Sour cherry
Prunus cerasus
MediumSecondary
Production
The easier cherry — compact, mostly self-fertile and shade-tolerant, with tart fruit for cooking and preserving. More forgiving than sweet cherry, but its pits and leaves are toxic.
Tolerances & traits
- Strata
- Medium
- Lifecycle
- Secondary
- Soil preference
- Loam, Sandy
- Soil pH range
- 6 – 7.5
- Min. temperature
- -30°C
- Min. rainfall
- 600 mm/year
- Wind tolerance
- Medium
- Frost tolerance
- High
- Growth rate
- Medium
- Irrigation needed
- Medium
How to manage it
More compact and mostly self-fertile than sweet cherry, and tolerates partial shade. Fruits on young wood, so renew-prune each year to keep it productive.
Watch out for
Seeds, leaves and bark contain cyanogenic compounds and are toxic if eaten; fruit is tart, best cooked or preserved. Birds are the main pest; prune only in dry weather to avoid canker.
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