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.
All pot-grown trees are suitable for planting out in the garden, some are suitable for growing in containers.
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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.
Morello cherries have been grown in the UK since the early 17th century, but the origins of this variety are unknown.
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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.
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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.
This variety description was researched and written by Orange Pippin staff. Last checked: 2024.