A cherry tree adds beauty to your landscape and deliciousness to your dishes. Cherries are quick to produce, setting ripe fruit not long after their blossoms appear, especially in comparison to the other stone fruits, such as peaches, nectarines, plums and apricots. They’re also pretty trees, with clouds of spring blossoms in pink or white, a reddish brown bark, long leaves and great fall foliage color.
There are essentially two types of cherries — sweet and sour. Sweet cherries can be eaten fresh from the tree or used for cooking. Sweet cherries are most commonly grown in the western part of North America, particularly on the West Coast. Sour cherries can be grown throughout most of North America. As their name implies, they aren’t as great for eating fresh, but they are ideal for baking and preserving.