Question
I picked cherries from a small bountiful tree in a public place in my town.  They are delicious, sour cherries, and the bounty of the fruit on the low growing tree inspires me to try to start my own from seed.  How likely are these trees to produce fruit?  Is the cold spell for 60 days necessary and why?  I've already started a big batch in some pots, and wondering if I need to stick them in my refrigerator (as you suggested on your site) for 2 months.  thanks for your reply.

Answer
Hi Elaine,

Thanx for your question.  People don't seem to understand that most of the fruit one buys in the grocery store are the product of hybridization.  I guess it hasn't been explained well enough because the general public doesn't seem to understand.  American (and world) agriculture is so involved in hybridization that most, if not all, of the fruit, one buys in a grocery store is the result of hybrid fruit trees that have been grafted upon the root-stock of an ancient fruit tree stock that is very hard but does not produce a quality fruit.  So, if you start the seeds indoors, those seeds will result in a plant that has a very high likelyhood of not resembling the plant from  which your original fruit came.  Cherry, Peach, Apple, Pear, Quince, Plum, Nectarine and other non-tropical fruit have seeds that require a cold-treatment in order to germinate.  Why, you ask?  As near as science can tell, because we have changing seasons in Europe, Asia and North America (even South America...Chile exports tons of peaches, nectarines, grapes, cherries, etc., because of their climate...)in Nature, when the fruit drops from the tree and begins to rot, by then, it is near Autumn.  If the seed were to begin to germinate before the onset of winter, Winter, would kill the seedlings so what Nature does with these seeds is activate a hormone which precludes the seed from germinating in a warm environment until it has been significantly chilled for 60-90 days.  That period of time seems to break the dormancy and prod the hormone to initiate germination in the seed once temperatures begin to warm.

When you start fruit trees from seed, bear in mind, it will take 5-7 years for fruiting.

Some fruit trees are self-fertile.  That means that they will set fruit without another similar tree in the same vicinity.  Other fruit trees require a similar tree nearby in order to set fruit.  This has to do with the complexities of pollinization.

You might think about taking cuttings (6-8 inch pieces of green wood) and try to root them in a box of damp, warm sand.  

The idea of starting fruit trees from seed is interesting but, the progeny will most likely, not resemble the parents.

I hope this helps.
Tom