Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

If you don't know how to grow a fruit tree (very different from veggies) and/or don't have the patience/time for the stratification period (minimum 3 months) then don't even try. You can buy pre-stratified seeds, but I don't know how well those work and personally would cold treat them anyway. I would ask those who want a cherry tree why they think they want to start it from seed. I am doing it for sentimental reasons and expect no fruit for several years. By the time it is a decent sized tree I want to be settled somewhere I can plant it. If you want the cherries (or to have a full tree within several years) or don't have experience tending difficult plants, there's no shame in buying a cherry tree sapling or graft. There is probably a tree nursery somewhere fairly close to you, wherever you are, or you can have the tree shipped to you. Even experienced farmers like my family sometimes buy plants for our own personal gardens because it's easier and more efficient! Especially if you're trying to grow food, there's no reason to make it harder on yourself or more time consuming. Buying a tree that's a couple years old isn't very expensive at all and is worth the price. To cold stratify the seeds: Good cherry seeds are round, full pits. Not excessively wrinkled or cracked. If they seem dirty, gently wash off the seeds. Allow to air dry *completely* for a few days or a week. Put completely dry seeds in a sealed container and place in refrigerator. Keep them in the fridge for 3 months, up to one year. When ready to plant, put one seed each in a well-hydrated jiffy pellet. Keep the soil moist while waiting for the seed to sprout, try not to let it dry out. Sunlight doesn't matter when the plant is just busting out of the seed. Even a dwarf cherry tree is not really all that small. If you want to grow it in a container, at least put it in a 15 gallon pot after the first year or two so the plant doesn't strangle itself with it's own roots.