Tree · Rosaceae
Cherry
Prunus avium
Give it full sun, deep soil, and good airflow, and a cherry tree rewards you with fruit for decades.
Full sun
Every 7–14 days
USDA 4–8
20–36 ft · 6–11 m
Overview
A cherry tree earns its place in the yard twice over, with clouds of white bloom in early spring and bowls of fruit by midsummer. It belongs to the rose family and comes in two main camps: the sweet cherry, Prunus avium, that you eat fresh off the branch, and the sour cherry, Prunus cerasus, that bakes into pies. Both want sun, room, and soil that drains.
These are full-size trees, not patio plants. A standard sweet cherry can reach 20 to 36 feet (6 to 11 m), though grafting onto a dwarfing rootstock keeps a tree small enough to net and pick. Sour cherries stay more compact and shrug off cold better, which is why they push further north.
Pollination is the part that trips up new growers. Many sweet cherries need a second, compatible tree to set fruit, while self-fertile types crop on their own. Sort that out before you plant, because a lone Bing with no partner will bloom beautifully and give you almost nothing.
Care
The short version: full sun, deep and well-drained soil, and steady water through the season. Prune while dormant for an open, airy frame, match a pollinizer to any sweet cherry that needs one, and net the tree before the birds find the fruit.
Light
Cherries crop best in full sun, ideally 6 or more hours a day. They will take a little shade and still grow, but you trade away fruit and invite the damp that disease loves.
Water
Water deeply and evenly, especially while a young tree is settling in and again as the fruit fills out. Aim for about 1 inch (2.5 cm) a week, and back off once the tree goes dormant. Erratic moisture and a heavy drink near harvest are what split the skins.
Soil
Plant in deep, fertile, well-drained loam. Cherries hate wet feet, so steer clear of low spots and heavy clay that holds water. A pH between 6.0 and 7.0 keeps the roots happy.
Temperature
These are hardy trees, comfortable across a wide range from about -22°F to 86°F (-30°C to 30°C). Sour cherries take the cold better, while a late frost on open bloom is the real threat to a crop.
Humidity
Average outdoor humidity around 40% to 60% suits them fine, so there's no number to fuss over. What matters more is airflow, since still, damp air around the canopy is how brown rot and canker get going.
Feeding
Feed in early spring before growth starts, using a balanced fertilizer guided by a soil test. Go easy on the nitrogen, because a flush of soft growth draws disease and gives you leaves instead of fruit.
Pruning
Prune while the tree is dormant in late winter to build an open frame that lets light and air through. Where bacterial canker is a problem, switch to pruning in dry summer weather instead, and always cut out dead, diseased, or crossing wood.
Size & spacing
A cherry is a real tree, reaching 20 to 36 feet (6 to 11 m) tall and spreading 15 to 30 feet (4.5 to 9 m) across, though dwarfing rootstocks rein that in. Give a standard tree plenty of open room so air moves through the canopy and disease stays down.
When to plant
Cherries run on the seasons. Plant a bare-root or potted tree in early spring while it's still dormant, watch it bloom as the weather warms, and pick sweet cherries in early to midsummer with sour types following close behind.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Plant: early spring while trees are still dormant
- Harvest: blooms in early spring; sweet cherries harvest in early to midsummer (June to July) and sour cherries shortly after, in the northern hemisphere
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 4–8
Temperature: down to -34°C
Troubleshooting
Most cherry trouble lands on the fruit, whether from disease, insects, or birds, while canker goes after the wood. Learn to read the early signs and you can step in before a season's crop is gone. Match what you see below, then act while it still helps.
Blighted blossoms and fruit that rots with fuzzy tan tufts
This is brown rot, a fungus that blasts the flowers in spring and then rots the fruit as it ripens, leaving raised tan tufts of spores on the surface. It spreads fast in warm, wet weather. Strip off every mummified fruit and prune for open, airy growth so the canopy dries quickly after rain.
Sunken oozing wounds on branches with gummy sap
Bacterial canker sinks into branches and the trunk, weeping gum and killing the wood above it, and it hits hardest in cool, wet springs. There is no spray that cures it. Cut well below the canker into clean wood, and do your pruning in dry summer weather when the bacteria are least active.
Maggots tunneling inside ripening cherries
The cherry fruit fly lays eggs in the developing fruit, and the maggots feed unseen until you bite into one. Hang sticky traps as the fruit starts to color so you can time control before harvest. Once the maggots are inside, that fruit is already lost.
Ripening cherries vanishing to birds
Birds will clear a tree of ripe cherries faster than you can pick them. Drape netting over the canopy before the fruit colors up, since that is when they move in. Scare devices help for a while, but a hungry flock learns to ignore them.
