How to Grow Cherry Trees in Oklahoma

Raising a cherry tree in Oklahoma is a difficult, yet rewarding task.

Oklahoma is a state with extreme weather, but that shouldn’t discourage you from starting a garden. One plant that can grow in an Oklahoma garden is a cherry tree. The trees will produce brilliant white and pink summer flowers before they turn into juicy cherries. It requires hard work to achieve a healthy tree in Oklahoma. Some of the best breeds of cherries for this region include black cherry, sour cherry prunus and chokecherries.

Things You'll Need

• Shovel
• Soil
• Sand
• Wooden stake
• Sheet
• Garden shears

Instructions

1. Choose a planting spot for the cherry tree that gets at least six hours of direct sunlight and has loamy soil.

2. Plow up the top 2 feet of the soil in a wide circle. Discard dead roots, plants, twigs or stones that are imbedded in the soil. Mix equal parts of compost and sand into the garden soil to increase its loam and ability to drain water.

3. Dig a whole as deep and twice as wide as the cherry tree's nursery pot. Water the tree until the water leaks through the bottom of the nursery pot. Remove the tree from the nursery pot and set it directly in the hole.

4. Straighten the sapling in the hole.

5. Pack soil around the roots of the sapling. Press it until it is firm enough to hold the tree straight. Drive a stake into the soil next to the tree and use bindings to lash the two together.

6. Give the tree 5 gallons of water in a slow, steady stream so that it soaks deeply into the soil. Provide the tree with 5 gallons of water once a week for the first growing season. Reduce the tree’s ration of water to a single, biweekly gallon of water once fall starts. Continue this watering schedule for the first three years after the tree is planted.

7. Cover the cherry tree sapling with a sheet when frost threatens. Set up stakes around the cherry tree so that they hold the sheet up and away from the leaves of the tree.

8. Prune away any dead or frost-damaged branches before the growing season begins. Prune away any growths at the trunk of the tree..

9. Pull up weeds that grow around the base of the tree for its first year.

Tips & Warnings

• Purchase a cherry tree sapling from a nearby plant nursery. The best time to plant the cherry tree is in early spring, right before the dormant season ends.

• The first year is when the tree is at the most risk. Weeds sap the nutrients and make it more likely that the tree will die.

• Harvest the cherries when they are ripe. Do not allow them fall to the ground around the tree or they will attract insects that could threaten the tree's health.

References

• Thrifty Fun: Growing: Cherries (Cherry Trees)
• Tree Link: Tree Zones
• USDA: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map