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Sweetheart Cherry on Mahaleb (Spring 2024)


This is an easy, self-fertile sweet cherry. Also known as 13S-22-8.

Sweetheart™ is a reliable, self-fertile sweet cherry. It can be used as a universal pollenizer for other early-blooming cherries. 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.

Ripening around 20 days after Bing, Sweetheart™ comes at the very end of sweet-cherry season. It ripens unevenly, which is great for home gardeners because it means they can relax and enjoy their cherries without dealing with a sudden glut. The fruit is, as its name suggests, heart shaped and bright red. It is firm and has a rich flavor that receives high scores in taste trials. This is a perfect backyard sweet cherry and it can also be used as a pollenizer.

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Sweetheart™ is a reliable, self-fertile sweet cherry. It can be used as a universal pollenizer for other early-blooming cherries. 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.

Ripening around 20 days after Bing, Sweetheart™ comes at the very end of sweet-cherry season. It ripens unevenly, which is great for home gardeners because it means they can relax and enjoy their cherries without dealing with a sudden glut. The fruit is, as its name suggests, heart shaped and bright red. It is firm and has a rich flavor that receives high scores in taste trials. This is a perfect backyard sweet cherry and it can also be used as a pollenizer.


The Fruit

Fruit Type

Category: Cherry
Subcategory: Crack-Resistant, Sweet, Self-Fertile

Fruit Uses & Storage

Uses: fresh eating, jam, baking, canning, freezing, jelly
Storage duration: less than one month (approximate, depending on storage conditions)

Fruit Appearance

Skin color: red
Flesh color: red

Fruit Origins

Parentage: Van x Newstar
Origin: Summerland, British Columbia
Introduced in: 1993
Introduced by: W.D. Lang and R.A. MacDonald

The Environment

Calendar & Geography

USDA zones: 5 - 8
Chill hours: 800
Ripening date: Jul 10 (approximate, in New York State) + 20 days after Bing

Tree Height & Spacing

Rootstock: Mahaleb Rootstock
Rootstock size class: Half-Standard (60% of Standard)
Tree spacing: See details
Good for wildlife planting? N

Diseases & Pests

Bacterial Canker of Stone Fruit: Very Susceptible
Brown Rot, Blossom Blight, Fruit Rot: Resistant

Pollination

Pollination Factors

Bloom group:
Is it self-fertile? Y
Is it fertile? Y
Ploidy: Diploid
Rootstock size class: Half-Standard (60% of Standard)

Pollination Partners

Sweet cherries are not part of our search tool given various complexities. Please see our Pollenizer Search to run other queries and read how the application uses various factors. Also read more about fruit tree pollination.






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