AboutTom Alonzo Expertise I have been growing plants from seeds for at least 20 years. I have grown literally hundreds of different kinds of vegetables, trees, shrubs, annuals, perennials, tropicals, some cacti, water plants, iris, rose, lilies, cannas, etc. I enjoy starting from seed.
Experience I've been growing my own seeds for 20 years with indoor propagation equipment I built myself. I am also an Allexperts volunteer on the perennial forum. I have completed the Master Gardener course through the Kansas State University Extension. I have experience with a wide variety of seeds and I have also read through Norm Deno's books on seed germination.
Question Hi, I read your answers about how to germinate bing cherry trees using the refrigerator. What I am wondering about mainly is how long do you keep the tree shoot at 60-70 degrees after you take it out. Also,what zones are best/worst for successful growth and fruiting?
I truly appreciate your time and the information you give to people, myself included. Thanks~ Susan
Answer Hi Susan,
Thanx for your question and thank you for doing a little background work. It always helps that I don't have to repeat information that is already available and a lot of people don't realize we have a lot of information available through the Search function. Also, thank you for your kind words. I think I speak for all of us here at Allexperts by saying that we do very much enjoy helping people and answering questions. With that said, I keep my saplings underlights until they are of manageable size. That is they are 5 or 6 inches tall with a couple of strong leaves. Gently, I prick them out of the soil and plant them in separate pots. If you have experienced your last frost and temperatures are consistently above 50F, take the saplings outdoors and place in the shade for about 10 days. This is called hardening off and gets the seedlings acclimated to the outdoors. After that, you'll want to plant the seedlings in full sun and mulch them to keep weeds down so the sapling doesn't have to compete for nutrients. Bing cherries are sweet cherries and are harder to grow in the colder climates although there are cultivars being hybridized for the cooler zones. If you will contact your local county extension office, they can tell you the varieties that will be best for your area. That is if you're in the U.S. If you want to give me your general location, I can give you contact information. Canada, U.K. and other countries have similar resources. I hope this helps.
Tom
