# How do I get cherries? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 17, 2003, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-cherries/169425 "2003-04-17T22:44:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2003, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-cherries/169425/1 "2003-04-17T22:44:22Z")
I few years back I planted a cherry tree in my backyard. I know that cherry trees are single sexed, but I never really thought about whether I bought a male or female tree. How do I tell? Remembering my jr high biology, I checked out the flowers. They appear to have stamen, but not pistils. Does this mean it’s a male? In which case, I’m out of luck in the cherry dept, right? If it turns out the be female, can I get pollen somewhere? There are quite a few other cherry trees in the neighborhood, so if it’s a girl, it must not be a very attractive girl as it obviously hasn’t gotten asked out yet… You might say it hasn’t popped its… no, I’m not going to fall into that trap. ---
**Author:** ![Merseybeat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c89c15/32.png) [@Merseybeat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merseybeat)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-cherries/169425/2 "2003-04-18T00:57:43Z")
It’s not the sex of the tree, it’s the fact that sweet cherries need a cross-pollinator from a different variety. I grow 'em myself, and it can be maybe 5 years before you get a decent crop. If you know the variety you’ve got, maybe you can get a compatible mate so they can both lose … (no, you’re right). Take a look at this link :- [http://www.farmersmarketonline.com/tips/crosspollination.htm](http://www.farmersmarketonline.com/tips/crosspollination.htm) ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-cherries/169425/3 "2003-04-18T18:24:28Z")
I’m pretty sure they’re Bing cherries. Thanks for the link! Any idea how close the compatible mate needs to be? Like I said earlier, there are lots of cherry trees in my neighborhood. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-cherries/169425/4 "2003-04-18T21:06:57Z")
Cherry flowers contain sex organs of both genders, but as **Merseybeat** says, the trees are not always self-fertile. My research appears to indicate that Bing is not self-fertile. You need to have another cherry tree (not an ornamental flowering one as these are often different species or produce extra scent/petals instead of pollen), it needs to flower within (ideally) a day or two of your tree.the variety named **Van** would be a good choice; the trees will pollinate each other and both will produce fruit. ---
**Author:** ![jonpluc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/fbc32d/32.png) [@jonpluc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jonpluc)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-cherries/169425/5 "2003-04-18T21:08:24Z")
Did anyone else wonder if he was asking how to get virgins?? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-cherries/169425/6 "2003-04-18T21:15:30Z")
[ul]😃 [sup] **At the grocery store.** [/sup][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2003, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-cherries/169425/7 "2003-04-19T17:54:50Z")
I was going to say go to a grocery store, but **kniz** beat me to it. So I guess that I’ll have to say keep inserting quarters and pulling the lever. Do the ornamental variety of fruit trees produce fruit? If they don’t, what is their purpose since **Mangetout** (hey, no extra ‘r’) says they can’t/shouldn’t be crossed with a fruit bearing tree. At some point I would love to have a few ornamental cherry trees and if I could get some fresh fruit as well, that would be a bonus. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2003, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-cherries/169425/8 "2003-04-19T20:09:54Z")
Some varieties of oranmental cherries do produce fruit, but we should be clear that ‘ornamental cherry’ is a rather broad and misleading term, referring to a wide variety opf species, varieties and hybrids in the genus _Prunus_; some of these are true cherries, others are not (The ‘ornamental cherry’ tree (which I don’t know the variety) with deep red leaves that I had in front of my previous home produced a dozen or so fruits one year, but they were actually small plums). But the main problem with the ornamental cherries is that a great number of them have double flowers (i.e. extra petals) - a mutation that often occurs at the expense of reproductive organs, or at the expense of nectaries (so the bees won’t be interested in visiting, even if there is pollen), or they make the flowers difficult for bees to enter. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2003, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-cherries/169425/9 "2003-04-19T20:12:03Z")
…However, an established cherry tree in full bloom is arguably every bit as attractive as an ornamental variety, although the petals typically fall sooner.