reputable brand though, Scott's for instance.
Hi Biggam I planted a quanity=2 seeds of White Brazillian Cherry on December 31, 2007 in Perlite+Vermiculite. You mentioned even a probability of 2 months (to 2 years) for germination. That is somewhat encouraging that I should start expecting a sprout in the coming spring or early summer (or untl Dec31, 2009...Ooch). I like those Brazillian White (Rainier like) cherries which were fat, sweet and juicy. Once they germinate and become a plant, I may have to learn how to graft it on an existing present cherry tree. There is a lot of if & when and waiting to see. I hope tommy keep us posted on the progress of his seeds.
