How to Grow a Cherry Tree from Seed (Paper Towel Method)

Every cherry pit is a hard shell with a small seed tucked inside. To get the seed out, grip a pit at one end with a pair of wire cutters or side snips and squeeze until the shell cracks. A cheap pair from the hardware shop makes this quick.

Aim right at the tip, not the middle. Snip too far in and you slice the seed in half. Work each pit the same way over a plate so nothing rolls off the table.

Peel the cracked shells away and you are left with the small almond-shaped seeds. These have dried out inside the pit, so they need a drink before they will do anything.

Drop the seeds into a glass of room-temperature water. Leave them three or four hours. They plump up as they soak, and when they settle to the bottom of the glass you know they have taken on enough moisture and are ready for the next step.

Wet a sheet of kitchen paper under the tap, then wring out the extra water so it is damp rather than dripping. Spread the rehydrated seeds across it in a single layer.

Now dust a little ground cinnamon over the top. Cinnamon is a natural anti-mould, and it earns its place because the seeds are about to sit in a cold, closed space for months. That is plenty of time for fungus to take hold, and the cinnamon keeps it in check.

Fold the damp paper around the seeds, then wrap the whole bundle in a square of aluminium foil so it holds its moisture. Write today's date on the outside with a marker. Cherry seeds take a few months in the cold, so a date saves you guessing later.

Put the packet in the fridge. The cold tricks the seed into thinking winter has passed, which is what breaks its dormancy. Check it around the two to three month mark and do not rush it.

After the chill, take the packet out and unwrap it. This is the payoff. The seeds that made it will have pushed out long white roots, and some may already curl over like bean sprouts.

That root is your green light. It means the seed is alive and ready to plant. Handle the packet gently here, because the roots are soft and can catch on the paper. Anything still bare with no root either needs longer or was a dud.

Fill small pots with a good potting mix and water them before you plant, so the seed does not get washed around when you soak it later. Make a hole with a chopstick, about as deep as the root is long.

Lower a sprouted seed in root-first and let the little shoot sit near the surface. Take your time with the ones that have grown longer roots, since those are the most delicate to move from the paper into the soil.

Close the soil gently around each seed so the root has full contact and no air pockets, which would let it dry out. Firm it in with a fingertip and give the pot a light watering.

Now find a bright windowsill. The young seedlings want plenty of light but shelter from harsh midday sun, strong wind and heavy rain. Let them build some strength indoors before you think about moving them outside.