Location

• Select a planting location with full sun and plenty of room for the tree to grow. Trees that do not receive at least six to eight hours of direct sunlight every day produce fewer flowers and fruits. (see Reference 2). Dwarf fruit trees typically require a 12-by-12-foot area to grow. Full-size trees need 25 square feet of breathing room (see Reference 1).
  
  Cherry trees do not self-pollinate, so you must plant two varieties for the tree to bloom and produce fruit. Select varieties with similar bloom times to promote pollination.
  
  

Soil

• Begin preparing the soil several months before planting the tree. Cherry trees prefer well-drained sandy or loamy soil. Remove any weeds, and till a 4-foot-square area. Break up any hard layers, level the site and till once more. Add organic matter, such as compost, manure or peat moss, to the top 10 inches of soil. Test the soil with a pH kit, and add lime if necessary.
  
  To help with soil drainage, consider building a small berm to hold the tree. This helps water drain away from the tree's roots. Or plant the tree on top of or on the side of a hill. Gravity will pull water away from the tree. Planting a tree on a hill also keeps the low-lying cold spring air from damaging the tree.
  
  Plant rye grass on the site to keep the soil from eroding until planting time. Before planting the tree, kill the rye grass with a glyphosate herbicide. Keep extra glyphosate herbicide on hand, and apply it in a 4-foot diameter around the tree as it grows to keep grass and weeds from robbing the tree of essential nutrients.
  
  

Planting

• Plant the cherry tree in early spring. Dig a hole twice as wide and deep as the root ball of the cherry tree. Loosen the sides of the hole to give the roots room to spread. Plant a dwarf cherry tree so that the graft union between the root stock and the variety sits 4 inches above the ground. For standard-size trees, set the tree 3 inches deeper than it was at the garden nursery (see Reference 2). Fill the planting hole about halfway with backfill soil, and soak the area with water. Finish filling the hole with the removed soil, and firm the soil. Young cherry trees may require staking until they establish a strong root system.