Morello cherry trees

Check pollinators >

• Picking season: Late mid / late July
• Self-fertility: Self-fertile
• Awards: RHS AGM (current) 1993

Morello is a traditional English cooking cherry - if you want to make cherry pies, cherry crumbles, or jams and preserves, this is the best cherry variety to choose - when cooked it has a strong rich cherry flavour.

Morello cherries can be eaten fresh when very ripe (at which point they have a sharp-sweet flavour), but Morello belongs to the acid-cherry or sour-cherry (Prunus cerasus) species rather than the sweet-cherry species (Prunus avium), and is grown primarily for use in the kitchen. The fruits are smaller than modern dessert cherries, looking more like small seedless grapes.

Morello cherries (like most sour cherries) contain melatonin, a natural anti-oxidant substance which is also involved in regulating sleeping and wakefullness.

Morello is also an excellent pollinator of most other cherry varieties.

 

Morello cherry trees for sale

Pot-grown

All our pot-grown trees are grown for us to our specification by the Frank P Matthews nursery.

All pot-grown trees are suitable for planting out in the garden, some are suitable for growing in containers.

• PG12-year bush-trained 11.5L pot-grown tree Gisela 5 rootstock£63.50
  Grown for us by Frank P Matthews nursery
  Medium tree (2m-3m after 10 years)
  

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• PG22-year bush-trained 11.5L pot-grown tree Own-roots rootstock£60.50
  Grown for us by Frank P Matthews nursery
  Medium tree (2m-3m after 10 years)
  

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• PG32-year bush-trained 12L pot-grown tree Colt rootstock£57.75
  Grown for us by Frank P Matthews nursery
  Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years)
  

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• PG4Premium half-standard 12L pot-grown tree Colt rootstock£61.50
  Grown for us by Frank P Matthews nursery
  Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years)
  

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Bare-root

• BR11-year bare-root treeColt rootstock£38.75
  Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years)
  

  Out of stock
  Please try next season
• BR22-year bush-trained bare-root treeColt rootstock£47.25
  Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years)
  

  Out of stock
  Please try next season
• BR32-year half-standard bare-root treeColt rootstock£51.00
  Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years)
  

  Out of stock
  Please try next season

Need help? Ask our fruit tree experts

Call us on 01759 392007 or fill in our contact form.

Tree specification

Photos of trees as supplied | Tree sizes and forms

Pre-ordering

Pre-order now for delivery in September 2025

Delivery charges

Delivery for a single tree starts at £9.95, it is calculated based on your postcode.

Growing and Training

While sweet cherries really need a sunny aspect, acid-cherries are far less demanding. Morello can be grown on a north-facing wall if necessary, and is hardy and reliable. It is self-fertile, and the blossom is relatively late, so the risk of frost-damage is slight.

Acid cherries arguably produce better-looking trees than sweet cherries too. If you need to prune, do so in spring to reduce the risk of bacterial canker, and note that Morello fruits mainly on new shoots which grew the previous summer. However as with all cherries and plums, it is best to avoid pruning if you can.

The blossom of Morello cherry is particularly long-lasting and compatible, making it an excellent pollinator of most other cherries (sweet or sour).

We sometimes offer Morello cherries grown from cuttings on their own roots. These have a similar vigour to trees grafted on the the semi-dwarf Gisela 5 rootstock, and should start fruiting within a year or so of planting.

History

Morello cherries have been grown in the UK since the early 17th century, but the origins of this variety are unknown.

Morello characteristics

British-grown trees

Unlike many garden centres and online retailers, the vast majority of our fruit trees are grown in the UK. Find out more.

In addition, all our trees are certified under the Plant Healthy scheme, supervised by the Plant Health Alliance. Other stakeholders include Defra and the RHS. The scheme aims to improve UK biosecurity by setting standards for all growers and retailers involved in selling plants in the UK. Find out more

Guaranteed fruit trees

When you buy your fruit tree from Orange Pippin Fruit Trees we guarantee it for the first season in your garden whilst it gets established. If it doesn't grow successfully, we'll either replace it the following season or offer a refund - subject to some conditions. Find out more.

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