Well, there was a clog at the base that covered the holes that wasn't related to the mix. It's just a standard potting soil, nothing fancy, but a potting soil none the less - the usual ingredients I'm sure including vermiculite.

Beth: Agree with both of the above fellows. First, if your tree is on a standard cherry rootstock such as Mahaleb (Where did you buy the tree?) it may take as long as 5-8 years to begin to bloom. After that, it could be several more years before the blooms begin to actually set and hold fruit -- and that is assuming there are no pollination problems. If the tree is not self-pollinating, it will never set fruit unless there is another compatible tree nearby. I also agree that the presence of the nearby very tall trees cannot help but affect your tree. Sunlight is very important to develop fruiting wood on cherries and most other fruit trees, and those tall trees have to be cutting off either morning or afternoon sunlight. Trees that receive insufficient sunlight will be slower to fruit, and in extreme cases may never fruit. Finally, I fully agree with Murky that the entire second tier of the tree should be lopped off and you should focus your efforts on the lower part, which has an ideal vase shape for a cherry tree. Pruning the tree down in this way may encourage some fruiting wood to develop in the lower branches. Finally, you should specify your location when asking a question of this nature. Zone 7 can be a lot of different places, and location can affect tree performance. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

"BingÂRipe mid July. Commercial standard for dark sweet cherries and still top rated for quality; can crack badly with rain at the wrong time, but sets well on Gisela 5 in our western coastal climate. RainierÂRipe mid July. Commercial market high quality white flesh cherry. Sometimes sets poorly in a maritime climate, but has done well on Gisela 5 and 7 in Mount Vernon trials. Skin color is a bright red blush over yellow" Here is a link that might be useful: Fruit Handbook for Western Washington

Sure. You just want to keep the roots from drying out so heeling them in anywhere you have space is fine. Frosts are really not that much of a concern, as bare root stock is typically dug in fall and kept in cold storage until it is retailed in late winter/early spring. And these are all fully hardy plants, so no worries. And you are NOT a doofus :-) This is when these types of plants are most commonly offered for sale - if you don't take advantage of the sales when they occur, you miss out! It's not your fault the weather doesn't always cooperate with our gardening plans so we have to make allowances for it. I've got all sorts of bare root stock potted up waiting to get in the ground.....it's not so much a concern of wet soil for me as it is the time factor of getting the beds cleaned up so I can plant.