Some cherries don’t do well when it gets close to -20F, or colder than USDA Hardiness Zone 5. The Catskills region should be OK. Catskill, NY, for example, is Zone 6a. Lexington, NY, is Zone 5a. But north into the Adirondacks, it would likely be too cold. To check the hardiness zone in your area, .
Tart cherries are usually a little more hardy than sweet cherries (which also require another variety for pollination). For best advice for cherry varieties that grow in your area, you might want to contact your county’s Cooperative Extension service. .
At the Cornell Cooperative Extension Web site, you can select your county, and then browse for articles about fruit tree growing, as well as contact information to call for advice.
Buying locally, such as from garden nurseries in your area, may enable you to purchase trees that have adapted to your local climate. Mail order nurseries that specialize in fruit trees, however, may give you a wider range of varieties to choose from. Growing from a seed found in a fruit that you bought from a grocery store would likely not be satisfactory, as if it were a hybrid, the offspring may not exhibit the same characteristics of the parent. Also, trees from a nursery may be grafted onto a hardy rootstock, which a home-grown cherry from seed would not. Seeds may also need a cold treatment before they germinate, and of course it would take more years before the trees produce fruit.
Some cherries don’t do well when it gets close to -20F, or colder than USDA Hardiness Zone 5. The Catskills region should be OK. Catskill, NY, for example, is Zone 6a. Lexington, NY, is Zone 5a. But north into the Adirondacks, it would likely be too cold. To check the hardiness zone in your area, .
Tart cherries are usually a little more hardy than sweet cherries (which also require another variety for pollination). For best advice for cherry varieties that grow in your area, you might want to contact your county’s Cooperative Extension service. .
At the Cornell Cooperative Extension Web site, you can select your county, and then browse for articles about fruit tree growing, as well as contact information to call for advice.
Buying locally, such as from garden nurseries in your area, may enable you to purchase trees that have adapted to your local climate. Mail order nurseries that specialize in fruit trees, however, may give you a wider range of varieties to choose from. Growing from a seed found in a fruit that you bought from a grocery store would likely not be satisfactory, as if it were a hybrid, the offspring may not exhibit the same characteristics of the parent. Also, trees from a nursery may be grafted onto a hardy rootstock, which a home-grown cherry from seed would not. Seeds may also need a cold treatment before they germinate, and of course it would take more years before the trees produce fruit.
Hope this helps!