A very beautiful heirloom apple that stores well.
Emperor Francis Cherry on Mahaleb (Spring 2025)
A sweet, productive Napoleon-style cherry.
This is a vigorous and productive tree. It is not self-fertile and it will need to be paired with another sweet cherry for pollination. Recommended pollenizers include Stella and Sweetheart. Emperor Francis blooms early-mid and is pollen incompatible with Napoleon, Bing, Ulster, Kristin, Lambert, and Somerset. Emperor Francis is susceptible to bacterial canker.
Ripening with Bing, this cherry is crack resistant and deliciously sweet. This is a white-fleshed Napoleon-style cherry that is perfect for snacking or for processing into jam, jelly, or maraschino cherries.
The origin of Emperor Francis is not clearly known, but it is a forward-looking fruit: this was the first cherry to be genetically mapped.
Please Confirm
The Fruit
Fruit Type
Category: Cherry
Subcategory:
Crack-Resistant, Sweet
Fruit Uses & Storage
Uses: fresh eating, jam, canning, jelly
Storage duration: less than one month (approximate, depending on storage conditions)
Fruit Appearance
Skin color: red
Flesh color: white
Fruit Origins
Parentage: unknown
Origin: possibly Austria
Introduced in: 1860s
Introduced by: unknown
The Environment
Calendar & Geography
USDA zones: 5 - 7
Chill hours: Not yet determined
Ripening date: Jun 20 (approximate, in New York State) + 0 days after Bing
Tree Height & Spacing
glossary
Rootstock: Mahaleb Rootstock
Rootstock size class: Half-Standard (60% of Standard)
Tree spacing: See details
Good for wildlife planting? N
Diseases & Pests
glossary
Bacterial Canker of Stone Fruit: Susceptible
Pollination
Pollination Factors
glossary
Bloom group: 2
Is it self-fertile? N
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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