Sweetheart has all the characteristic flavor elements of a good sweet cherry, predominantly sweet, but not at all sugary, with an underlying hint (no more than that) of bitter sharpness. The flavor is arguably richer than is usual amongst cherries. To get the best flavor, pick when fully ripe and eat immediately. We think all sweet cherries are best when eaten slightly cool, but not chilled.
Sweetheart is also self-fertile, and ripens quite late in the cherry season. Another unusual characteristic is that the picking period is longer than most, because ripening is uneven - meaning you don't get the inevitable glut which is a feature of other varieties.
Deliveries resume December 2020
Sweetheart is a precocious sweet cherry, and starts to bear fruit relatively young - you may get fruit within a 2-3 of years of planting, whereas most cherries will start to bear fruit after about 3-4 years.
Developed by the Summerland Research Station, British Columbia, Canada and released in 1990. It is a cross between Van and Newstar.
