have you discussed it with them?

cant tell from the last pic... but did you plant it just below the graft ... rather than at the root flare ...

ken

Hi Ken,

I have not talked to them yet. I wanted to see if I could get some suggestions to possibly understand what might be happening before contacting them. I did plant it just below the graft line. That last pic I took when I dug back down a little bit to uncover some of the root system to see if there was any issues with rot or the soil being to wet.

I wish I had this guys demeanor. lol

https://www.leaflimb.com/happy-trees-begin-with-proper-planting/

Yes, yes it does.

My north Star cherry that I got from Stark this spring did exactly the same thing. They didn't ship it until May, even though I ordered in Jan or Feb. it leafed out a little right after planting, then sat there exactly the same for several months. The leafs never got larger, just tiny things. Finally, about a month ago, it started to die. Pulled it out, and it had gotten very few roots. The apples I got at the same time are doing great. I called them, and they refunded my account, since they don't have replacements available. I just planted a potted north star found locally in the same spot, so fingers crossed it does well. I'm in zone 5b colorado. Luckily Stark is really good about replacements or refunds.

Contact Stark Nursery. I assume they have a warranty on it if purchased retail. Many mail order companies do and often ask for any replacement/credit issues to be called in/e-mailed by October 1st. not sure of the exact details on Stark Nurseries policy.

When this happens to me, I always contact the supplier asap and let them know. Sometimes no matter how well the tree was cared for it does not survive/thrive. Could have been an issue in cold storage at the nursery or possibly if they were spring dug an issue from the harsh winter this past February (Polar Vortex). LOTS of plants got damaged from the winter.

Glad to hear the apples are doing well.

Before you buy replacement trees, test your soil to find if you are missing a required mineral needed by your tree. Also, research to find the desired PH. Wisconsin soils in the SE corner of the state are notoriously neutral to the sweet side owing to its large availability of limestone. I can't tell by the photos, but your soil does appear too dry for a fresh planting. Unless there is much rainfall, these young plantings should be watered until it has a chance to establish deep hair roots. For the first year, remove moat young fruits so that the tree can direct all its available energy to growing the tree instead of storing energy the fruit.

I have forgotten which is which, but there is a difference between sweet and sour cherries; One self pollinates and the other does not. The non-self pollinator requires another tree for pollination. If the sweet cherry does not self pollinate, it requires another sweet cherry for pollination.

You may be embarking on an impossible task if you expect fruit. Maybe you have noticed there are no cherry orchards in Wisconsin except in very select locations, notably Door county and the two islands off the tip of Door county. I have tried to grow cherries and found that in most parts of Wisc, those bloom too early in spring and the blossoms get nipped by late frosts. Come spring, Door county is surrounded by ice in Green Bay on one side and the Lake on the other side. The slow melt of the ice and cold lake water holds off the awakening of cherries in spring (in Door Co.) so that when they do blossom, they are past frost danger. As a result, the cherry crop in Door county ripens about 1 month late and are not ready until August 1st. In Michigan, commercial cherry orchards are located on or near the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. The prevailing wind is from the west blowing off of cold lake water. Cherry crops are successful for the same reason as given previously. Cherries have better success farther south.

Cherries are susceptible to fungal infections (blight).

Another precaution: Young cherry trees need protection from gnawing animals notably, rabbits. Rabbits will leave the tree alone until they become hungry in winter. Damage is common beginning in January. Rabbits will girdle the trees eating its sweet bark and that will be the end of the tree. A cherry tree is not safe from rabbits until is is old enough to have an outer layer of scaly dead bark, and even then, it may get attacked. Young cherry trees need protection from rabbits (and mice) and this protection should extend 3 feet above the snow line.

Wondering what happened to your Montmoremcncy since you posted this question. I've had one for 6 years in SF east bay coastal area, transplanted 4 years ago. Still small, maybe 4 feet. I have to say, it does this every year for me. It is very slow to leaf out, but by late summer eventually it has a full crown of leaves. So far I haven't had more than 20 cherries any summer, and have left it mostly unpruned in order to collect more energy for next year. I think this spring I'll finally prune it because it may need that impulse to grow more vigourously. I have several other fruit trees without issues so this is a challenge - one day i will have pie!

Unfortunately mine did die but I was able to get a new one as it was still under warranty at the time. The new one is doing great! I still have yet to get any cherries but it is now about 4 feet tall and vigorously growing with all the rain we have been getting the past month.

This exact same thing is happening to me right now with a Montmorency cherry tree I bought from stark bros this spring. :-(