The sweet cherry (prunus avium) and the sour cherry (prunus cerasus) both belong to the genus Prunus in the rose family. The types of sweet cherry are cartilage cherry and heart cherry. The sour cherry is available as a shrub and a tree. The sweet cherries have smooth, shiny skin and firm, often light-colored flesh. The fruits of the sour cherries are soft and juicy with dark red flesh.
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The cherry trees only produce abundant fruit if numerous flowers are fertilized if possible. The self-sterile cultivars are only fruitful if they are fertilized by a foreign cultivar of the same species. Even with the self-pollinating varieties, a suitable pollinating variety in the neighborhood has a positive effect on the yield.
Sweet cherry varieties
One of the oldest varieties of cartilaginous cherry is the great black cartilaginous cherry, which originated in France and is now widespread. It owes its popularity to the sweetness of its fruits and its consistently high yields. However, it is a strongly growing cherry tree that needs a suitable pollinator variety. It is a medium late to late variety.
The very early variety, which is therefore largely spared from the cherry fly infestation, is Kassin's Early Heart Cherry - a healthy, robust cherry variety from Werder. It also needs a fertilization partner, grows medium to strong and delivers consistently good yields. Other well-known sweet cherry varieties are:
- Büttner's Red Cartilage Cherry (a large-fruited variety with bright yellow skin that dates back to 1795),
- Burlat (early ripening variety with very high yields, therefore often used in commercial cultivation),
- Hedelfinger giant cherry (adaptable variety for warm and cold locations),
- Lapins (compact growing, self-fertile variety for small gardens).
Sour cherry varieties
Probably the best known, most cultivated, very old sour cherry variety is the morello cherries, not least because it delivers high yields with very little care. Their fruit is used to make jams and toppings. It has the characteristic sour taste and is very juicy.
The morello cherries, which also thrive in not particularly warm locations, is a slow-growing tree or shrub for small home gardens. Like most sour cherries, it is self-pollinating and is suitable as a pollinator for other cherries that bloom at the same time. The Köröser Weichsel variety - a strong-growing tree - is also known for its low location requirements. Other sour cherries are:
- Ludwigs Früh (adaptable variety, sweet and sour)
- Fanal (has large fruits, also grows on light and heavy soils)
- Morellenfeuer (mildly sour, aromatic, late variety)
- Werdersche glass cherry (light, slightly sour pulp, early variety, undemanding)
Tips & Tricks
If you don't have space for several cherry trees, you can try a “family tree”. These are offered in online shops and contain three different types of cherry on a tree.