Split skins on cherries close to harvest
Fruit cracking happens when a ripe cherry drinks up water faster than its skin can stretch, usually after heavy rain or a late, sloppy watering. The splits then let rot in. Keep soil moisture steady through the season and ease off as harvest nears, and pick promptly when a downpour is coming.
Toxicity
The ripe fruit is good to eat, but the rest of the tree is genuinely dangerous. Leaves, stems, bark, and the pits all hold cyanogenic glycosides that release cyanide, and wilted leaves from a broken or pruned branch are the deadliest part of all. Keep prunings and fallen leaves away from pets and grazing animals, and never let anyone swallow the pits.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Safe for
People
Cats Toxic
The leaves, stems, and pits carry cyanide-releasing compounds, so a cat that chews them is at real risk. Watch for drooling and an upset stomach, and in a serious case dilated pupils, panting, and breathing that turns labored before shock sets in.
Dogs Toxic
A dog that gnaws on fallen branches or cracks pits can take in enough cyanide to cause trouble. Early on it looks like stomach upset, but a larger dose brings on heavy panting, bright red gums, and weakness. A swallowed pit can also lodge in the gut and block it.
Horses Toxic
Horses are one of the most sensitive animals here, and wilted leaves from a broken or trimmed limb are the worst danger. Poisoning comes on fast: bright red gums, gasping breath, staggering, collapse, and sometimes sudden death with no warning.
Rabbits Toxic
Cherry foliage and bark are not safe to offer a rabbit. The cyanogenic glycosides can poison a small grazer quickly, so keep prunings and clippings well out of reach.
Livestock Toxic
Cattle, sheep, and goats are at high risk, and wilted leaves after a storm or pruning are the classic cause of loss. A grazing animal can go from red gums and labored breathing to collapse within minutes, so fence stock away from cherry trees and never toss trimmings into a pasture.
Birds Toxic
Birds eat ripe cherries and drop the whole pit, but the leaves, twigs, and crushed pits release cyanide and should be kept away from caged or backyard birds.
People Ripe fruit safe
The ripe flesh is a familiar, safe fruit to eat. Don't chew or swallow the pits, and keep children away from leaves and twigs, since those parts hold the cyanide-releasing compounds.
Keep pets and livestock away from prunings, fallen leaves, and pits; wilting leaves from broken or trimmed branches are especially dangerous to grazing animals. Do not let children swallow pits.
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222
Canada
Poison Centres: 1-844-764-7669
Varieties
Cherries split cleanly into sweet types for fresh eating and sour types for the kitchen. These are the ones you'll meet most often, and whether each sets fruit alone is the detail that matters most.
Bing
A classic large, dark-red sweet cherry that won't set fruit on its own and needs a compatible pollinizer nearby.
Rainier
A yellow sweet cherry blushed with red that also depends on cross-pollination to crop.
Stella
A self-fertile sweet cherry that sets fruit alone, which makes it the pick when you only have room for one tree.
Montmorency
The leading sour cherry, self-fertile and cold-hardy, and the one most people reach for when baking pies.
Morello
A dark-fleshed, self-fertile sour cherry that handles shade and cold better than the sweet types do.
How to propagate
Cherries are not a plant you raise from saved seed and expect the same fruit. To get a known variety you start with a grafted tree, and the rootstock under it decides how big that tree will grow.
GraftingModerate
Almost every named cherry is grafted or budded onto a chosen rootstock, because that is the only way to keep a cultivar true to type. The rootstock also sets the tree's size, from a full Mazzard standard down to a dwarfing clonal root that keeps the tree within reach for picking.
SeedModerate
You can grow a cherry from a stratified pit, but the seedling won't match its parent, so this route is for raising rootstock or breeding stock rather than a known variety. Expect a wild or rootstock tree rather than another Bing or Montmorency.
Myths
Every part of a cherry is safe to eat.
Only the ripe flesh is safe. The leaves, stems, blossoms, and pits hold cyanogenic compounds that release cyanide, so those parts are toxic to people and animals alike. Enjoy the fruit and spit out the pit.
You always need two cherry trees to get any fruit.
Plenty of sweet cherries do need a partner for cross-pollination, but self-fertile types set fruit on their own. Sweet cultivars like Stella and most sour cherries, such as Montmorency, will crop as a single tree.
Sour cherries are just sweet cherries picked too early.
They are a different species altogether, Prunus cerasus, not an unripe version of anything. Sour cherries are naturally tart, smaller, hardier, and self-fertile, and they ripen into that tang on purpose.