- See also:
- Sour cherry trees1
Sweet cherry trees
Would you like to eat home-grown sweet cherries straight from the tree? Then choose from our range of easy cherry trees, many of them are self-fertile.
Amber Heart
A traditional English mid-season white cherry, widely known as Kent Bigarreau. Not self-fertile.- Pick season: Mid
- Self-fertile?: Not self-fertile
Kordia
Kordia has large black cherries with a good balanced cherry flavour. Not self-fertile.- Pick season: Late
- Self-fertile?: Not self-fertile
Lapins
A popular red mid-season cherry which is easy to grow. Self-fertile.- Pick season: Mid
- Self-fertile?: Self-fertile
Merchant
An early-season black/red cherry with a good flavour. Not self-fertile.- Pick season: Early
- Self-fertile?: Not self-fertile
Merton Glory
A well-known mid-season English white cherry. Not self-fertile.- Pick season: Early
- Self-fertile?: Not self-fertile
Napoleon Bigarreau
A traditional white cherry, with an excellent flavour and appearance. Not self-fertile.- Pick season: Early
- Self-fertile?: Not self-fertile
Penny
Penny is a high quality late-season black cherry - ripening in mid-August. Not self-fertile.- Pick season: Very late
- Self-fertile?: Not self-fertile
Regina
Regina is a new late-season sweet black cherry, with a good flavour and resistance to splitting. Not self-fertile.- Pick season: Late
- Self-fertile?: Not self-fertile
Skeena®
One of the best of the Canadian late-season cherries. Self-fertile.- Pick season: Late
- Self-fertile?: Self-fertile
Stella
Stella is perhaps the most popular mid-season red-cherry. Self-fertile and a good pollinator for other cherries.- Pick season: Mid
- Self-fertile?: Self-fertile
Summer Sun
Summer Sun crops heavily even in poor weather. Partially self-fertile.- Pick season: Mid
- Self-fertile?: Partially self-fertile
Sunburst
A large red mid-season cherry with a good sweet mild flavour. Self-fertile.- Pick season: Mid
- Self-fertile?: Self-fertile
Sweetheart
One of the best-flavoured late-season cherries for the UK climate. Self-fertile.- Pick season: Late
- Self-fertile?: Self-fertile
How to choose Sweet cherry trees
Sweet cherries are easy to grow as long as you have a sunny sheltered spot. The main challenge is to keep the birds off - use a net or horticultural fleece to cover the tree or at least some of the branches in late spring.
If you only have space for one cherry tree make sure it is a self-fertile one. We highlight these on our website - look for Stella, Sweetheart, Sunburst, or Lapins.Self-fertile cherry trees are also good pollinators for the more traditional English cherry varieties.
Sweet cherries are often categorised by colour. Red cherries have red or skins and light red flesh, and nearly all the self-fertile cherries are in this category. So-called 'white' cherries usually have pale red or pink or white skins and pale flesh. So-called 'black' cherries usually have dark red or black skins.
Sweet cherries are also categorised by their picking season. Early season equates to mid / late June in southern England. Mid-season is late June / early July. Late-season is mid-July onwards.