America's Most Beloved Sweet Cherry for Your Home Orchard Grow the same intensely sweet, dark red cherries that have dominated America's fresh-market orchards for over a century-right in your own backyard. A mature Bing cherry tree delivers up to 100 pounds of large, heart-shaped fruit each season, turning your landscape into a productive home orchard that pays for itself many times over. With the right rootstock, a compatible cross-pollinator, and proper site preparation, this beautiful tree rewards you with decades of abundant, delicious cherries. Why You'll Love It Massive Annual Harvests – A single mature Bing cherry tree can produce 50 to 100 pounds of large, juicy cherries every season, giving you an abundance of fruit for fresh eating, baking, and preserving. Unmatched Flavor – The Bing cultivar is the benchmark for sweet cherry flavor: intensely sweet, rich, and deeply satisfying with firm flesh that holds up beautifully whether eaten straight from the branch or baked into pies and tarts. Stunning Ornamental Beauty – Clouds of white spring blooms transform this tree into a showpiece that attracts pollinators to your garden before giving way to glossy, deep mahogany-red fruit clusters in summer. Decades of Fruit Production – Bing cherry trees enter their prime bearing years around year 5–6 and continue producing delicious cherries for 20 to 30 years with proper care, delivering extraordinary long-term value. Wide Climate Adaptability – Hardy across USDA zones 5 through 8, with successful cultivation in select zone 9 coastal California microclimates, this sweet cherry thrives wherever winters provide approximately 700–800 chill hours. How To Grow The Bing Cherry Tree Successfully Site Selection and Soil Preparation Choose a location with full sun-at least six to eight hours of direct sunlight daily. Ensure well-drained soil; sandy-loam or loamy soils are ideal. If your soil is heavy clay, consider building a raised mound. Dig a hole twice the width of the root ball, fill in with amended soil, and keep the graft union above the soil line. Planting and Establishing Your Trees Plant your Bing cherry tree and position a compatible cross-pollinator such as Black Tartarian, Van, or Royal Rainier within 50–100 feet for standard trees or 20–30 feet for semi-dwarf varieties. Bing is self-incompatible, so pollination from other trees with overlapping bloom timing is essential. Water deeply at planting and apply mulch around the roots to conserve moisture. Ongoing Care and Harvest Maintain consistent moisture through drip irrigation during fruit development-avoid overhead watering when cherries are ripening. Prune while the tree is dormant in late winter to maintain an open-center shape that promotes sunlight penetration and air circulation. Protect ripening fruit from birds with netting. By June, you'll be harvesting your own cherries at peak sweetness. Product Details Scientific Name: Prunus avium 'Bing' Origin: Developed in 1875 in Milwaukie, Oregon, by horticulturist Seth Lewelling; named after his orchard foreman, Ah Bing Mature Size (Standard): 12–35 feet tall, 12–25 feet spread Mature Size (Semi-Dwarf): 10–16 feet tall and wide Hardiness Zones: 5–8 Chill Hours Required: ~700–800 hours below 45°F Harvest Season: June to early July (late May in warmer California regions) Pollination: Requires a cross-pollinator-Black Tartarian, Van, Rainier, Lapins, Stella, or Sam recommended Fruit: Large, heart-shaped, dark red to mahogany-red skin and flesh; semi-free stone Soil: Well-drained soil, pH 6.0–7.0 Sun: Full sun (6–8 hours minimum) Growth Rate: Medium; vigorous on standard rootstock Time to First Fruit: 5–6 years (standard); 3–4 years (semi-dwarf) Available Sizes: Bare-root, 5-gallon, and 7-gallon containers Spacing: 20–25 feet for standard trees; 10–15 feet for semi-dwarf Who It's For Ideal for: Homeowners looking to grow the best fruit trees for a productive home orchard Serious gardeners who want a nursery-quality, grafted cherry tree with expert support rather than a big-box gamble Property owners seeking a beautiful tree that delivers both ornamental spring blooms and a rich harvest of delicious cherries each summer Anyone willing to invest in long-term fruit production-planting two compatible trees and providing consistent care through the growing season If you hope to grow your own cherries with the deep, sweet flavor that made this cultivar famous across America and Canada, the Bing cherry tree fits your needs. Frequently Asked Questions Do I need two trees for fruit production? Yes. Bing is self-sterile and requires pollen from a compatible sweet cherry variety that blooms at the same time. We recommend planting a Black Tartarian cherry tree or Royal Rainier as your cross-pollinator. Self-fertile varieties like Lapins or Stella also work well and will produce their own fruit. Without a pollinizer, your tree may bloom beautifully each spring but never set fruit. How long until my tree produces fruit? On standard rootstock, expect to wait 5–6 years for your first harvest. Trees grafted onto semi-dwarfing rootstock like Gisela 5 can produce fruit as early as year 3 or 4. Once mature, a healthy Bing cherry tree will continue bearing fruit for 20–30 years. What pests and diseases should I watch for? Common challenges include brown rot, bacterial canker, and leaf spot diseases-all manageable with dormant-season pruning, sanitized tools, and targeted fungicide applications at bloom. Birds are notorious for stripping ripe cherries; protective netting is essential. Cherry fruit flies, aphids, and moist-climate fruit cracking also require attention. Consistent watering prevents the moisture fluctuations that cause splitting. What if my tree doesn't thrive in my conditions? Yardwork offers consultation services to help diagnose soil, pollination, or site issues before they become problems. Our team can recommend the right cherry rootstock for your soil type and help you select companion pollinators from our full collection of cherry trees. Ready to Start Your Cherry Orchard? Grow your own Bing cherries-cultivated to perfection in your backyard, harvested at peak sweetness, and bursting with the flavor that has made this new variety the gold standard since 1875. Choose Bing cherry trees from Yardwork and finally enjoy homegrown cherries that taste the way cherries are supposed to taste.
Related
Related
Related
Related