Johnny Appleseed Can Visit Your Backyard

Varieties are selected as good options for organically managed home orchards in Pennsylvania. Not all varieties are available each year.

Sweet
​Cherries
Emperor Francis
A large, high-quality yellow cherry of the Napoleon type, but less susceptible to cracking.  The color of the two fruits is similar except that those of Emperor Francis have more red blush.  Tree is hardy, vigorous and very productive.

Requires a Pollinator: Royalton, Hartland, and Hedelfigen are suitable Pollinators for Emperor Francis
Hartland
This open pollinated Windsor cross is an early-to mid-season, crack-resistant dark sweet cherry.  The tree is very vigorous and uniquely spreading in habit.  Hartland crops heavy and bears annually.

Requires a pollinator: Kristin, Royalton, Ulster, Emperor Francis, and Hedelfigen are suitable pollinators for Hartland
Hedelfingen
Hedelfingen is a large, late-season, high-quality dark red sweet cherry.  The fruit has very good flavor and lacks firmness, making it more resistant to rain cracking than most other cherries.  The trees are early bearing, very productive and hardy.

Requires a pollinator: All other Cherry trees are suitable
Kristin
Developed from a cross of Emperor Francis x Gil Peck, Kristin has been tested extensively in cold climates.  The fruit is dark red, large and of high quality.  The trees are very winter hardy and productive.

Requires a Pollinator: Royalton, Hartland, and Hedelfigen are suitable pollinators for Kristin
Royalton
A black sweet cherry ripening in the early season.  Fruit is very large, extremely crack tolerant and of high quality, making it a great choice for the fresh market.  Tree growth is upright and vigorous, but sometimes slow to come into production. Royalton is also an excellent pollenizer for other sweet cherries.

Requires a Pollinator: Kristin, Ulster, Emperor Francis, Hartland, and Hedelfigen are suitable pollinators for Royalton
Sam
​The Sam Cherry Tree is very similar to the Bing cherry with dark, shiny, medium sized fruit but it is a little more tart than its sweet cousin. The tree bears heavy and is resistant to cracking.

Requires a pollinator: Royalton, Stella
Ulster
The fruit is dark red, large and firm-fleshed.  This sweet cherry is a mid-season variety that ripens just after Schmidt and is more resistant to cracking.

Requires a Pollinator: Hartland, Royalton and Hedelfigen are suitable pollinators for Ulster

Self- Fertile
​Sweet Cherries
Blackgold
A late mid-season, self-fertile, sweet cherry selection developed by Cornell University. This is the latest-blooming sweet cherry in the Cornell collection and it has remarkable tolerance to spring frost. Its primary use is for fresh eating.
Lapins
​'Lapins' is self-fertile meaning, unlike many other sweet Cherries, it doesn't need another Cherry to produce a bumper crop of delicious fruit each year. Starting in late April or early May, its branches will be covered with beautiful white flowers. As the flowers fade, small green Cherries take their place and mature through the summer into extra large, mahogany fruits that are ready for harvest in late July and early August. 
Skeena
Skeena is a large, firm cherry.  It is a self-fertile selection and blooms in mid-late season.  Flavor is excellent and nicely balanced.  A moderate degree of cracking has been observed with this variety. 
Stella
​The Stella is a large, dark red cherry with firm, sweet, dark red flesh. Like the compact version, Stella is resistant to cracking, bears at a young age, and is self-fertile. The Stella Cherry Tree is a good pollinizer for all sweet cherries, and ripens in mid-July.
Sweetheart
Sweetheart™ is a reliable, self-fertile sweet cherry. The tree is medium vigor, spreading, precocious, and very productive. It will need diligent annual pruning to keep it under control. The only stand-out difficulty with this tree is a pronounced susceptibility to bacterial canker, which it has inherited from Van, one of its parents. Growers in cool, wet climates in particular should take extra care with cultural practices such as the removal of diseased tissue. Sweetheart™ does show good resistance to brown rot.
Whitegold
This heavy-cropping tree is the offspring of Emperor Francis and Stella parents. Tree bears gorgeous yellow-blushed-red sweet cherries that mature in mid cherry-season. Disease-resistant to brown rot, bacterial canker, and black knot. Resists cracking. ​

Tart
​Cherries
Balaton
A late maturing tart cherry ripening about seven to ten days after Montmorency.  The fruit is large and very firm with a red juicy flesh.  The trees produce fruit with slightly larger pits than other tart cherry varieties, which may cause problems with commercial pitting operations.  This is a very high-quality tart cherry selection and is recommended for fresh markets, processing and the home garden.
Danube
A new tart cherry cultivar for the fresh market.  The fruit of Danube® is dark red, medium to large, and sweeter than Montmorency.  Planted widely in Europe, this selection is an excellent choice for the fresh market.  The trees are very productive but more susceptible to winter injury than Montmorency.
Jubileum
An early maturing, dark red tart cherry variety for the fresh market.  Ripening ten days before Montmorency, this dark fleshed cherry is excellent to start the season and produces large fruit with good keeping qualities.
Meteor
Meteor is an excellent tree in almost every respect. Naturally dwarfing, it is vigorous yet grows only to 10-12 feet. It has an upright-spreading habit with a rounded crown and dense foliage that seems to help keep the birds out. It is also resistant to leaf spot and brown rot, and it has a late bloom that will avoid frost damage. Incredibly cold hardy, Meteor will tolerate temperatures as low as -50°F when dormant. Finally, this tree is fully self-fertile, needing no pollenizer, and it puts out a profuse, showy bloom in late spring, making it an attractive landscape addition.
Montmorency
This compact tree bears armloads of ripe, tangy, red cherries, which make mouthwatering, succulent pies and cobblers. Originates from Montmorency Valley, France circa 1600s, introduced to the U.S. in the 1800s. Cold-hardy. Ripens in mid June.
Northstar
A heavy producer. The number of deliciously tart cherries from one of these trees will amaze you. The fruit is perfect for juice or any number of dessert recipes. The sturdy, vase-shaped tree is a beauty in the landscape.
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