Top-Notch Cherry Tree Varieties for Blossoms and Harvest
Picking the Perfect Cherry Tree for Your Landscape
Witness the incredible sight of blossoms gracing your garden each spring with a cherry tree - either edible or ornamental! Let's help you select the optimal cherry tree variety and cultivar tailored to your landscape and region.
Ornamental Cherry Trees: Beautify Your Space
Boasting an impressive spring flower show, ornamental cherry trees primarily serve as visual treats and rarely produce fruit. These deciduous beauties thrive well in Zones 5 to 9 under full sun. Thanks to their smaller size, they make fantastic additions to small gardens without encroaching on precious space.
Ornamental cherries reach 15 to 25 feet in height and spread, with some varieties stretching up to 40 feet or more. Positioning them near a patio or porch allows for cozy shade without overwhelming the area.
Notable for their limited lifespan, ornamental cherry trees typically thrive for about 20 years before declining. Depending on the cultivar, they vary in size, form, and flower color. Check out some of our top picks for these visually captivating types of cherry trees:
Japanese Flowering Cherry (Prunus serrulata) boasts a small, wide-spreading form and grows approximately 25 feet tall and wide. Its pink or white, single or double flowers grace the branches in midspring. Leaves turn bronze or yellow-orange in fall. Globally popular 'Kwanzan' offers a stunning array of large double-pink flowers.
Higan Cherry (Prunus × subhirtella) showcases excellent heat and cold tolerance. It grows well in various soil conditions but prefers moist, well-drained soil. After the spring flower show, dark green leaves transform into vibrant yellow hues in autumn. The weeping form 'Pendula' is particularly popular.
Yoshino Cherry (Prunus × yedoensis) is one of the larger ornamental cherries, growing quickly but with a short lifespan of around 15 years. This variety struggles in heat, humidity, and drought and is susceptible to late frost and windy conditions, which may disrupt the flower show.
'Okame' Cherry flaunts a distinctive vase shape, reaching 20 to 30 feet in height. Its striking pink flowers, paired with red bark, make for a visually appealing pairing. Autumn brings bold orange-red leaves to this tree that tolerates an array of growing conditions. It's one of the easiest ornamental cherry trees to cultivate.
Edible Cherry Trees: Indulge in Nature's Sweet Treats
Sweet or sour, edible cherry trees mimic their ornamental counterparts in their spring flower show, but the true delight awaits in harvest season, typically 6 to 8 weeks after flowering. Classified as either sweet cherries or sour cherries, we'll explore the best of each variety for your garden.
Like ornamental cherries, edible varieties tend to be short-lived, providing fruit for about 20 years before declining.
Sour Cherry Trees: Best for the Cold
Resilient to extreme winter temperatures, sour cherries (or pie cherries) are your best bet for cold climates. Popular varieties include:
'Meteor' yields bright red-skinned fruit with yellow flesh, making it easy to harvest. Its notable disease resistance makes 'Meteor' a productive and desirable cultivar. Particularly well-suited for Zone 4, it thrives up to Zone 8.
'Montmorency' produces tangy, bright red fruit ideal for pies and cobblers. This small tree boasts white flowers in spring and flourishes best in rich, well-drained soil. Though self-pollinating, 'Montmorency' benefits from another sour cherry nearby to boost production. Compatible partners include 'North Star,' 'Balaton,' and 'Meteor.' Zones 4-7.
'North Star' offers tart fruit with deep red flesh and mahogany red skin. This dwarf fruit tree reaches 8 to 10 feet tall, simplifying harvesting and pruning. Like 'Montmorency,' 'North Star' is self-pollinating but benefits from another sour cherry nearby for optimal yield. Zones 4-8.
While sour cherries are self-pollinating, many cultivars benefit from an additional sour cherry tree nearby to enhance fruit production. On the other hand, sweet cherries require another compatible sweet cherry tree for cross-pollination. Ensure a pollinating partner resides within 100 feet for the best results.
Sweet Cherry Trees: Delicious Delights
Mainly hardy to Zone 5, sweet cherries are more reliable in Zone 6 and above. Discover some exceptional varieties of this type of cherry tree:
'Bing' produces large, glossy, almost-black cherries with irresistible sweetness. Ideal for eating fresh, fruit matures in July. Cross-pollinate with 'Van' or 'Rainer.' Zones 5-8.
'Lapins' is a self-pollinating sweet cherry, requiring no pollinator tree, but fruit production increases with another sweet cherry tree nearby. Its eye-catching pink blooms are followed by dark red fruit with purple-red, sweet, firm flesh in July. It boasts good disease-resistance and crack-resistance. Zones 5-9.
'Rainier' offers superior flavor, with yellow fruit featuring a pink blush. Ripening at the end of May or early June, it's cross-pollinated with another sweet cherry variety. Zones 5-8.
'Van' delivers dark mahogany fruit in June. Typically starting to bear fruit by 4 or 5 years of age, this tree is cross-pollinated with any other sweet cherry variety, except 'Regina.' Zones 5-8.
'Windsor' produces medium-size, dark red fruit in July. This rapid grower reaches 15-18 feet tall and wide. Cross-pollinate it with any other sweet cherry variety for optimal fruit production. Zones 5-8.
- The Kwanzan variety of Japanese Flowering Cherry tree is particularly popular, known for its large double-pink flowers and small, wide-spreading form.
- In Zone 4, the 'Meteor' sour cherry tree thrives well, yielding bright red-skinned fruit with yellow flesh and featuring notable disease resistance.
- 'Lapins', a self-pollinating sweet cherry tree, offers pink blooms and dark red fruit with purple-red, sweet, firm flesh, best grown in Zones 5-9.
- The 'Bing' sweet cherry tree, known for its large, glossy, almost-black cherries with irresistible sweetness, requires cross-pollination with 'Van' or 'Rainer' in Zones 5-8.
- If you're looking for an edible cherry tree that can tolerate widespread climates and shrubs vines, consider the 'Rainier' sweet cherry tree with yellow fruit featuring a pink blush, suitable for cross-pollination in Zones 5-8.
