Hi! It is now cherry season here. I made that dessert last week. Soooo good!
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I almost forgot.
For your cherry collection, you should include the Italian Black Star variety.
It has excellent characteristics in size, flavor, and crunchy texture , and of all the existing cherries, it’s the most resistant to cracking.
Best regards
Jose
I knew you would love that dessert, but I see you already know the recipe.
In my case, when I discovered the original North American recipes for fruit pies (blueberry pie, apple pie, pitted cherry pie, pear pie, etc.), it changed my life and now I am more American than Abraham Lincoln 
Regards
Jose
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Hi namesake.
When I created this post, I never thought it would generate so much interest, and perhaps the title wasn’t the most appropriate, or perhaps my way of thinking back then isn’t the same as it is now.
On the other hand, soil and climate conditions must be taken into account, since depending on the climatic conditions, some varieties are of high quality in a dry climate, but not suitable for humid climates.
If you’d like, I can recommend interesting varieties for you , if you tell me where you’re from.
Regards
Jose
…yes…definitely interested…I got this off Google Gemini…Black Star sounds outstanding…hope I can find it for next year…doubtful though…thanks…I will compile what Google Gemini offers as crack resistance for all the cherries I am considering… no sense to plant any very susceptible varieties as there seems to be more than enough that are either only moderately susceptible or even somewhat resistant to cracking…I am convinced based on my climate and from personal communication with orchardists in the area that cracking may be the primary problem I face.
(from Google Gemini)
The ‘Black Star’ sweet cherry (Prunus avium ‘Black Star’) is a highly regarded variety, particularly known for its desirable fruit qualities and tree characteristics. Here’s a breakdown:
Fruit Characteristics:
- Appearance: Large, heart-shaped, and symmetrical fruit. The skin is a shiny, very dark red, often appearing almost black when fully ripe. The flesh is also red.
- Flavor: Very sweet with a good balance of acidity, making for excellent taste.
- Texture: Semi-firm to firm, and juicy.
- Size: Generally large, often reaching around 28mm in diameter.
- Ripening Time: A mid-season variety, typically ripening about 5 days before ‘Bing’ cherries. This generally places its harvest in June in many growing regions, or mid-late July in the UK.
- Crack Resistance: One of its standout features is its good to minimal cracking habit, making it more resilient to rain events compared to some other varieties. This is attributed to the fruit often hanging in clusters beneath the foliage canopy, which offers some shelter from rain.
Tree Characteristics:
- Origin: Originated in Italy, a cross between ‘Lapins’ and ‘Burlatt’.
- Growth Habit: Semi-upright with medium-strong vigor.
- Productivity: Known to be a very productive and consistent bearer.
- Pollination: While some sources indicate it is self-fertile, others state it needs a cross-pollinator. It belongs to incompatibility group II (S1S3 genotype), meaning it requires another sweet cherry variety with a different S-genotype for successful pollination. Some recommended pollinators for other sweet cherry varieties that may work include ‘Lapins’ and ‘Grace Star’.
- Hardiness Zones: Generally hardy in USDA Zones 5-8.
- Chill Hours: Requires above-average chill hours, with one source indicating 60 chill portions (which correlates to a moderate to high chill requirement).
- Disease Resistance: Information on specific disease resistance is not widely detailed for ‘Black Star’, but generally, sweet cherries can be susceptible to common cherry diseases like brown rot, black knot, and leaf spot. Good cultural practices are important for management.
Overall: ‘Black Star’ is valued for its combination of high fruit quality, attractive dark appearance, good size, and notably, its resistance to cracking, which is a major advantage for growers. Its relatively vigorous yet manageable growth habit makes it suitable for various growing systems, including dwarf trees, columns, and fans.
, I don’t need to read its characteristics.
I have virtually all the varieties from the University of Bologna, Italy, both the old Star series and the current Sweet series.
Black Star is an excellent cherry variety, but despite not being self-fertile, its production capacity is extremely high, so, like the Lapins, it requires heavy pruning to reduce height, reduce production , and reach sizes of around 28-30 mm.
Black Star can bear three universal flood and won’t suffer from cracking.
I’ll show you a photo of my Black Star (I have two trees of this variety) and you’ll understand why I say it’s very productive.
- Black Star
You can buy it here:
I bought all four varieties of the Pearl series from this nursery, and they’re a serious nursery , but call them to order the Black Star Cherry variety grafted onto Colt rootstock.
Best regards
Jose
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…yes, I will contact them and see what I can reserve for next year…they are out for this year…also, although my area gets 40+ inches of rain a year, it is extremely well drained so I will take whatever rootstock they have…here are the two trees Regina / Hudson… both in year 8
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…OK…FWIW, I asked Google Gemini to specifically characterize the cracking susceptibility of all 18 cherries I previously listed in my “grand plan”…I do believe cracking will be a PRIMARY concern in my area and have been told so by a local orchardist with many years of experience…the trees themselves seem to grow very well and I am confident that my plot is well suited for their successful growth…The trees fit ornamental needs and are not pruned for optimum fruiting nor am I capable of it at this stage in my life…as long as I can supply myself and a few neighbors and friends off a 6 foot step ladder, I’ll be happy…Google Gemini gave a great wealth of information and was very helpful…I recommend it highly …so based on the Gemini Google response, I eliminated Santina / Tieton / Hartland / Selah from my list…all were characterized as quite or very susceptible to cracking…I substituted in these varieties…Cristalina / Radiance Pearl / Black Star / White Gold…Black Star sounded so good, I will just have to prune that one to maintain good cherry size and proper load. …so my updated list is as follows along with Google Gemini resistance to cracking ratings (moderate resistance / good resistance / very good resistance)
Black Pearl…planted 2025 …good resistance
Cristalina…future …good resistance
Radiance Pearl…future…moderate resistance
Ulster… plant.in 2026…good resistance
Black Star…future…good resistance
Summit…plant.in 2026…moderate resistance
Kristin…plant in 2026…moderate resistance.
