Planting Cherry Trees

This post is sponsored by the Arbor Day Foundation, however all opinions are the Redhead’s.

My kids think I like trees too much 😕 .  They make fun of me for pointing out beautiful mature trees when we are in the car.  When they were little they didn’t do that.  In fact, they use to get very excited, too.  So, what happened?  Well, the truth is, I do go overboard a bit.  Sometimes, I even stop the car to look 😯 .  I guess I could be doing worse things, right?  I don’t think anyone will ever say, “Oh, remember that redhead, she loved trees too darn much.”  In fact, I hope when I’m gone, my kids will say, “Awww, look at that beautiful tree.  Mom would have loved it.”  Before I get too mushy, I better welcome you to our first gardening post of the year, “Planting Cherry Trees”.

What is the Arbor Day Foundation 

I recently learned that in Michigan, Arbor Day is celebrated on the last Friday of April 😯 .  Talk about perfect timing, that’s next week.  So, when the Arbor Day Foundation recently invited me to try their tree finding tool, I just couldn’t wait to hop in there and find a couple trees for Arbor Day.  Okay in all honesty, one side of our house is very bare, so this was a perfect time to fill that hole.  I admit, I am a little intimidated by what trees to plant, and where to plant them.  Just because I love trees, that doesn’t mean I know anything about planting them.   I totally need experts like the folks from the Arbor Day Foundation to help me figure this out.  Fortunately, their mission is to inspire folks like me to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees.  Founded in 1972,  the Foundation has grown to become the largest nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees, with over one million members, supporters, and valued partners.  I really feel I can trust these guys.

So, with all of that being said, we ended up planting 2 cherry trees from the Arbor Day Foundation that will eventually look like this  😯 .  I hope.

Black Tartarian Cherry Tree {photo via Arbor Day Foundation}

Bing Cherry Tree {photo via Arbor Day Foundation}

Choosing the Right Tree

What gorgeous trees and fruit, right?  I mean you just can’t get any prettier.  So, what I learned along this journey, is that selecting and ordering the right tree from the Arbor Day Foundation is very simple, and a lot cheaper than buying one of those trees you see this time of year in the big gallon (hard to transport) containers at the store.  You also may not realize, but the ADF is mission driven so each purchase supports tree planting and forests to help keep our environment clean, and feed our planet.

What’s really convenient is that the Arbor Day Foundation has their online tree nursery set up perfectly where you can punch in your exact location into their tree finding tool and give your specific preferences for the type of tree you desire for your yard.  For example, if you live in a colder climate, but you always wanted a fruit tree, they will show you which trees have a better chance of surviving in your specific climate.  I was actually surprised at the types of fruit trees I can plant here in Michigan.  Heck, I can even plant a peach tree if I wanted.

Hey, instead of me babbling about it, give it a try yourself and then come back so I can show you our cherry trees, and give you a coupon.  The tree finding tool is located on the left margin after you click this link:

GIVE ADF TREE FINDING TOOL A TRY HERE

Before I get to sharing our entire cherry tree planting party 😎 , I want to explain how the trees are delivered.  The trees from the ADF come “bare-root”.  What this means is the tree comes in a dormant state with no soil surrounding the roots.  The roots are kept moist in transit by a special gel they use.  Bare-root trees are best because they are very simple to plant at the correct depth, which is crucial for a tree to do well, and they re-establish themselves easier.  Here’s what my box of trees looked like when it arrived from the Arbor Day Foundation…

As you can probably tell from the photo below, I was very excited about our new trees, but very cold.  Unfortunately, when my trees arrived the temperature here in Michigan wasn’t tree planting weather, so I had to take care of these 2 tree babies before it was too late.  Luckily for me, the Arbor Day Foundation sends an instruction envelope full of all of the information I could ever possibly need for these 2 baby trees.  It even explained what to do if I can’t plant them right away.

Planting Cherry Trees

What I found after I opened the box was that the tree roots were quite happy and moist inside the wrapping and we could wait until the temperatures warmed up in a few days.  So, the tree babies took a nap in our cool garage and finally we were able to get Jack & Diane in the ground about 5 days later.  Yes, at this point they were already part of the family, so they really needed names.  Jack & Diane seemed perfect.

Just a little FYI, your trees can be planted from the time the frost first leaves the ground through late spring.  As mentioned previously, a planting guide containing the instructions is included with every order.  It is best to plant your trees within 5 days of their arrival.  If it is not possible to plant within this time frame, it is recommended that your trees be heeled in.

