Sweet Cherry

Prunus avium

Recommended varieties

• Bing. Sweet, firm, juicy, deep mahogany-red; the industry standard sweet cherry, classic flavor for fresh eating. Requires a pollinator. Zones 5a–7a.
• Stella. Sweet, firm, dark red; very good fresh-eating quality. Self-fertile so a single tree produces, also a good pollinator for Bing. Zones 5a–7b.
• Lapins. Sweet, large, dark red, crack-resistant in rain; one of the best modern fresh-eating cherries. Self-fertile. Zones 5b–7b.
• Rainier. Very sweet, mild, yellow-pink blushed skin with creamy yellow flesh; premium dessert cherry with a delicate flavor. Beautiful but bird-prone. Zones 5b–7a.

Common diseases

• Brown Rot (fungal). The most damaging stone-fruit disease, causing blossom blight and fruit rot.
• Bacterial Canker (bacterial). Bacterial disease causing limb dieback and gummosis, particularly damaging in wet cool springs.

Common pests

• Plum Curculio (Conotrachelus nenuphar). Native weevil that lays eggs in young stone and pome fruit, causing characteristic crescent-shaped scars.
• Japanese Beetle (Popillia japonica). Defoliating beetle introduced to North America in 1916. Skeletonizes leaves of many fruit trees.
• Spotted Wing Drosophila (Drosophila suzukii). Invasive vinegar fly that attacks ripening soft fruit, unlike native Drosophila species which target overripe fruit.
• Cherry Fruit Fly (Rhagoletis cingulata). Native fly whose larvae develop in ripening cherries, the primary fresh-market quality concern.

Grafting and rootstocks

• Bing on Mazzard · standard, 20–30 ft.
• Lapins on Gisela 5 · dwarf, 10–12 ft.

Companion plants

• clover (beneficial): Clover groundcover supports beneficial insects and reduces erosion in sloped cherry orchards.
• marigold (beneficial): French marigolds suppress nematodes that affect cherry root health in sandy soils.

Sources

• WSU Tree Fruit Cherry