Burgundy Pearl. plant in 2026…very good resistance
Ebony Pearl…plant in 2026…very good resistance
Benton…future…very good resistance.
Black York…future…very good resistance
White Gold…future…good resistance
Sandra Rose…plant in 2026…good resistance
Black Gold…planted 2023…moderate resistance…expect first bloom in 2026
Attika…future…moderate to good resistance
Lapins…future…moderate to good resistance
Regina…planted 2018…first small harvest this year…very good resistance
Hudson…planted 2018…finally a few blossoms to pollinate the Regina…good resistance.
…for the record, where in Spain is your cherry orchard and how much rain do you typically receive in the months of June and July?..I’d guess less than one inch TOTAL…here in the Hudson Valley NY, the average is 7.7 inches…worlds apart
Hi Jose, I’ve appreciated learning about sweet cherries from what you have written. For those of us in humid climates with potential for a lot of rain, would you mind writing a short list of varieties that you think stand a chance?
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I believe he is in the Albacete region…pretty arid I believe.
Thanks for the ID. Luckily I haven’t seen it this spring, but I’ll be ready for next time. Currently, I’m dealing with what appears to be like an aphid infestation, which I’ve begun to reign in using Sevin (Zeta-Cypermethrin).
Also, I was wondering if I still could/should prune my Tieton and Utah Giant trees even though they’ve fullly leafed out and are growing. My reasoning is the Tieton has begun getting a little tall, and while still manageable, it has grown rapidly and don’t want it to end up being 25+ feet tall like Bing behind it.
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It’s good to see you’re back. You’ve contributed a lot to our understanding of the different cherry varieties.
I’ve been looking into pruning/thinning to increase cherry size on my Black Star cherry and I’ve never seen this suggestion before. I use Mahaleb and Maxma rootstocks, which are usually 50-60-ft trees. I prune them to 7-8 feet. I don’t feel like it increases the size of the individual cherries.
Fruit size usually depends on the leaf/fruit ratio and not on absolute tree height. This would require thinning of fruit spurs and not reduction of the height of the whole tree. Do you have any idea why reducing the height but leaving the fruit/leaf ratio the same helps increase the size of the fruit?
Oh my goodness, Eddie!
That cherry tree is completely wild, and if we don’t take urgent measures, it will be an unproductive tree.
Pruning for the structural formation process of a cherry tree is mandatory during the vegetative stage, and in 4 years, we should have a fully formed cherry tree structure and already in production.
If pruning to form the cherry tree’s structure is done in winter during the dormant stage, the structural formation process would take an incredibly long time (about 10 years).
I know there are tutorials translated into English explaining the formative pruning process, but we’ll focus on the condition of your trees and how to proceed.
Ideally, the tree should be decapitated 40 cm (15.7 inches) from the ground, but since the tree is semi-mature, I’m not sure it has dormant buds below that point to sprout, so we’ll use the “SAFE” option for your trees.
What we’ll do is decapitate just above the first three branches we’ll use as primary branches.
I want to know the distance from the ground to the red line, which is located above the three branches I need.
See this picture
Tell me how high that red line is from the ground, and I’ll explain the process you’ll follow so that the tree has a good structure, is productive, and you don’t need ladders or a helicopter to harvest the cherries.
Best regards
Jose
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Hello, Jose.
I’m from Portugal, more specifically from the city of Águeda near Aveiro. I read the entire thread and therefore collected all the varieties referenced by Jose.
Of all the varieties mentioned, which do you recommend for my area?
Thank you very much for sharing knowledge.
Ok ,Now I know your climate.
Three more questions:
- Soil pH
- Are these for commercial use or for home consumption?
- Number of cherry trees you want to plant
Best regards
Jose
Obvious and essential information that I should have said at the beginning 
- pH 6 - 7
- Home consumption (hobby)
- In my field I have space for 10 cherry trees. but don’t limit yourself to 10 because if the experiment goes well, I’ll find more space
PS: I have the idea that in my area it is difficult to have cherries, either because of the lack of chill hours or because of the humidity, but this is just me speculating.
What makes me feel good is Jose just said that Utah Giant is his favorite of everything. I have one in the greenhouse and one outside. Now all I need is fruit.
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Hi cowboy, how are you, old friend?
Steven, you’ve missed me on the forum for a while (health issues), but I’m back now.
Without a doubt, the Utah Giant is a cherry whose quality is very hard to beat in climates with dry summers.
It’s very large, has a sweetness, a crunchy texture, and a powerful cherry flavor that, for me, is unrivaled.
But I always warn everyone of the same thing:
- Utah Giant is only suitable for climates with dry summers, as, of all the varieties, it is the most susceptible to cracking.
Regards
Jose
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Utah Giant is also my favorite cherry here in Nor Cal. It is amazing, and I am missing them them as both my trees died. But I was able to graft it on a multi graft tree. Hoping to get them again next year.