How and When to Pick Cherries
The right time for picking cherries captures maximum flavor and texture for the ideal balance of sweet and tart. Whether you’re nearing the harvest stage this summer or getting ready to add cherry trees to your edible landscape, Katherine Rowe outlines how and when to harvest the valuable garden rewards.
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Cultivated for thousands of years, cherry trees bridge the edible and ornamental landscape, first with their delicate springtime blossoms, followed by fresh green leaves, and lastly, the prized fruits that develop over the summer. The productive trees yield more cherries than we know what to do with – a happy challenge when it comes to fresh eating, preserving, and baking. Not only delicious, the stone fruits also contain antioxidants, in addition to vitamins C and A, beta-carotene, and other nutrients.
At peak harvest, the flavorful, pretty rounds are the gardener’s reward. Figuring out when to pick cherries is a bit of a balancing act. They ripen quickly in the last few days leading up to readiness. They get bigger, take on richer coloration, and fill with juice. Too early, and the fruits are small, hard, and lack flavor and sweetness. A few days later, they’re just right with large, juicy, sweet fruits. And after that, they become soft and prone to cracking and shriveling.
Use the following tips to learn how and when to pick the ripest, tastiest cherries.
Cherry Overview: Sweet and Sour
There are two main Prunus species grown for their edible value: sweet cherries (Prunus avium) and tart or sour cherries (Prunus cerasus). Sweet cherries are what we enjoy fresh, in addition to cooking and preserving, while tart cherries are usually for cooking and baking, and the highlight of pies. In the U.S., most varieties are sweet cherries, though tart varieties are on the rise and make ideal cross-pollinators for sweet cherries.
For the best fruiting, many require another variety for cross-pollination. Newer cultivars are self-fruiting and can produce on their own, though yields improve with another specimen nearby. Self-fertile types also serve as pollinating partners for those who require it, as long as both bloom at the same time.
Prunus spp. live for more than a century in optimal growing conditions. The stone fruits appear in drupes and range from yellow to red to purple-black and ripen over the summer. They perform best in areas with mild summers and cool winters, finding long summers and short, fluctuating winters challenging. Cold winters sustain a necessary chill period for flowering and fruiting, which is around 1,000 hours between 35-55°F (2-13°C). Siting and frost protection are important considerations to avoid frost injury to spring blossoms and cold damage to young trees.
Optimal growing conditions include:
- Full sun
- Well-draining soils of various types and a slightly acidic pH (6.2-6.8)
- Regular moisture throughout the growing season, holding off just before peak ripeness to avoid cracked fruits
- Regular pruning during dormancy for the best structure and fruiting
Timing the Harvest
While some stonefruits continue to ripen and sweeten after picking, cherries ripen only on the stem. They don’t gain extra sweetness or flavor, so harvesting at peak ripeness is key.
Harvesting too early means underripe rounds that remain hard and lack the soft, fleshy sweetness, as they have a low sugar content. Overripe ones are susceptible to bruising, pests, and off-flavor. When to harvest depends on the cultivar, with most ready in June through August. Climate factors like temperature, rainfall, and localized growing conditions impact readiness.
Tree-Ripening
A single cherry tree ripens all at once (or nearly so) with abundant yields over a short period of time. While you’ll likely have plenty to share with the birds who love them as much as we do, predation is a risk in fruits that fully ripen on the tree.
For commercial production or if birds become an issue, consider netting the canopy (best for small and mid-sized specimens). Place a large net over the tree after spring flowering and pollination to protect the developing harvest.
Once picked, cherries can soften quickly. They’re best enjoyed fresh from the tree, close to harvest time.
Hold the Irrigation
As we patiently check and wait in the days leading up to readiness, be mindful of irrigation and rainy periods. Since they ripen quickly, growing in size by as much as 40% in the final days to maturity, the fruits fill with water to gain that sweet, sugary juice. With an uptake of excess moisture at this stage in development, they can fill too much. The water content can exceed the capacity of the skin, and the fruits can burst, split, and crack.
If you taste-test, color check, and feel the firmness level is nearly at peak, harvesting ahead of prolonged rainy conditions is a wise measure. It may preserve the yield as they bridge on full internal content.
Knowing When To Pick
Practice makes perfect when it comes to picking cherries, with taste as the number one measure for peak ripeness. For sweet cherries, a taste test is the best measure. Sour cherries have another tell: they separate easily from the stem when ripe.
Following taste, other key indicators for when to pick cherries are color and firmness. They’ll also have the classically sweet, fruity aroma we associate with the stonefruits.
Color
Color is the visual indicator of when to pick cherries. They darken when they’re ripe, changing from light red to bright red to deep black-red. Color for red cherries will show even saturation (some have blushes or speckles at maturity). Mature color depends on the variety, and cherries bring a depth of shades, from crimson to blush to gold to mahogany.
The darkening of the skin color relates to what’s happening internally (rather than as a response to external factors, like temperature) as solids and sugar content increase. The skin itself will be glossy and shiny when ripe.
Firmness
Cherries are tender fruits at peak ripeness but should still be somewhat firm as they fill with flesh and water. They’ll have a slight give under a gentle squeeze but won’t be hard (underripe) or squishy (overripe). Sour cherries are often softer than sweet cherries.
Take care not to squeeze too hard during harvesting, as cherries are susceptible to bruising.
How To Pick
Since tart cherries separate easily from the stem when ripe, it’s easy to move quickly with handpicking. Sweet cherries work well for picking with the stems attached. For enjoying right away and for cooking, you don’t need the stem. But to increase shelf life and reduce damage to the fruits, keep the stems intact.
Pick cherries where the stems attach to the branch. Be careful not to damage the woody branch spur, which will produce more fruits the following season.
Storage
After picking, keep the rounds out of direct sunlight. Place them in cool conditions shortly after harvesting if you don’t plan to use them right away. Warm conditions soften the fruits and shorten their shelf life. At room temperature, they last only a few days. In the fridge, they’ll last a week or more. Store cherries uncovered in the refrigerator at temperatures between 35-40°F (2-4°C). The crisper drawer works well.
Wait to rinse the globes until just before eating or cooking/preserving. The excess moisture can cause mold issues as they are stored.
Freezing
To freeze the bounty for a juicy burst later in the year, wash the cherries in a colander or bowl of water. Pit them if time allows, as they’re easier to work with fresh. Then, place them in an airtight container or baggie for freezing.
To keep them loose during freezing for easy access in small portions, flash freeze the rounds. Place them, not touching, on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze for an hour to keep them from sticking together. Transfer them to an airtight container or bag to freeze the group.
Use thawed cherries in cooking, added to smoothies, or spooned over ice cream. Pop them frozen for a cool, healthy treat.
Preserving, Canning, and Drying
There are a multitude of uses for cherries in cuisine aside from fresh eating, including pie filling, jams, and dried as raisins in the sun. Each comes with its own methods for success and extends the enjoyment of the brief harvest season and its glutted yield.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do cherries continue to ripen off the branch?
Cherries don’t continue to ripen once picked. They gain all their sweetness and tender flesh on the stem. Capturing their prime harvest window is key to enjoying them at peak flavor.
Can you grow cherry trees in containers?
The pretty trees grow well in containers, depending on the cultivar, with plenty of volume and a high-quality potting mix that allows good drainage and aeration. Those best for pots include varieties grafted onto dwarf rootstock. Grow two if you have the space with overlapping bloom times to boost pollination and fruit set, or opt for a self-fruitful variety like ‘Romeo™’ (tart cherry) or ‘Stella’ (sweet).
