Sweetheart Cherry Trees

• Variety: Sweetheart, a very late, sweet red Cherry
• Latin name: Prunus avium 'Sweetheart'
• Use: Eating fresh
• Sold as: Bareroot maiden, bush and half-standard
• Rootstock: Colt
• Mature size: Kept at 3 to 4m. 4 to 5m if left unpruned
• Pollination: Self-fertile. Flowering group C
• Picking: Late August into September, over about two weeks
• Pruning: In summer only
• Position: Full sun
• Wildlife: RHS Plants for Pollinators
• Hardiness: H5, hardy through a cold winter
• Award: RHS Award of Garden Merit (2014)
• Delivered: Bareroot, November to April. Collection from Castle Cary also available

Sweetheart is one of the last sweet Cherries to ripen: firm, sweet, dark red fruit from late August, picked over a couple of weeks rather than all at once. It is self-fertile, so one tree will crop. It holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit and is on the RHS Plants for Pollinators list.

Sweetheart Cherry Trees

'Sweetheart' cherries are one of the last eating cherries to ripen each year. They ripen over a couple of weeks, not all at once like most cherries, cropping just into September.

The sweet fruit are nice and firm, with a refreshing touch of acidity.

Browse our range of cherry trees, or the full variety of fruit trees.

Pollination Partners for Sweetheart Cherries:
Sweetheart will make fruit all by itself.

It flowers in group C. Every group is on the cherry tree pollinating table.

Rootstocks:
Our Sweetheart cherry trees are all grown on "Colt" rootstocks.
Maximum height 4 to 5 metres.

Growing Sweetheart Cherry Trees:
Rich soil is important: dig in plenty of good manure and compost before planting.
Soil drainage must be good.
The more sun your trees get the better your crops will be.
Cherry trees are targets for birds, so netting them is a good idea.
Only prune cherries in summer.

Details about delivery sizes: Guide to Fruit Tree Sizing.

Planting Companions

For Cherries earlier in the summer, add Lapins Cherokee, another self-fertile tree, ready in July. Stella is self-fertile too. Dust bareroot roots with Rootgrow as you plant.

Why Ashridge for Fruit Trees?

Ashridge has sold trees since 1949 and is a Which? Best Plant Supplier 2025. Your Sweetheart Cherry tree is grafted onto Colt rootstock, and maidens are pre-pruned before despatch for the form you choose. Bareroot trees are lifted to order while dormant and guaranteed for 12 months.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Sweetheart need a pollination partner?

No. It is self-fertile, so a single tree will crop on its own. It flowers in group C.

How big does the tree grow?

On Colt rootstock you can keep it at 3 to 4 metres with pruning. Left alone, it grows to 4 or 5 metres.

When are the Cherries ripe?

Late, from the end of August into September. They ripen over a couple of weeks, not all at once, so you can pick for longer.

How soon will it crop?

Soon. It crops well from an early age.

When do you prune a Cherry tree?

In summer, after picking, and never in winter, when a cut is most likely to let disease in.

How do you stop the birds taking them?

Net it. A Cherry grown as a fan on a sunny wall is the easiest to net.

When are the trees delivered?

Bareroot only, from November to April, while the trees are dormant. You can order at any time of year and your tree is lifted and sent once the season opens.