Cherry (Sweet), Black Tartarian, Bare Root

Black Tartarian Cherry (Prunus avium)

Black Tartarian is an early sweet cherry with dark skin, tender flesh, and rich flavor. It is a home-orchard choice for fresh eating and a useful compatible pollen source for several sweet cherries.

Key Characteristics

Tender, richly flavored cherries

The ripe fruit has juicy, relatively tender flesh rather than a very firm shipping texture. Eat or refrigerate the harvest promptly for the best quality.

A place near the start of cherry season

It usually ripens before many midseason sweet cherries. Combining it with a later cultivar can spread picking without confusing harvest timing with bloom compatibility.

A productive orchard partner

Black Tartarian needs another compatible sweet cherry to set a useful crop. Its early flowers and soft fruit reward careful site selection, bird protection, and prompt picking.

Pollination Partners

Cross-pollination requires a different compatible cultivar. Options in our 2027 selection include Black Pearl, Van, Stella. Cross-pollination depends on overlapping bloom, not matching harvest months.

Rootstock and Mature Size

Plan for approximately 15–20 feet at maturity, depending on site and pruning. The offered variant identifies the rootstock; keep the graft union above soil level and remove rootstock suckers.

Product Details

• Sun: Full sun to light partial shade; full sun is best for fruiting.
• Soil: medium to medium-dry, well-drained soil; avoid standing water.
• Mature height: Approximately 15–20 feet; see rootstock and pruning guidance above.
• Bloom: Early to mid-season spring; white flowers.
• Fruit: Dark purple-red sweet cherries with tender, juicy flesh and rich flavor.
• Uses: Fresh eating, desserts, jam, and juice.
• Ripening: May–June; later in cooler regions
• Chill hours: Approximately 700–800 hours.
• Pollination: Cross-pollination with a compatible cultivar required.
• USDA hardiness: Zones 5–8.

General Cherry Orchard Guidance

A good start

Choose well-drained soil and enough room for the mature tree. Water consistently while roots establish, mulch with space around the trunk, and keep vigorous grass and other competitors away from the young root zone.

Fertility and fruit-tree guilds

Use a soil test to guide lime and fertilizer rather than feeding heavily by default. Our Tree Planting Kit fertilizer blend is an optional planting supplement; keep concentrated fertilizer away from bare roots and avoid excess nitrogen.

Interested in permaculture and stacking functions around your fruit trees? Explore our fruit-tree guild guide for ideas on combining plants for flowers, ground cover, and mulch while giving your tree room to grow.

Practical pest and disease care

Prune in dry weather for an open crown and remove damaged or mummified fruit. Monitor for brown rot, leaf spot, aphids, and spotted wing drosophila near ripening; harvest promptly and use fine insect netting where practical. Birds also enjoy cherries, so plan wildlife-safe exclusion before fruit colors.