June 19, 2025, 1:15 pm | Read time: 7 minutes

Sweet cherries captivate with their sweet fruits, magnificent blossoms, and lush growth. myHOMEBOOK explains what needs to be done to help the trees reach their full potential.

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Appearance and Growth

Sweet cherries reach heights between 10 and 50 feet, depending on the rootstock. They typically develop a sprawling, rounded crown. The bark is distinctively reddish-brown, marked by horizontal bands and features characteristic corky warts. The strong branches bear green, smooth, oval leaves with pointed tips. The white flowers appear in small clusters from early to late April, depending on the variety. After pollination, the fruits develop with a diameter of up to 0.8 inches. They are usually red and sweet with low acidity.

Planting Sweet Cherries

The best time to plant sweet cherries is in the fall. The planting hole should be about twice the size of the root ball. For a better start, it is advisable to enrich the excavated soil with compost or good planting soil. A support stake provides the young tree with the necessary stability. When planting, the grafting point should remain about 4 inches above the ground. Then, firm the soil well and water thoroughly.

Location and Soil

Sweet cherries thrive in a full-sun, airy location and areas not prone to late frost. They yield best on soils that are deep, rich in humus and nutrients, contain lime and clay, and are loose. On heavy and wet soils, however, they quickly become diseased.

Variety Tips

‘Kassin’s Early’ (2nd cherry week) produces large, dark red fruits with fairly good resistance to cracking. The fruits of the ‘Burlat’ variety (2nd-3rd cherry week) are large, have relatively firm flesh, are juicy and sweet-aromatic, but not particularly crack-resistant. Also very popular is the ‘Large Black Firm-fleshed Cherry’ (5th-6th cherry week). It has almost black, sweet-aromatic, and very juicy fruits. Those who want yellow cherries will be well served with ‘Dönissen’s Yellow Firm-fleshed Cherry’ (5th-6th cherry week). The fruits are medium-sized, sweet with little acidity, and very juicy. For container gardeners, ‘Garden Bing’ (5th cherry week) is a good choice. The slow-growing dwarf cherry produces bright red, sweet-aromatic fruits.

Pollination

Most sweet cherries are not self-fertile. To produce fruit, they need a second variety as a pollen donor. However, not all varieties are compatible. This is partly due to different flowering times and partly due to what is known as intersterility. This means that there are varieties that cannot pollinate each other due to their close relationship. Therefore, it is important to find out which varieties are compatible.

Caring for Sweet Cherries

Sweet cherries are not particularly demanding in terms of care. With the following tips, you can get the best out of them.

How to Water Sweet Cherries

Until the sweet cherry is well established, it should be watered regularly. After that, it is sufficient to water it during prolonged dry and hot periods. A layer of mulch helps protect the soil from drying out quickly. If the sweet cherry is grown in a container, it will always rely on watering.

Fertilization Needs

In spring, a portion of compost lightly worked into the soil supports the sweet cherry as it starts the season. On nutrient-poor soils, it is advisable to also apply an organic long-term fertilizer.

Do Sweet Cherries Need Pruning?

To ensure sweet cherries produce good yields and remain healthy over the long term, regular pruning is necessary. This is best done in August after the harvest, as the tree then has enough time to recover from the pruning before winter. The training cut in the first few years is intended to form a uniform, pyramidal crown with three to four strong main branches. Small sweet cherries can also be trained as spindle trees, with the side branches tied down from the start.

Sweet cherries bear fruit on shoots that are two to three years old. The maintenance cut ensures they receive enough light and air. Excess and inward-growing side shoots are removed, and the tips of the main branches are redirected to flat-growing side shoots.

Winter Hardiness

Sweet cherries are winter hardy, but frost cracks can occur. A whitewash or shading of the trunks helps minimize this risk.

Propagation

Sweet cherries are usually propagated by grafting. In this process, either individual buds (budding) in summer or scions (grafting) in winter of the desired variety are joined with a rootstock so that the new tree bears the same fruit.

Diseases and Pests

The most important diseases of sweet cherries include the fungal diseases Monilia fruit rot and shot hole disease. Fruit rot appears as brown, rotting spots on the cherries. Affected branches should be cut back deeply into healthy wood, and affected fruits should also be disposed of–but never on the compost. Shot hole disease can be recognized by round holes that the fungus eats into the leaves. Affected shoots should be removed. To prevent both diseases, it helps to prune the plants to allow air circulation so the foliage can dry quickly after a rain shower.

One of the two most significant pests of sweet cherries is the cherry fruit fly, as its larvae develop in the cherries. Early varieties like ‘Burlat’ or ‘Lapins’ are less affected than later varieties. Additionally, it is helpful to prevent the larvae from burrowing into the soil, for example, with a foil. Protective nets, yellow boards, and chickens are also useful in combating the cherry fruit fly. The second significant pest is the spotted wing drosophila, which can be controlled with purchased or homemade traps.

Toxicity

Sweet cherries are not toxic. However, the pits contain amygdalin, which can be converted into cyanide in the body. But even if a pit is bitten, the amounts released are so small that no harm is expected.

Alternatives

An alternative to sweet cherries is the sour cherry. It has lower site requirements and is often self-fertile. Its fruits are less sweet than those of the sweet cherry and are therefore particularly suitable for processing.

The cherry plum is also a good alternative to sweet cherries. Also known as wild plum or wild mirabelle, this plant blooms very early in the year, is a good source of nectar for bees, and bears plenty of sweet-aromatic, yellow to red spherical fruits.

Use in the Garden

Sweet cherries are suitable as stately house trees, especially in larger gardens. Slower-growing varieties and spindle trees also fit in smaller gardens, as do sweet cherries trained on a trellis.

Use in the Kitchen

Sweet cherries are mainly used as table fruit, for desserts, cakes, and pies, and processed into jam and juice. It is also possible to freeze the cherries with or without the pit or to dry them in the oven or dehydrator. In the refrigerator, sweet cherries stay fresh for two to three days.

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Bee Friendliness

Sweet cherries provide bees and other insects with nectar and pollen.