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Queen Anne Cherry Pits: Hybrid Reality and Stratification Methods

Glenn bought Queen Anne (Rainier) cherries at a farmers market and wants to grow the pits. Hard truth: they're hybrids. Seedlings won't produce Rainier-type fruit, and it takes 5–7 years to find out.

If You Proceed Anyway

Method 1: Outdoor Winter (Best)

Plant pits 1 inch deep in pots now.
Keep moist outdoors all winter—natural cold stratification.
Sprout in spring.

Method 2: Fridge Stratification

Place pits in damp paper towel in sealed bag.
Refrigerate (not freeze) 90 days.
Plant 1 inch deep; keep at 70–75°F.
Germination in 30–180 days; may need a second 60-day chill if stubborn.

Outdoor method is more reliable. But for edible cherries, buy grafted trees.

Seeding and Propagation: Growing Cherry Trees from Pits: Cold Stratification Required; Diagnosing a Non-Flowering Cherry Tree: Is It Dead?; Identifying and Propagating Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum); Mimosa Tree Propagation: Seeds Outperform Cuttings; Pear Tree Propagation: Seeds Variable, Cuttings Difficult, Grafting Standard; Cherry Cuttings Produce True-to-Type Trees; Selling Loquat Seedlings: Timing, Hardiness, and Fruiting Expectations; Identifying and Managing Cherry Pouch Galls on Your Tree; Yoshino Cherry Root Sprouts: Will They Bloom True?; Weeping Cherry Seedlings: Grafted vs. Seed-Grown

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