Nimba® cherry trees

Nimba cherry trees for sale

All about Nimba cherry trees

Nimba is a very early-season red cherry - ripening at the beginning of the sweet cherry season, around the end of June in southern UK. Fruit size is good for such an early variety.

This is a commercial cherry variety that might be of interest to home orchard cherry enthusiasts. The trees are supplied in the commercial "knip" or "spindlebush" format.

Growing and Training

Nimba is susceptible to fruit splitting caused by rain in June as the fruits are ripening. It can be prevented by covering the tree to keep the rain off, or just ignored since it is mainly a cosmetic problem which will only concern commercial growers.

Nimba is not self-fertile, the best pollinators are other American varieties like Pacific Red, and some of the Canadian self-fertile varieties.

Nimba has a "low chill" requirement - this means it does not require a long period of winter cold to be productive, and can tolerate even fairly mild winters - useful in areas where the climate is warming.

Similar varieties

• Early Red Maraly
  
• Pacific Red
  A good pollinator for Nimba.

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.

All our trees are certified under the Plant Healthy scheme, supervised by the Plant Health Alliance. Other stakeholders include Defra and the RHS. 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 while 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.

More about cherry trees

Sweet cherry varieties can be classified into two groups: old traditional English varieties, and modern varieties. 

The traditional English varieties are in fact mostly of central European origin (and have very un-English names) but were the mainstay of cherry orchards in Kent in the 19th century and first half of the 20th century. These varieties are typified by good traditional cherry flavours, but they often have complicated pollination requirements.

Modern cherry development  began at the Summerland research station in British Columbia, Canada, in the 1940s. The most famous of these new varieties is Stella but there are many others such as Sweetheart, Sunburst, and Celeste. While they lack the tradition and romance associated with the older English varieties, the flavours are still excellent and their self-fertility and easier horticultural characteristics make them a much better choice for the gardener with space for only one or two cherry trees.

Sweet cherry trees like sun, so choose a sunny aspect when planting. 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. Unlike with other stone fruit such as plums, cherries do not need to be thinned.

The other main horticultural challenge is bird protection. It's a foregone conclusion that birds will get your cherry crop before you do, because they are prepared to eat slightly un-ripe cherries whereas we are not. However the simple precaution of netting the trees just before the harvest will solve this problem - on very large and inaccessible trees drape a net over some of the lower branches, allowing the birds to take their share from the higher branches.

Some other terms that often arise with cherries:

• 'Bigarreau cherries'. This means a firm-fleshed sweet cherry variety (as opposed to a soft flesh).
• 'Heart cherries'. Whilst most cherries are spherical, many have a distinct heart-like shape.
• 'White cherries'. This refers to the flesh rather than the skin colour. While most cherries have a dark flesh, white cherries have a white or pale yellow flesh. Most white cherries are old traditional varieties.