Good place to get low chill cherry trees??

I’ve been doing a ton of research on growing cherry trees here in NW Florida. I know it’s not suppose to be the best place in the country to grow them but I’ve seen huge advances in creating low chill hour trees that give us in the Panhandle some hope at being successful. I have a few acres that I want to use to give it a shot. I’ve looking for a couple of Brooks and Champaign Corals and a few each of the Minnie Royal and Royal Lees to see if I can do it. But every time I find someone who has them (and believe me there ain’t many) I see terrible reviews on the nursery. Any suggestions on some reputable nurseries I can try?? I’m in 8b and think I can pull this off.

This message was edited Nov 19, 2012 3:12 PM

Sorry but I have not hear of any one in Fla. who sale Cherry trees.
There is link to a nursery that is locate just below Tallahassee, if anyone knows if it is possible to grow Cherry trees in Florida they will
http://www.justfruitsandexotics.com/

Gosh, Ive never heard of a cherry tree in FL either. It would be fun to know if one exist tho.

You can order low-chill cherry fruit trees through Willis Orchard. They may not have the best reviews but I had good luck with them. I have two cherry trees from them and even got one bloom this past spring (first full year I've had the trees), and you know how warm last winter was.

By the way, Welcome to DG and to the Florida Forum.
We are a great group of gardeners.

Thanks Sugarweed, I can see that you are. I've seen the web site for Willis and I think I'm going to give them a try. I'm also flying home to northern Calif for Christmas and that is where a lot of the testing for these trees has been. I'm going to checkout what I can.
You are pretty close to me. I'm in Crestiview. What type of low chills do you have??

Being a native, I don't know anything about cherries, but about 15 years ago when I lived near Brooksville (central Fl) I received a Nanking Cherry as a bonus in a friut tree order. Having plenty of space and being totally incapable of tossing a plant out I planted the 12'' seedling in full sun. The first year I got 3 cherries, the 2nd a couple dozen or so and when I sold the place the next spring it was about 3 ft high and covered with blooms. You definetly get colder than I did so it should fruit for you. I don't know how it compares to other cherries but I really liked the sweet/tart taste.

Well I ordered 2 each of the Brooks,Coral Champagne, Minnie Royal and Royal LessTrees. They should be here around the beginning of March. I'll let you know how it goes.

Surinam Cherries do very well here in Central Florida...
David

Just received the Brooks and Champaign Corals from Willis Orchard. They look great and we'll put them in this weekend. Just waiting on the Minnie Royal and Royal Lees for Raintree. Will keep you posted

Well they have all been in the groung for about 2 months. Doing great so far. Already seeing growth. Didn't take long for aphids to move in. Taking care of one tree that has them pretty bad.