Sweetheart cherry trees
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- Picking season: Late Early August
- Self-fertility: Self-fertile
- Awards: RHS AGM (current) 2014
Sweetheart has all the characteristic flavour elements of a good sweet cherry, predominantly sweet, but not at all sugary, with an underlying hint (no more than that) of bitter sharpness. The flavour is arguably richer than is usual amongst cherries. To get the best flavour, pick when fully ripe and eat immediately. We think all sweet cherries are best when eaten slightly cool, but not chilled.
Sweetheart is also self-fertile, and ripens very late in the cherry season - well into August in the UK.
Another useful characteristic is that the picking period is longer than most, because ripening is uneven - meaning you don't get the inevitable glut which is a feature of other varieties.
Sweetheart 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 £64.50
Medium tree
(2m-3m after 10 years)
PG22-year bush-trained 12L pot-grown tree Colt rootstock £59.00
Large tree
(3m-5m after 10 years)
PG3Premium half-standard 12L pot-grown tree Colt rootstock £63.00
Large tree
(3m-5m after 10 years)
Bare-root
BR11-year bare-root tree Gisela 5 rootstock £47.00
Medium tree
(2m-3m after 10 years)
Out of stock
Please try next season
BR2Spindlebush bare-root tree Gisela 6 rootstock £54.50
Large tree
(3m-5m after 10 years)
Out of stock
Please try next season
BR31-year bare-root tree Colt rootstock £40.50
Large tree
(3m-5m after 10 years)
BR42-year bush-trained bare-root tree Colt rootstock £49.00
Large tree
(3m-5m after 10 years)
BR52-year half-standard bare-root tree Colt rootstock £53.00
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 6th January.
Delivery charges
Delivery for a single tree starts at £9.95, it is calculated based on your postcode.
Growing and Training
Sweetheart is a precocious sweet cherry, and starts to bear fruit relatively young - you may get fruit within a 2-3 of years of planting, whereas most cherries will start to bear fruit after about 3-4 years.
The main thing to look out for is its tendency to set too much fruit after the blossom season (a common problem with all the self-fertile varieties). You may need to thin the fruitlets just after the blossom has finished. Sweetheart responds well to thinning, which leads to better flavour and larger fruit size.
The other side of its tendency to over-crop is that Sweetheart produces a lot of blossom and looks very attractive in the spring.
Overall this is an excellent late-season cherry for the sunnier areas of the UK.
History
Sweetheart was developed by the Summerland Research Station, British Columbia, Canada and released in 1990. It is a cross between Van and Newstar.
Sweetheart characteristics
- Gardening skillBeginner
- Self-fertilitySelf-fertile
- Flowering group3
- Pollinating othersGood
- Climate suitabilityTemperate climates
- Picking seasonLate
- CroppingHeavy
- Keeping (of fruit)1-3 days
- Food usesEating fresh
- Bacterial cankerSome susceptibility
- Country of originCanada
- Period of origin1950 - 1999
- Blossom colourWhite
- Fruit colourRed
- 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.
Find out more.
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.
Find out more
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.
Find out more.
