Cherry trees
Celeste cherry tree
Celeste is a dark red/black cherry, one of the best early-season varieties, with a sweet mild flavour. compare
Colney cherry tree
Colney is a large modern late-season English dessert cherry, dark red/black, with a good flavour. compare
Early Rivers cherry tree
One of the earliest-ripening cherries, ready to pick in early June in southern England. compare
Kordia cherry tree
Kordia is a popular late-season cherry variety with a good balanced cherry flavour. compare
Lapins cherry tree
Lapins is a mid-season red cherry from Canada, easy to grow, with heavy crops of good-flavoured cherries. compare
Morello cherry tree
Morello is a traditional late-season acid or sour-cherry, and can be grown in north-facing situations. compare
Penny cherry tree
Penny is a high quality very late-season cherry - it ripens in mid-August. compare
Regina cherry tree
Regina is a new dark-red late-season sweet cherry, with a good flavour and resistance to splitting. compare
Stella cherry tree
If you only intend to grow one cherry tree Stella is a good choice. It ripens mid-season, is self-fertile and easy to grow. compare
Summer Sun cherry tree
Summer Sun is productive mid-season cherry, and should ripen even if the summer weather is less than perfect. compare
Sunburst cherry tree
Sunburst is a large red mid-season cherry with a good mild flavour, and notably easy to pick. compare
Sweetheart cherry tree
Sweetheart is perhaps one of the best-flavoured late-season cherries for the UK climate. compare
Van cherry tree
Van is a deservedly popular bright red mid-season cherry with firm flesh and an excellent cherry flavour. compareMore about Cherry trees
Cherries are perhaps the most diverse member of the genus Prunus, which includes other popular stone fruits such as plums, peaches, and apricots. There are two main types, the sweet cherry Prunus avium (best for eating fresh) and the acid or sour cherry Prunus cerasus (best for culinary use). Cherry trees are generally easy to grow, but sweet cherries like sun, so choose a sunny aspect when planting. The main horticultural challenge is the need for netting to ensure that the birds do not get the crop before you do.
Cherry trees do not need much attention as they grow, a simple mulch to keep the area free of weeds is sufficient. Once fruiting begins the mulch remains important, and should be extended to match the spread of the branches, because it acts as a sponge and therefore helps prevent fruit-splitting after heavy downpours. You should also apply compost and/or manure during the winter to supply the tree with the nutrients it needs for growth and fruiting.
Provided you can keep the birds off, cherry trees make a good choice for the garden because cherries are a fruit that is best eaten straight from the tree - sweet cherries do not keep more than a day or so and the flavour fades very rapidly. Shop-bought cherries are often quite expensive, and can never be as fresh as those you pick from your own tree.
There is not a great variation in the flavour of cherries, so when choosing which varieties to grow, it is perhaps more important to think about the ripening season and other horticultural attributes. The main characteristic of a good sweet cherry is that it should be "more-ish"!
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