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I have been investigating putting a cherry tree in my yard, the sweet variety. I love cherries, but keep feeling guilty buying them at the store. A fresh pint of cherries is so expensive. I have a friend who has a cherry tree nearby, but they live on a hill. I live near an urban creek that gets occasional flooding, but it's very rare for it to exceed the banks. My yard is never standing water. However, I have read that cherries really don't like too much water on their roots, especially standing water. If I plant a cherry tree in my yard near the stream, will that negatively affect the tree? Or will it benefit from being in a location that never really experiences a true drought or lack of water, even in rare instances where we don't get rain for a few weeks?

Zachary Johnson
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  • More than water what is your location? This will tell us your hardiness zone – kevinskio Aug 14 '22 at 22:25
  • @kevinskio - I am not too concerned about hardiness. We are 4/5 here. But I know many people who grow cherries successfully. Just none who do it so close to a water source. – Zachary Johnson Aug 18 '22 at 15:01

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My yard is never standing water.

This is a very good beginning, and I guess the creek will function as a drainage too, which will prevent a high groundwater level for longer periods!?

Cherry tree roots are not that deep:

Cherry trees have shallow roots that extends 10 – 17 inches into the soil.

So even in case of flooding the roots might be beyond water level. A dwarf tree has even smaller roots.

Cherries are known to be susceptible to skin cracking. This typical happens after heavy rainfall. If you are lucky the creek will decrease the variations of the water content in the soil and this will prevent cracking. But to be safe check the last source for varieties less prone to cracking.

Finally consider that the creek can be polluted, and toxic compounds, heavy metals etc. can be absorbed by your tree and the berries.

Gyrfalcon
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