How many times?

[Nyboy]

We all have had plants that just didn't make it. How many times will you plant something before giving up? I want a cherry tree very bad ' planted 5 one after another all failed. How many times will you try before giving up?

 

[ninnymary]

I usually go for 3. Funny thing is, that on the third time, I can grow it! Makes no sense since I don't do anything differently.

Mary

 

[secuono]

With such an expensive plant, most likely only once. Or if I find them on sale and know why they died, then try again.
Did you figure out why they died?
Things that come in cheap packs, I'll keep trying until I run out of seeds and possibly buy a new pack the next year, but no more after that. Carrots hate me.

Oh, Cattails, I keep buying different ones from different places hoping some will grow, live or not be rotted already. I NEED them for my pond...Anyone have cattail seeds for me???

 

[Durgan]

We all have had plants that just didn't make it. How many times will you plant something before giving up? I want a cherry tree very bad ' planted 5 one after another all failed. How many times will you try before giving up?

Do it right the first time. Before buying a tree, prepare the bed. This takes physical effort and some planning to get good results.

 

[Nyboy]

I have heavy clay , have tried both amending soil and not. Cherry trees just don't do well in my soil.

 

[majorcatfish]

have planted cherries twice first time do not make through the winter, second time was great but the birds ate all the cherries
that winter we have so much rain the tree drowned.

growing cherry trees is now marked off my bucket list!!!

 

[Nyboy]

I am trying one more time! I mail ordered one graphed on to rootstock thats does well in heavy clay.

 

[Nyboy]

With such an expensive plant, most likely only once. Or if I find them on sale and know why they died, then try again.
Did you figure out why they died?
Things that come in cheap packs, I'll keep trying until I run out of seeds and possibly buy a new pack the next year, but no more after that. Carrots hate me.

Oh, Cattails, I keep buying different ones from different places hoping some will grow, live or not be rotted already. I NEED them for my pond...Anyone have cattail seeds for me???

I have them growing wild in my stream will mail you some in spring.

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

With such an expensive plant, most likely only once. Or if I find them on sale and know why they died, then try again.
Did you figure out why they died?
Things that come in cheap packs, I'll keep trying until I run out of seeds and possibly buy a new pack the next year, but no more after that. Carrots hate me.

Oh, Cattails, I keep buying different ones from different places hoping some will grow, live or not be rotted already. I NEED them for my pond...Anyone have cattail seeds for me???

i could just send you a cattail when my pond thaws out in the spring! i never have to worry about those dieing on me! btw, these are full sized and not the dwarfs.

 

[897tgigvib]

NyBoy, there are some super tough Cherry trees out there.

First, spend some time giving your sunny spot a really deep and wide dig in that clay. Make that hole like a small pond, 6 foot around, 4 or 5 foot deep in the middle...then go around and spade it all loose. Pour in a good amount of compost, like 6 inches deep on average, and do another spading around to mix it in...It'll be the next day for the next step unless you're superman!

Have just about as much compost or really good light fluffy topsoil as what you dug out...also, have a place for some of that clay that'll be left over...and plant your tree as normal, backfilling it with about a 50 50 mix.

As for tree selection. You might want to forget one of the fancy sweet or fancy pie cherry varieties. Having the attitude that failure is not one of the options, those fancy ones, even if on Mazzard rootstock, have a bigger chance of failure than one of the SPECIES cherry trees.

http://www.aboutcherrytrees.com/planting_cherry_trees.shtml

Some good info on that site...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherry

Some even better info on this wikipedia site.

maackii is a beautiful and tough one but low production.
pumila is a tough shrubby one that produces well but has big pits for the fruit size.
rufa himalayan i believe thistle can tell you about. she mentioned it somewhere.
tomentosa, Nanking cherry is commonly available, and likely the one you'll want!

Nanking makes a nice cherry tree and lots of tart cherries. We had several on site at the nursery in Montana. Roxi's daughter in law made cherry preserves from them. I'd bet they would make awesome pies!!!

Nanking seeds sprout after being eaten and pooped by raccoons. Each little tree does grow well, needs no grafting at all, and each has it's own growth characteristics, but the same cherries basically. Basically breeds "family true", some kids tall, some kids wide. Some small, some big. All tough as nails and easy as pie to grow!

I believe the Nanking and the maackii sometimes cross pollinated. Those were the bushy ones that grew. They always had Nanking's bark though. maackii has the coolest bark, like a Birch tree!

They do appreciate their drainage, so do all the ground digging to prepare. Nanking will forgive some. maackii's wood will split without good drainage in a few years.

Sand cherries make shrubs. Then there are the related AMALENCHIER Cherries. Flavorful, but to me, very bitter. Roxi liked them. Made my mouth do a pucker like drinking strong coffee without sugar.