OK…here is my long term sweet cherry plan…I’m in the Hudson Valley, Dutchess County NY…zone 6A…about 4 miles east of the Hudson River…there use to be large commercial cherry production in the county (Ulster) on the west side of the Hudson River from me…very few remain…these are the varieties I have either planted or plan to plant…so far at least, sweet cherry trees seem to grow very well for me as the plot is very well drained and with slightly acidic soil…only one year have I had a problem when an EXTREME drought necessitated me to irrigate the trees that were beginning to stress…I am just a hobbyist grower and am most satisfied with good looking vigorous growing ornamental trees that also produce some fruit…my first small harvest will be this year from the Regina after an interminable wait for the Hudson to finally produce some bloom…any personal experiences with any of these varieties would be appreciated…especially as it relates to cracking susceptibility and disease resistance or anything else of note…thanks
Black Pearl…planted 2025
Santina…planted 2024
Tieton…future
Ulster… plant.in 2026
Summit…plant.in 2026.
Kristin…plant in 2026
Burgundy Pearl. plant in 2026
Ebony Pearl…future
Benton…future
Black York…future
Hartland…plant in 2026
Sandra Rose…plant in 2026
Black Gold…planted 2023…expect first bloom in 2026
Attika…future
Selah…future
Skeena…planted 2024
Regina…planted 2018…first small harvest this year
Hudson…planted 2018…finally a few blossoms to pollinate the Regina.
If Adara cherryplum fits in any way into your plans, I’m offering rooted and raw cuttings for sale or trade (this goes for anyone). My full post is HERE, but in short:
Raw cuttings are free, just pay for shipping.
Rooted cuttings are $5 per + shipping and are in limited supply.
A trade can cover either.
Thanks,
Eddie
How’s your success rate rooting Adara cuttings, any special methods of getting the cuttings to root? Thanks.
Hi guys.
I haven’t participated in the forum for over a year, but I’m still alive.
I had knee replacement surgery with disastrous consequences (I’ll let you know).
I see that interest in cherries isn’t waning but rather increasing, and there are many more people interested in growing good cherries, so I’ll take photographs and gather information to surprise you all.
I’ve seen that some members are choosing varieties for their cherry orchard projects, and I want to make a few comments about it, since you’re forgetting some very good varieties available in North American nurseries for hobbyists.
In short, my current mood has improved a lot, and I’ll be back to participate and show you many new things.
Best regards
Jose
Thank goodness José! Welcome back and I’m glad you are (relatively) OK.
Hi Phil, old friend.
I knew you’d be glad to see me back.
Of course he is, didn’t you know? José has nine lives.
Sorry, but I can’t be of use in that regard as I did not root them. I had asked someone for a few rooted and raw cuttings, expecting two, or maybe
three of each, and instead was handed a whole bundle of scionwood and 16 rooted plants.
Glad to see you’re back! I was just thinking about you the other day, and I miss reading about your pistachios, although it’s a nut I could never hope to grow. I wondered if you’d be back anytime soon. Sorry to hear you had a rough run, but glad that you’re back and getting back at it.
Welcome back Jose! Glad to hear that you are doing well!
Good to hear of you again, José! Now take care of yourself, we aren’t children anymore, you know😅
Eddie, your cherry tree is experiencing leaf shot, caused by the fungi Stigmina carpophila or Wilsonomyces carpophilus.
It’s a very persistent disease and doesn’t respond well to most fungicides.
The best fungicide to eradicate it is difenoconazole 25 % , applied as a foliar treatment every 15 days. The problem usually disappears after 2 or 3 treatments.
If it is not easy to buy Difenoconazole 25% in the United States, the best alternative is Captan. Use it at a high dose via foliar application, at least 3 times, spaced 10 days between each application.
Best regards
Jose
Hi Guys.
I went to the orchard to apply fertilizer via irrigation (this magic potion ) 
And while I was at it, I took some photographs of some of the early-harvest cherries varieties, which I’ll harvest next weekend to increase their brix sugar levels.
