Romanian Cherry Tree Varieties You Can Plant in Your Orchard or Garden
Cherry trees are grown for their fruit, but they can also make lovely decorative plants, due to their beautiful blossoms. Romanians grow local varieties, as well as foreign ones, that have been adapted to the climate and soil of the region. Still, for setting up an orchard here, experts recommend focusing on the local ones. We put together an array of Romanian cherry tree varieties you can choose from to bring in your orchard or garden.
The cherry tree grows and produces well in areas where the average yearly temperature is around 50 – 51 degrees Fahrenheit. It doesn’t take intensive heat during the summer easily, especially if groundwater is low in the area, and needs irrigation. It adjusts to cold temperatures better than the peach and apricot tree, but not as well as sour cherry, plum, apple and pear trees, and temperatures lower than – 16 degrees are critical.
Most varieties begin to bear fruit in their fifth year.
Romanian cherry tree varieties. Ponoare
It’s a very productive variety, with medium-size fruit (around 0.22 oz) that taste sweet and sour. It has an average vigor, a wide pyramid-shaped top and starts fruiting in May, the fruit being fully ripe in the first third of June.
Romanian cherry tree varieties. Cerna
Cerna cherry tree bears large fruit, with bright red skin and red pulp, medium-firm, and a balanced taste. It can be harvested in mid-June.
Romanian cherry tree varieties. Ruby
This variety is very productive and bears large fruit (0.26 oz). They are ruby red, have a firm pulp and are very good for being consumed fresh. They are ripe at the end of June.
Bistrita giants
This is a very vigorous variety, with large, red fruit. Their pulp is firm and juicy, and they taste sweet and fresh. They can be harvested in the first half of July.
Romanian cherry tree varieties. Boambe de Cotnari
This is considered the most valuable local variety, because it produces abundantly and constantly. It bears large fruit (0.24 – 0.35 oz), covered in golden skin with pink-reddish hues. The pulp is firm, yellow, has a balanced taste and easily comes off the kernel. The fruit is harvested in the last third of June.
Romanian cherry tree varieties. Cetatuia
Recently bred by the horticulture research institute in Iasi (in the north-east of the country), Cetatuia can is also an extremely valuable variety. The fruit are ripe in May and weigh around 0.26 oz. They turn dark red, have a medium-firm, juicy pulp and a fine sweet, slightly sour taste.
Soiuri de ciresi romanesti. Maxut bitter
This variety produces the best bitter cherry for jam. It has a medium to large-size fruit, dark-colored inside out, with a very good taste.
Soiuri de ciresi romanesti. Galata bitter
It bears large fruit (0.24 – 0.26 oz), light-colored in yellow and pink, with a whitish, medium-firm pulp and an intense bitter taste.
Credits: agrointel.ro, gazetadeagricultura.info, pomifructiferibt.ro, adevarul.ro
Photo credits: pomifructiferibt.ro, pepinierakulcsar.ro, stiriagricole.ro
Do you have any information on where one can purchase maxut bitter cherry trees in the US? A google search got me no where. I want to make bitter cherry and rose petal jam following a Romanian recipe, and sourcing the cherries is proving impossible. Thank you! Love your posts!