Morello cherry trees
Prunus cerasus
Check pollinators >
- Picking season: Late mid / late July
- Self-fertility: Self-fertile
- Awards: RHS AGM (current) 1993
Morello is a traditional English cooking cherry - if you want to make cherry pies, cherry crumbles, or jams and preserves, this is the best cherry variety to choose - when cooked it has a strong rich cherry flavour.
Morello cherries can be eaten fresh when very ripe (at which point they have a sharp-sweet flavour), but Morello belongs to the acid-cherry or sour-cherry (Prunus cerasus) species rather than the sweet-cherry species (Prunus avium), and is grown primarily for use in the kitchen. The fruits are smaller than modern dessert cherries, looking more like small seedless grapes.
Morello cherries (like most sour cherries) contain melatonin, a natural anti-oxidant substance which is also involved in regulating sleeping and wakefullness.
Morello is also an excellent pollinator of most other cherry varieties.
Morello cherry trees for sale
Pot-grown
All pot-grown trees are suitable for planting out in the garden, some are suitable for growing in containers.
PG12-year bush-trained 11.5L pot-grown tree Gisela 5 rootstock £63.50
Medium tree
(2m-3m after 10 years)
Out of stock
Please try next season
PG22-year bush-trained 11.5L pot-grown tree Own-roots rootstock £60.50
Medium tree
(2m-3m after 10 years)
PG32-year bush-trained 12L pot-grown tree Colt rootstock £57.75
Large tree
(3m-5m after 10 years)
PG4Premium half-standard 12L pot-grown tree Colt rootstock £61.50
Large tree
(3m-5m after 10 years)
Bare-root
BR11-year bare-root tree Colt rootstock £38.75
Large tree
(3m-5m after 10 years)
BR22-year bush-trained bare-root tree Colt rootstock £47.25
Large tree
(3m-5m after 10 years)
Out of stock
Please try next season
BR32-year half-standard bare-root tree Colt rootstock £51.00
Large tree
(3m-5m after 10 years)
Need help? Ask our fruit tree experts
Call us on 01759 392007 or fill in our contact form.
Next deliveries
Order now for delivery from week commencing 25th November for pot grown trees or December for bare-root or mixed tree orders.
Delivery charges
Delivery for a single tree starts at £9.95, it is calculated based on your postcode.
Growing and Training
While sweet cherries really need a sunny aspect, acid-cherries are far less demanding. Morello can be grown on a north-facing wall if necessary, and is hardy and reliable. It is self-fertile, and the blossom is relatively late, so the risk of frost-damage is slight.
Acid cherries arguably produce better-looking trees than sweet cherries too. If you need to prune, do so in spring to reduce the risk of bacterial canker, and note that Morello fruits mainly on new shoots which grew the previous summer. However as with all cherries and plums, it is best to avoid pruning if you can.
The blossom of Morello cherry is particularly long-lasting and compatible, making it an excellent pollinator of most other cherries (sweet or sour).
We sometimes offer Morello cherries grown from cuttings on their own roots. These have a similar vigour to trees grafted on the the semi-dwarf Gisela 5 rootstock, and should start fruiting within a year or so of planting.
History
Morello cherries have been grown in the UK since the early 17th century, but the origins of this variety are unknown.
Morello characteristics
- Gardening skillBeginner
- Self-fertilitySelf-fertile
- Flowering group5
- Country of originUnited Kingdom
- Period of origin1600 - 1649
- Blossom colourWhite
- Fruit colourRed - dark
- AwardsRHS AGM (current)
British-grown trees 
Unlike many garden centres and online retailers, the vast majority of our fruit trees are grown in the UK.
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In addition, all our trees are certified under the Plant Healthy scheme, supervised by the Plant Health Alliance.
Other stakeholders include Defra and the RHS. The scheme aims to improve UK biosecurity by setting standards
for all growers and retailers involved in selling plants in the UK.
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Guaranteed fruit trees
When you buy your fruit tree from Orange Pippin Fruit Trees we guarantee it for the first season in your garden whilst it gets established. If it doesn't grow successfully, we'll either replace it the following season or offer a refund - subject to some conditions.
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