If you buy a tree in a pot today it is likely to be very root bound so will struggle to get established. I would buy a bare root tree of a desirable variety then graft the extras onto it. (order in January from raintree, stark, Adams co, or cummins) .

Read up on the varieties that do well in your area. You may be on the wrong track with your cherry varieties. But regardless I would suggest considering peaches rather then cherries with your limited space

Peaches are easy to grow an awesome to eat when picked ripe from the tree. Peaches can crop as early as year 3, although best to only let it put off 4 or less and continue to put it's energy into the tree itself.

On apple and peach there are tons of interesting varieties so you can keep adding varieties indefinitely. my peach planted in 2009 has 6 varieties and I'll keep adding. If you put on something that you don't like you can graft again and get something else going in the spot. .

practice grafting on trees that don't matter so you will be good at it when you do your fruit trees. Lots of youtube videos make it look as easy as putting a quarter in a parking meter. but you don't know how much experience that grafter has, and more importantly, you don't know if it was successful. I have seen several that I suspect failed. The video was just some crap done by some dude trying to keep filling his youtube channel

Thanks for the info. Truth be told, the Cherry would be my highest priority because my entire family absolutely love the fruit. I'd eat a bowl full of cherries over any other fruit any day. Don't get me wrong we also like other fruit such as peaches and pears. But I really want cherries most of all.

So you would suggest ordering an actual bing cherry tree. Maybe one from dwarf stock and then purchase some scionwood from other cherry varieties. For my zone probably performing the grafting in late winter (Feb, Mar)?

As for practicing, I've read that I should bud graft in the summer and cleft graft in late winter. With the cherries or apples I'd likely cleft graft. Are there any tree species (fruiting or non-fruiting) that I can practice cleft grafting this time of year? Would any cleft grafting actaully take this time of year? My dad has a couple of neglected apple trees that we are planning on rehabbing this winter. Our plan is to cut out all of the dead and diseased wood this summer and then waiting until next February to actually prune the tree properly. Should I practice on these?

Check out YouTube for grafting info (I like Stephen Hayes' videos-he has lots of follow up vids too). I was in your place 4 months ago and I top worked my old apple tree to a 5 in 1 with great success. I'll probably graft another 4 varieties next winter. I used a bunch of different grafts that I mostly learned from watching Stephen.

If I were you I'd watch some videos and practice bench grafts (whip is another term I think) and that's it. Rind and cleft grafts don't really have much technique needed. The bench graft is difficult for me though.

Have you called anywhere to see if they have rootstock still dormant? If so, it could certainly be planted and be ready next year. It really depends how eager you are to get fruit. I prefer to try to do as much by myself as possible so if I were you I'd stick with option 1 that you listed. Imagine the satisfaction when you have a mature set of trees planted from rootstock that you ordered and grafted to. :)

Speed. You have a good plan that will take a little time to accomplish. If you only want two trees I would suggest preparing the site now and plant right before they go dormant for this winter. When we moved into our house I found a small seedling pear near the property line that was about 2' high. To make a long story shorter this tree is now 15'x15' and has a decent crop of pears. It has four different disease resistant varieties grafted and are doing well. If you look into using disease resistant varieties that you like the taste half of your problems will be solved. Good luck and I hope you enjoy the experience as much as I have. Bill

I went into the woods behind my house and practiced several different types of grafts on garbage wood. Whip grafting, bud grafting, cleft grafting, etc. I know the whip and clefts wont take this time of year but interested to see if the bud grafts take. I definitely felt like I got better each additional time I tried it. I am really looking forward to next spring. I am also considering adding a few potted dwarf varieties that I can move around in my limited space. Maybe some type of fig or nectarine.

I also tried air layering on my dads apple trees and a few other trees in the woods. I really just did it for the experience and figured if I can get the roots to take off maybe I could have a few project trees that I could plant in the woods clearing and practice some grafting on.

If you are going to do potted trees, find the container growing section of this site and read away. Lots to know if you are going to be successful at that. The are some wonderful teachers on the subject.