- Early Red Maraly
- Primulat Ferprime
- Nimba
- Pacific Red
Regards
Jose
Hi Beemster.
You’re forgetting many good varieties available in North American nurseries for hobbyists.
-
Lapins is an excellent cherry variety, with magnificent flavor, texture, and very resistant to cracking.
It only has one problem: it’s an extremely productive variety. Therefore, once the tree is adult ,and fully formed, winter pruning to reduce height must be strong , to reduce the fruit load and prevent the cherries losing size. -
Radiance Pearl is one of the best bicolor cherry varieties available.
Its size, flavor, sweetness, texture, and crack resistance make it a winner.
You’ll get sizes of 32 mm (or even larger) with over 22° brix.
My friend Javier and I are betting that the famous Skylar Rae (Tip Top) cherry can’t beat the quality of Radiance Pearl. -
Utah Giant (my favorite variety for its flavor), this cherry variety is incredibly good, it has an excellent size, very good texture, and its flavor is unbeatable, but it also has a drawback, of all the cherry varieties I have tested in my orchard , Utah Giant is the most susceptible to cracking (even so you should put Utah Giant in your orchard)
-
Brooks, one of the best early varieties.
It’s a classic, yet still magnificent.
It produces very good size (around 30 mm uniform), its excellent flavor, crunchy texture, and perfect fruit set year after year make Brooks a must-have variety. -
Bing (the classic among classics), despite its medium size (26-28 mm) is a variety that everyone likes due to its excellent flavor and texture.
The same thing happens to this variety as to Lapins, it is highly productive, so winter pruning to reduce height must be strong, to reduce the fruit load and obtain good sizes.
There are countless other varieties, but I know it’s not easy for Americans to buy royalty-protected cherry trees from hobby nurseries, but these classic varieties are truly good.
Best regards
Jose
I haven’t seen you in a while, Mrs. Gibson (my fault).
It’s nice to hear from you again.
Look on internet , because in France there’s a traditional dessert called Clafoutis, which is delicious with sweet cherries, but with those Montmorency (tart cherries), it becomes a truly delicious dessert.
Best regards
Jose
Hi Jose and welcome back…thanks for the reply…I think I need to exclude any variety known to crack extensively as we get an average of nearly 4 inches of rain in July…also, I know I can not achieve the required pruning (health issues) to control size and overbearing and thus am satisfied with grower friendly ornamental trees that also produce some good fruit…I also excluded all the varieties routinely grown in warm dry climates like California as I am in zone 6A (-10F) and no one has any experience with those varieties here…I tended toward varieties known to have been grown extensively in the Hudson Valley (Hudson / Summit / Ulster / Hartland)…also leaned toward varieties grown by a commercial fruit grower (Rose Hill Farms)
about 25 miles north of me that includes (ULSTER, CHELAN, ATTIKA, BENTON, TIETON, SUMMIT, EBONY PEARL, BLACK PEARL, BURGUNDY PEARL, BLACK GOLD, REGINA) …that said, I tend to over analyze based on what I read on the net…I remember taking forever to decide on the first two cherries I planted (Regina and Hudson)…I specifically wanted two late blooming compatible varieties that could possibly avoid the late frosts (into May) that we routinely get here…but I did not fully appreciate Hudson’s tendency to come into bearing very late nor Regina’s reputation of pollination issues…also did not consider more precocious rootstocks as these were to be ornamental trees in the front yard…so…here I am in year 8 with my first harvest…oh well…but finally behind me…so, I guess I’m trying to just overwhelm any issue by planting enough varieties such that maybe 2/3 of them will be winners for me…providing cherries over an extended 6 week period…I have enough room for perhaps 18 trees in total and they seem to thus far grow very clean and well…and I just love sweet cherries …but, by all means, review all the varieties I have listed and if you know of cracking / overbearing / disease issues on any, let me know…for instance powdery mildew is prevalent here on susceptible grape (Seneca) varieties and I would like to avoid it…also canker issues…I’m not sure you fully appreciate the much more difficult growing conditions here in the northeast than you experience…there is a reason why so few commercial growers remain in the Hudson Valley…I will definitely add Reliance Pearl as I think the only reason I excluded it was color… ha LOL!..also will eliminate others based on your (or others) experience…but, I love this thread and hope you and others (especially from the northeast) continue to post…thanks…Beemster
We’re glad to have you back and appreciate you sharing your knowledge.
