Bush Cherry (Prunus cerasus × Prunus fruticosa)

These dwarf sour cherries come from the University of Saskatchewan fruit breeding program. Spring flowers and richly colored fruit make them useful in an edible border as well as a fruit garden.

Choose Cupid for a taller shrub and large, dark fruit, or Cutie Pie for a compact plant. These self-compatible cherries can set fruit without a second variety.

Plant Details

• Growth habit: Deciduous dwarf sour cherry shrub; Prunus breeding hybrids
• Mature size: Cupid: about 8 ft tall; Cutie Pie: about 4 ft tall
• Bloom color: White
• Harvest season: Summer; Cupid generally later than Cutie Pie in breeder trials
• Light: Full sun for best fruiting
• Water: Keep young plants moist; water during dry spells
• Soil: Well-drained loam; avoid waterlogged sites
• Hardiness: Breeder reports cold hardiness to USDA zone 2
• Pollination: Self-compatible; bees transfer pollen
• Best uses: Edible borders, fruit gardens, and shrub-form hedges
• Native range: Cultivated hybrids with European and Asian ancestry
• New England status: These cultivated cherries are not New England native plants

Choose your variety

Cupid: A later-flowering Romance-series selection with large dark-red to nearly black cherries and few suckers. The breeder describes balanced flavor suitable for fresh eating.

Cutie Pie: An unusually compact selection with smaller red cherries. Its tendency to sucker makes it useful for a small fruiting hedge, with spread managed where necessary.

Allow fruit to reach full cultivar-appropriate ripeness before picking. Harvest dates from Saskatchewan trials are comparisons, not a fixed New England calendar.

Representative sour cherry fruit photograph; it does not depict verified Cupid or Cutie Pie plants.

Plant references: University of Saskatchewan 1 · University of Saskatchewan 2