Romeo Dwarf Cherry Tree

If you have tried to grow a cherry tree, you will already know the complications. If you want sweet cherries you need a second, different tree for pollination, and sweet cherries do best in warm climates – which might not be where you live. They also need lots of room, growing into large trees. At least, that is how it was, until the arrival of the Romeo Bush Cherry. This variety, created in Canada, is incredibly hardy, growing even in zone 2, and it makes a small bush (don’t try to train it into a tree-form) that doesn’t need a second tree to make a good crop of delicious cherries. These are deep red, with red flesh, and ideal for eating straight from the bush or for cooking. Yes, it is technically a ‘sour’ cherry, but bred to be sweet and delicious, while still being superior to sweet cherries for baking and preserves. Everyone has fallen in love with this tree, and you will be amazed at how easy it is to grow, and how perfect it is for smaller gardens, being no more than 10 feet tall. It’s pretty white flowers in spring, and the bright orange fall leaves, make it handsome enough to grow right in your shrub beds, or out on the lawn, although of course you can grow it with other fruit trees if you wish.

• A large shrub that has dark-red cherries in July and August
• Sweet for eating fresh, but makes great pies and preserves as well
• Pretty white spring flowers and bright orange fall leaves
• Doesn’t need a second tree for pollination – it’s self-fertile
• the perfect cherry tree for gardeners in cold areas

Your Romeo Bush Cherry should be planted in full sun, to give good blooms and fruits. Any well-drained soil is fine, including alkaline soils. It grows in zone 2 – yes, really – and yet also into zone 9, so anyone, anywhere, can grow it. Water frequently when young, and also while the fruit is developing, but after that is reasonably drought tolerant. It is self-fertile, but will give a bigger crop when you have another variety nearby. You may need to protect it from deer, and also use a net to protect your crop from birds during the period it begins to ripen, but otherwise it is very easy to grow, with no serious pests or diseases. Pruning isn’t needed, but it will benefit from being kept as an open, vase-shaped bush, allowing the sun to ripen the fruit better.