To create cherry orchards, non-grafted trees of certain varieties are often used, as well as root suckers that can appear in significant numbers on cherry trees.
The use of suckers vividly demonstrates the difference in growth and yield in favor of grafted trees. The berries on grafted plants are significantly larger. Ungrafted trees suffer from suckering, as it has been noted that trees grown from root suckers largely inherit the ability to produce root suckers. This is observed not only when planting root suckers but also when planting trees grafted onto cherry root suckers rather than seedling rootstocks.
However, in practice, grafted cherry trees are significantly more expensive than root suckers. To reduce costs for cherry plantings, it is recommended to purchase one-year-old grafts or grafted cultural varieties, which are cheaper than more mature trees, transplant well, and produce strong shoots in the first year.
Grafted cherry one-year-olds begin to bear fruit 3-4 years after planting, and by 10-15 years, the advantages of grafted trees compared to root suckers become particularly pronounced.
