Sour cherry · Raleigh, North Carolina, United States
When to plant sour cherries in Raleigh
Main outdoor window
8 Nov - 15 Mar
The window this page is built around.
Timed from last spring frost
29 March
In Raleigh, on your chosen risk.
Ready to pick
1 Jul - 31 Aug
If you plant at the start of the window.
The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.
Step by step in Raleigh
Each window is a range, not a single day. Earlier in the range buys you a longer season; later in it buys you a safer one.
Plant the tree
8 Nov - 15 Mar
Any time the plant is dormant and the ground is neither frozen nor waterlogged: after leaf fall in autumn, or at the end of winter before growth restarts.
Harvest
1 Jul - 31 Aug
Sour cherries through the year
Against the frost risk in Raleigh
Why these dates
Later blooming and hardier in flower than sweet cherry, which is why it is the one that still crops in a cold spring.
Sour cherries are planted once and then left in place, so there is no sowing offset to resolve. What matters in Raleigh is the shape of the year: this crop is dormant through the winter and is planted while it sleeps, any time between leaf fall in autumn and the restart of growth in spring, so long as the ground is neither frozen nor waterlogged. That is why the window below spans the cold months rather than sitting in the middle of the growing season.
Hardiness is not the obstacle here. Raleigh is zone 8a, comfortably inside the range this crop is rated for, so an established plant should come through an average winter without protection.
Do not expect a crop in the first year. A plant set out now should give its first worthwhile pick around year 3, and will then produce every year after that, which is what makes the planting decision worth getting right the first time.
Nearby
Sour cherries in places close by
Also in Raleigh
Other fruits to time
Growing sour cherries in Raleigh
When should I plant sour cherries in Raleigh?
Aim for 8 Nov - 15 Mar in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 25 Oct - 29 Mar - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.
When will sour cherries be ready to harvest in Raleigh?
Expect to start picking around 1 Jul - 31 Aug, based on 60 to 80 days to maturity from the planting date calculated for this location.
How much frost will sour cherries tolerate?
Later blooming and hardier in flower than sweet cherry, which is why it is the one that still crops in a cold spring.