Here’s a photo of that planting guide that was extremely helpful…

We soaked Jack and Diane for a few hours before planting as suggested in the guide.  While they were enjoying their bath, Rick & I walked around trying to figure out the best location for the cherry trees.  Cherry trees require full sun, and can get quite large, so we had to keep this in mind.

You may or may not be able to tell, but Rick was annoyed with me in this photo below.  We had a little disagreement about where Jack & Diane should go 😯 .  Drama in the house!  Ha ha…typical married couple, right?  Well, I won this round.  It was a good thing too, because I was reading how cherry trees cross pollinate, so I think having them in the same general area is a good idea.  Sorry, Richard my love.

We ended up putting the trees on the left side of the house where I mentioned it was quite bare.  I could picture how eventually over time the trees will make a beautiful extension off the left corner of the house.  Almost like “complimenting” the house like a flower in someone’s hair does.

Uh oh…while digging we began to come across a few large roots 😯 .  The soil still looked very healthy and clear so we continued our mission after breaking up the roots with a pick.  You might be thinking Rick is doing all of the work, right?  Well, yes he was doing the muscle work because I’m pretty weak at 49, but rest assured I was running around getting the trees ready for their big moment, and of course getting these great photos.

In the instructions they reminded us to not go too deep when digging/planting.  I guess that is a very common mistake when folks plant trees.  We were very careful not to go passed the “root collar” and to make it level with the surrounding soil.  What really surprised me is that you don’t have to add any special fertilizer, or food at this point.  The cherry tree, I mean Jack,  just needed plenty of room to spread his roots

After Jack the cherry tree was planted, I watered him, and Rick added some mulch on top to keep him moist.  We also added the little tube protector that expands so our little animal friends don’t nibble on the bottom.  We have a ton of wildlife back here and those little critters were probably all waiting in the bushes.

So, Jack really looked great, but we still had to find a spot for Diane before the sun went down 😯 .  We didn’t want to put them too close, so we opted to set Diane back behind him next to our young pine tree.  There was a big bare spot in the landscaping that was perfect for her.  I also noticed that I can check on Diane from our side bedroom window when I get up in the morning.  Sweet!

Here we go again…and by this time I think Rick was feeling more comfortable with the tree locations  😉 .

Oh Diane, you’re stunning even with no branches.

Now Jack & Diane the cherry trees can cross pollinate easily…

Stay tuned because this isn’t the end of the story.  Jack & Diane have lots of growing to do, and I plan on updating you this Fall (sign up here so you don’t miss it).  Until then, now is the perfect time for most locations to order trees for spring planting.  After our cherry tree experience I completely recommend the Arbor Day Foundation not only because of the high quality tree at an affordable price, but because they provided us with simple to understand knowledge which is extremely important when growing trees.  They also gave me the courage to want to plant another tree!  I think I better let Rick decide the location next time.

Ordering Trees from the Arbor Tree Foundation

If you are interested in ordering your own trees from the Arbor Day Foundation, please use my special coupon code below to receive free shipping, or $10 off your total order.

Using this $10 coupon code will cover the shipping cost of $9.

If there is more than $60 in the user’s cart, the user will get free shipping and $10 off the total order.

ORDER TREES HERE

Update: Jack & Diane the Cherry Trees

I have sad news…Jack & Diane didn’t survive 🤧 and I’m so sad about that. Turns out, we think we planted the cherry trees a bit too early in the Michigan cold soil. Our Winter was unusually long this year, so things like this happen.

The good news is, The Arbor Day Foundation and I hooked up again and decided to try a Weeping Willow. How appropriate, right? Here’s I am weeping over Jack & Diane, and now I have this cute willow tree to cheer me up. Isn’t Willie gorgeous?

We decided to plant “Willy” the Willow Tree by the water behind our house. I’ve always enjoyed how willow trees hang over water and have always wanted to watch one grow. I’ve heard they grow quickly.

Rick being the good sport that he is, got out his pick again just like he did for the cherry trees. In fact, we followed the exact method that we used for the cherry trees. We were sure not to dig too deep and to form a “root collar” to make it level with the surrounding soil.

For some reason, Richard didn’t have his gloves on, but I do recommend that you wear gloves with all your gardening to protect your hands. Willy went in quite easily. I had the job of collecting mulch from our flower beds to add to the Weeping Willow to help keep his soil moist.

Willy really looks healthy and we have high hopes for him! I will be sure to update you after I see him grow up a little.