Hi folks...I am growing apples, "fairly" successfully if you read the other thread...haha.... anyway, I know nothing about cherries, except that wild cherries are all over the place here...what does that tell me? So I want to buy some grafted varieties, but not sure which kind will do OK here in SC heat and humidity. I have clay land. thinkign about COLT rootstock, or GISELA 5?
Hi, most sweet cherries are specified to grow in hardiness zones 5 to 9. The high heat and chill factor requirements limit the upper zone limit. The cold zones are limited by winter kill as well as fruit bud kills by late spring frost. The other issue with zone 5 and lower is the fact that sweet cherries may bloom a bit ahead of the delayed activation of bees and bugs for pollination activites even if the bloom buds survive the frost. Zone 5 is barely tolerable for sweet cherries but requires more attention. Among the tart-sweet, you may try Evans. The Gisela 5 is good for early fruiting of the tree (i.e. at early age) and the dwarf size 8' to 10' but its life is relatively short (in terms of years of productive life) compared to standard rootstock. If you are doing it as a backyard hobbyist, then try one of each (Bing, Stella, Lapins, Rainier, Van, Sweetheart, Utah Giant etc). If you are doing it for commercial purpose then you need more than amateur consultaion. Good luck.
