A field test was established in 1987 to evaluate the growth of micropropagated black cherry plantlets and control seedlings. The study also evaluated effects of two container types on initial survival and growth and of pruning on stem form and growth. At the time of field establishment, plantlets had more extensive root systems than the control seedlings. Survival and height growth were not influenced by container size. Through the first three growing seasons, seedlings were larger than micropropagated plants, but growth differences diminished in the fourth through sixth seasons. Pruning increased the length of clear stem by nearly 5-fold but adversely affected diameter growth. Though all clones were from ortet trees more than 50 years old, none showed plagiotropic growth. Six-year results showed that in a well-prepared and maintained plantation, black cherry trees derived from tissue culture can have at least 80% survival, and growth rates in excess of one meter per year.

Key words: clonal forestry; pruning; intensive culture; tissue culture micropropagation