After reading through the entire thread, I gathered all the varieties you mentioned, although I’m not entirely sure if all of them meet the initial criteria of “high quality” varieties:
- 4-84
- Areko
- Benton
- Big Lory
- Big Star
- Black Pearl
- Black Star
- Blackgold / Black Gold
- Blaze Star
- Brooks
- Burgundy Pearl
- Canada Giant / Sumgita
- Carmen
- Catania
- Celeste / Sumpaca
- Cerasina Final 12.1
- Coral Champagne / UC 13-22
- Cowiche
- Early Korvik
- Early Red / Maraly / Early
- Garnet
- Early Star
- Ebony Pearl
- Fabiola
- Ferdiva
- FJ-97
- Folfer
- Frisco / SDR-9
- Giant Red (Mariant)
- Glen Red Sequoia
- Grace Star
- Irena
- Justyna / Justina
- Kansas Sweet
- Kiona
- Kir Rosso
- Lapins
- Larian / UCD 53-20
- Late Lory
- Lory Bloom
- Nimba / SMS 290
- Pacific Red / SMS 291
- Prime Giant Sunana / Giant Red Mariant
- Radiance Pearl
- Regina
- Rocket / SMS 22
- Royal Ansel / Royal Bailey
- Royal Apache (IPS-108)
- Royal Brynn
- Royal Dawn (C14 / C-14)
- Royal Edie / Royal Eddie
- Royal Elaine
- Royal Hazel
- Royal Helen
- Royal Hermione
- Royal Lafayette
- Royal Lynn
- Royal Tenaya / Royal Marie
- Royal Tioga
- Sabrina / SUMN314CH
- Samba / Sumste
- Sandon Rose
- Sandra
- Sandra Rose
- Selah
- Skeena / 13S 43-48
- SMS 16 / Epik 16
- Sofia / SPC 106
- Stella
- Summit
- Sun Pop
- Sunburst
- Sweet Dave
- Sweet Gabriel
- Sweet Lorenz
- Sweet Saretta
- Sweet Stephany
- Sweet Valina
- Sweetheart / Sweet Heart Sumtare
- Tamara
- Tieton
- Tulare
- Utah Giant
P.S.: A suggestion – perhaps you could update the first post with all the varieties you consider “high quality.” 
8 years for the cherry tree’s formation period?
A cherry tree in optimal conditions, with proper pruning performed during the vegetative stage, normally completes its structure and enters production in 4 years.
For humid soil like yours (even though you may experience sporadic dry spells), the most suitable rootstock is Colt, as it tolerates soil moisture well, is very vigorous, and has good resistance to bacterial canker.
Discard the Radiance Pearl variety because it’s bicolor ? , if I catch you, I’ll kill you! hahahahaha. It’s an excellent variety in terms of size, flavor, and crunchy texture, quite resistant to cracking, and with a beautiful bicolor tone. It’s also a variety completely and absolutely suitable for your climatic conditions. Of those you have chosen, Summit is the most difficult to pollinate, as it is from the late-flowering group, but it is one of the last to flower, so it is usually a less productive variety, but with exceptional characteristics.
I don’t know if there are any agreements between the United States and Canada for the entry of plant material between the two countries, as the Canadian Peak Summerland Station has developed excellent new varieties (very suitable for you).
They have a very interesting cuttings sales program.
Next spring, I will graft this new Canadian variety:
- SPC 342
The varieties that would be extremely interesting for you are the recent German varieties, both those from breeder Peter Stoppel (Cerasina series) and the late and ultra-late varieties from the LFP program (Kir series), as these are varieties adapted to conditions similar to yours.
Take a look:
Best regards
Jose