Stella Sweet Cherry Tree

My Stella is not yet old enough to produce fruit so I cannot speak to this specific variety, but I would suggest that most any fruit will go from tart, to sweet, to mild as it hangs longer on the tree.

As for your bird problem, try this trick. Just when the fruit starts to go from green to red, hand a bunch of old CD's or DVD's by wire around the tree, shiny-side out. I do this on my Montmorency and it seems to be very effective at keeping the birds away. But do not put them on too soon or leave them on too long. You don't want the birds to get used to them and loose their fear.

Thank you for your question. Yes, Stella is a fine pollinator for Bing. The trees do indeed need to at least have overlapping bud times, or else the pollen can't be properly transferred.

You might be able to keep the Stella Cherry in a pot provided you do a lot of pruning but if you are wanting this tree to be fruitful it needs to be outdoors where it can receive at least 400 chill hours. Most fruit trees require some contact with cold temperatures and the Stella is no different. That being said I would forego the pot and plant directly in the ground-assuming you have a space for it.

The Stella cherry tree requires at least 400 chill hours in order to bear fruit.
Chill hours are calculated on the number of hours the trees environment is below 45 degrees and above 32 degrees. Since you mentioned the deep south you may need to consider a cherry tree which requires 200 chill hours and depending upon how far south you are speaking of may still not be ideal. You will have to do the calculations to be certain.

They are red to dark red and have a sweet, full flavor with a good texture. By any standards these are good tasting cherries to eat straight from the tree.

Thank you for your question. Stella will not pollinate Rainier, but these varieties will: Bing, Van, Lapins and Black Tartarian.

Rainer is also a zone 4 hardy tree also try planting where the tree gets full sun or protection from bitter cold winds

hi Lana,
most of my cherry tree's are semi dwarf, I have them about 14' apart . I'm not sure what they call for but that works for me.
good luck , plant them on high ground. cherries don't like it where its wet in the spring.

We appreciate you reaching out to us. As long as the ground is not frozen solid and your daytime temperatures are above freezing you can still plant. If you need to delay planting you can do so by keeping your trees in a cool dark area until you can safely plant.

If you have any further questions please don't hesitate to reach back out to us. Have a great day!

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