Often referred to as sour or pie cherries, the tart cherry can also be enjoyed fresh. It is not just a pie cherry. Many of the wild cherry trees found growing in fields and along banks of rivers and ponds produce tart fruits. These are the Prunus cerasus. Wild sweet cherries are P. avium. Tart cherry trees are easier to grow in the home garden due to the fact that they are less prone to disease than their relative, the sweet cherry.
Five tart cherry tree varieties found in local nurseries and mail order catalogs can be found listed below.
The Trees
- Balaton™ matures after Montmorency by approximately one week with large juicy fruits containing larger pits than other tart cherries. These fruits are good for eating fresh, cooking and preserves. Balaton is considered a semi-dwarf tree.
- Danube® (Érdi Botermo) produces medium to large dark red fruits which are considered sweet-tart while still being tart. This variety is very productive making it the perfect choice for those who sell produce at the local farmers market. Danube may need extra care in winter as extended freezing temperatures can cause injury to branches.
- English Morello is a very productive old variety cherry tree that is cold hardy. Fruits are medium in size with dark red flesh and deep red colored juice. This is an extremely tart cherry which gets a bit less so when allowed to stay on tree until fruit turns dark purple-red. Most growers use the fruit for cooking and preserving rather than eating fresh. It is considered a semi-dwarf tree.
- Jubileum® (Érdi Jubileum) is an early maturing tree producing large crisp dark red, nearly purple fruits about two weeks before the well known Montmorency cherry. Fruit grows sweeter the longer it stays on the tree. Cold hardy, tolerates bacterial spot, heavy producer and crack resistant. It is considered a semi-dwarf tree.
- Montmorency cherry is the standard by which other tart cherry trees have been measured. Trees produce large numbers of bright red medium sized fruits in large quantity. Watch tree for cherry leaf drop. Montmorency is considered a semi-dwarf tree and is winter hardy. A good choice for home orchards.
Extra Tips
Tart cherry trees are self fertile meaning they do not need other varieties to pollinate them or what is known as cross pollination. Once cherry trees are established, they really need little care when compared to other fruit trees. The worst pests in the cherry orchard are birds. They can strip every fruit from the tree in a matter of minutes. Use netting to prevent birds from stripping trees of fruit.
For tips on planting and growing cherry trees, see the article; “How to Grow a Cherry Tree.” Tips for choosing sweet cherry trees can be found in this article; "Choosing Sweet Cherry Trees"
