Stella cherry trees
£38.75 - £64.50Stella cherry trees for sale
Choose a size - pot-grown
All our pot-grown trees are grown for us to our specification by the Frank P Matthews nursery.
PG12-year bush-trained 11.5L pot-grown tree, Gisela 5 rootstock£64.50
Medium tree
(2m-3m after 10 years)
PG22-year bush-trained 12L pot-grown tree, Colt rootstock£58.75
Large tree
(3m-5m after 10 years)
PG3Premium half-standard 12L pot-grown tree, Colt rootstock£62.50
Large tree
(3m-5m after 10 years)
Choose a size - bare-root
BR11-year bare-root tree,Gisela 5 rootstock£45.50< 5 in stock
Medium tree
(2m-3m after 10 years)
BR21-year bare-root tree,Colt rootstock£38.75
Large tree
(3m-5m after 10 years)
BR32-year half-standard bare-root tree,Colt rootstock£51.00
Large tree
(3m-5m after 10 years)
BR42-year bush-trained bare-root tree,Colt rootstock£47.25
Large tree
(3m-5m after 10 years)
Need help?
Ask our fruit tree experts on 01759 392007 or fill in our contact form.
Tree specification
Photos of trees as supplied |
Tree sizes and forms
Next deliveries
Delivery from week commencing 16th February 2026 onwards.
Delivery charges
Delivery for a single tree starts at £9.95, it is calculated based on your postcode.
All about Stella cherry trees
Stella is an excellent self-fertile cherry variety, easy to grow and productive. The large dark red cherries are very juicy and sweet, with a typical cherry flavour.
If your only experience of cherries is from a market stall or supermarket then you will be very pleasantly surprised with the flavour of fresh Stella cherries straight from your own tree.
Stella was the first of the modern self-fertile cherries, introduced from Canada in the 1970s. Until that time growing cherries at home meant planting at least two different varieties and dealing with the complexities of cherry cross-pollination. Being both self-fertile and having such a good flavour, Stella rapidly established itself as the ideal garden cherry tree, since it could be grown on its own. Although there are now other self-fertile cherry varieties, if you only intend to grow one cherry tree, Stella is still one of the best choices.
As well as being self-fertile, it is also a good pollinator for other cherries including the traditional English cherries (most of which are not self-fertile). It is therefore a very good starting point if you think you may add further cherry trees to your garden or orchard in the future.
Growing and Training
Stella is self-fertile, reliable, and a good choice if you are new to growing dessert cherries. It does best in areas with mild spring weather.
One of the disadvantages of self-fertile cherries is they tend to over-crop, and whilst this might seem like a good thing, it leads to smaller fruits with less concentrated flavour. It is therefore a good idea to thin the fruitlets just after the blossom has finished.
History
Stella was developed by the Summerland research station in British Columbia, Canada, and released in 1968. Its parentage included a self-fertile cherry seedling raised by researchers at the John Innes Institute in the UK, derived from two traditional varieties, Emperor Francis and Napoleon.
Stella was the first widely-available self-fertile cherry, and by chance was introduced at around the same time as the first dwarfing cherry rootstock - Colt. This combination revolutionised cherry-growing, because it meant for the first time it was possible to grow cherries in an average garden - thanks to Stella's self-fertility only one tree was needed, and the Colt rootstock kept the height manageable.
Many modern self-fertile cherry varieties trace their parentage to Stella.
Stella characteristics
- Gardening skillBeginner
- Self-fertilitySelf-fertile
- Flowering group4
- Pollinating othersGood
- Picking seasonMid
- CroppingHeavy
- Keeping (of fruit)1-3 days
- Food usesEating fresh
- Country of originCanada
- Period of origin1950 - 1999
- Blossom colourWhite
- Fruit colourRed - dark
- AwardsRHS AGM (current)
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.
