Cherry Pollenizers: Varieties and Bloom Times

Most sweet cherry varieties are:

  • self-unfruitful (self-incompatible, SI) – which require cross-pollination with another variety as the pollen source

Some varieties (e.g. Bing, Lambert, Royal Ann/Napoleon) are:

  • cross-unfruitful – which cannot be depended upon to provide pollen for each other

Other varieties (e.g. Index, Lapins, Skeena, Sweetheart, White Gold, Sonata, Stella, Symphony, Sunburst, and Black Gold) are:

  • self-fruitful (SF) – these can serve as “universal” pollen sources for many self-unfruitful varieties with the same bloom time. Their use as “universal” pollinators should also take bloom timing into consideration.

Cherry Pollenizers

The pollination table below is a partial guide to help select pollen source parents. The number of pollinating trees versus crop trees generally varies between 5% and 10% depending on the variety and desired outcome of the crop.

The information is provided for reference only.
VarietyAllele GroupAlleleBloom Timing
Attika (Kordia)6S3 S6
BentonUniversal DonorS4' S9Late (+5.3 days)
Bing3S3 S4Mid to Late (0 days)
Blackpearl45S4 S13Mid to Late (-1.3 days)
Black Republican9S1 S4Early to Mid
Black Tartarian1S1 S2
Brooks18S1 S9
Burgundypearl3S3 S4Early to Mid (-1.8 days)
BurlatMid to Late
Cavalier4S2 S3
Chelan16S3 S9Early to Mid (-2 days)
Chinook9 S1 S4
Coral Champagne2S1 S3Mid to Late (+1 day)
Cowiche36S5 S9
Cristalina2S1 S3Late (+5 days)
Early Burlat16S3 S9
Early Robin2S1 S3
Ebonypearl9S1 S4Mid to Late (0 days)
Emperor Francis3S3 S4
Garnet9S1 S4
Glen Red (Sequoia)1S1 S2
Hedelfingen7S3 S5
HudsonLate
IndexUniversal DonorS3 S4'
Lambert3S3 S4Mid to Late
Mini Royal17S4 S6
Olympus2S1 S3
Orondo RubyNon ClassifiedS1 S13
RadiancepearlNon ClassifiedS1 S13Mid to Late (+2 days from Bing)
Rainier9S1 S4Mid to Late (+2 days from Bing)
Regina2S1 S3Mid to Late
Royal Ann (Napoleon, Queen Anne)3S3 S4Mid to Late
Royal Lee2S1 S3
Royal Rainier9S1 S4
Royal Hazel17S4 S6Early (-8.5 days)
Ruby2S1 S3
Black Gold17S4 S6Late
GoldLate
KristinEarly to Mid
LapinsUniversal DonorS1 S4'Early
RoyaltonMid to Late
Somerset3S3 S4Early
SonataUniversal DonorS3 S4'Mid to Late
SweetheartUniversal DonorS3 S4'-3 days
Sam13S2 S4Mid to Late
Samba2S1 S3
SantinaUniversal DonorS1 S4'Mid to Late (+1.8 days)
SelahUniversal DonorS3 S4'Late (+4.2 days)
SkeenaUniversal DonorS1 S4'Early
Skylar Rae9S1 S4
StaccatoUniversal DonorS3 S4'
Stark Gold6S3 S6
StellaUniversal DonorS3 S4'Mid to Late. NOTE: Stella has been found to not work as a pollinator for Bing in some areas.
Suite Note13S2S4Late (+6.8 days)
Summit1S1 S2Mid to Late
SunburstMid to Late
SymphonyMid to Late
Tamara18S1 S9Mid to Late
Tieton16S3 S9Mid to Late (+1 day)
Tulare1S1 S2
Van2S1 S3Mid to Late
White GoldEarly to Mid
WindsorMid to Late