Cherry Varieties

These are some of the cherry varieties most commonly grown by Canadian farmers. Most were developed right here in Summerland, British Columbia, Canada at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Summerland Research and Development Center. Except for Cristalina^TM and Lapins, you can identify the Canadian-developed varieties because their names begin with the letter ‘S’. These varieties are better suited to our climate than anywhere else in the world.

Canadian growers have cherries ready to pick from June into late August. The ripe timing of each variety listed below refers to the number of days before or after the date when the old ‘Bing’ or ‘Van’ cherries became ripe. Of course, ripe timing also depends on the weather in any given year, and the latitude and altitude at which the fruit are grown. Fun fact: unlike many other fruit, cherries do not continue to ripen once picked, so growers must wait until the fruit has reached the peak of flavour, sugar content, and colour, and pick quickly to retain the firmness and exceptional quality.

Cristalina™

An early-season heart-shaped cherry with large fruit, dark red to black in colour. It is sweet and flavourful and usually firm and crunchy. Cristalina was bred for the Canadian climate in Summerland, Canada. It is a split-resistant fruit with a long shelf life.

Timing	Stem	Colour	Avg weight (g)	Firmness (desc)	Shape
-5-7	moderately long, thick	dark red to black	10	moderate to firm	kidney, slightly compressed

Kordia

A very large cherry, dark red to black in colour, and prized for its firm texture, Kordia was developed in the Czech Republic.

Timing	Stem	Colour	Avg weight (g)	Firmness (desc)	Shape
+9	long	dark red to black	11.4	very firm	heart

Lapins

This wonderful variety was bred by Dr. Karlis Lapins at the Summerland Research and Development Center. It is possibly the best flavoured cherry in the orchard and has a small pit for more delicious cherry goodness. The Lapins can be very large, and is always best when left to ripen on the tree until it is a rich dark red. Lapins season is mid July to early August.

Timing	Stem	Colour	Avg weight (g)	Firmness (desc)	Shape
+11	short thick	dark red	10.9	very firm	flat round / round heart

Rainier

The Rainier variety was developed in the American Pacific Northwest. It is a very sweet yellow cherry with a red blush and firm, fine-textured flesh, and is delicious for eating fresh.

Timing	Stem	Colour	Avg weight (g)	Firmness (desc)	Shape
+4	long thin	yellow with red blush	11	firm	round heart

Regina™

This is a German variety with very large dark fruit that is sweet with low acidity and very firm. Excellent shipper.

Timing	Stem	Colour	Avg weight (g)	Firmness (desc)	Shape
+15	long	dark red	10.7	very firm	heart, square shouldered

Satin™

A very beautiful early season, large and dark-coloured cherry that picks well and packs nicely for a great product.

Timing	Stem	Colour	Avg weight (g)	Firmness (desc)	Shape
-2	short thick	dark red	10.8	firm	heart

Sentennial

This is a high yielding variety that darkens up early but takes longer to reach its full sweetness. Sentennial is often the firmest and latest fruit available, and it ships and stores very well. This cherry has a nice round shape and looks good in a bag or box.

Timing	Stem	Colour	Avg weight (g)	Firmness (desc)	Shape
+29	short thick	dark red	10.7	very firm	flat round

Skeena

Larger kidney-shaped fruit with dark red skin – very firm and sweet. Skeena are slightly larger and firmer than Lapins, with similar harvest timing.

Timing	Stem	Colour	Avg weight (g)	Firmness (desc)	Shape
+10	thick	dark red to black	11.6	very firm	kidney

Sonata™

Very large, firm, glossy fruit with dark red to black skin, makes a very attractive pack.

Timing	Stem	Colour	Avg weight (g)	Firmness (desc)	Shape
+7	thick	dark red to black	12.7	firm	kidney dimple on nose

Sovereign

Sovereign is heart-shaped fruit on a long stem. It has good firmness, and light red/pink flesh. This one of the latest available cherry varieties in commercial production, and the flavour is sweet with balanced acidity.

Timing	Stem	Colour	Avg weight (g)	Firmness (desc)	Shape
+28	very long	red	10.8	firm	elongated heart

Staccato

A very late cherry, it ripens after Sweetheart, and a full month after ‘Bing’. It produces a large, sweet, and firm dark cherry with long stems, which is glossy and attractive in a pack. Its size is similar to Sweetheart, with good flavour and sweetness when picked at optimum maturity.

Timing	Stem	Colour	Avg weight (g)	Firmness (desc)	Shape
+26	long	red to dark red	11.1	firm	flattened heart

photo courtesy of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Stardust

This is a sweet cherry with cream flesh and skin displaying a bright red blush. Developed in Summerland, BC, it has a flattened heart shape, and is large and firm. It matures after Rainier, extending the season for blush cherries.

Timing	Stem	Colour	Avg weight (g)	Firmness (desc)	Shape
+12-15	short thick	bright red over yellow	11.5	firm	flattened heart

Suite Note^™

Picked at the right moment Suite Note is a dark, very large, firm and delicious cherry. For early markets the potential is great, however it is not widely grown.

Timing	Stem	Colour	Avg weight (g)	Firmness (desc)	Shape
0	moderately thick	dark red	12.6	firm	flattened heart

Sweetheart

One of the best of the late cherries from the Summerland breeding program, the Sweetheart is now widely grown around the world. The fruit is round (not heart-shaped), very firm, bright red, and sweet with good flavour. Harvest follows directly after Lapins, through the first two weeks of August.

Timing	Stem	Colour	Avg weight (g)	Firmness (desc)	Shape
+21	short thick	red	9.9	very firm	round

Sylvia

Always a pleasant surprise, hiding under a very leafy branch, the Sylvia is usually well protected from the weather and harvests at a very uniform size and shape that looks lovely in the box.

Timing	Stem	Colour	Avg weight (g)	Firmness (desc)	Shape
+7	very thick	dark red to black	10.7	very firm	lambert / heart

Tieton™

A very large and very firm early season cherry with a dark red skin, developed at Washington State University.

Timing	Stem	Colour	Avg weight (g)	Firmness (desc)	Shape
-5-7	thick	dark red	12	very firm	flattened heart