The Meteor Sour Cherry Tree is a delicious type of sour cherry tree that has been grown in the United States for over 100 years. The trees are found in many different regions and provide an excellent source of food to wildlife as well as humans. In this blog post, we will discuss exactly what these trees are, where they grow best, how you can care for them properly and why they should be planted on your property today!
The Meteor Sour Cherry could double as the cherry pie tree because it makes the most magnificent pies, and bakers all around love using Meteor Sour cherries to give their baked goods a burst of flavor. Planting a Montmorency Cherry and a Meteor Sour Cherry will provide you with two of the absolute best cherry trees for making pies, sauces, and baked goods. Pink blooms mixed with bright red fruit make the Meteor Sour Cherry a unique contrast of color anywhere on your property.
If you are looking for a cherry tree to add to an already established backyard orchard, or you want to add one to your small lot, the Meteor Sour Cherry provides a huge harvest with continuous season display. Learn how to grow your own and in what ways you can use these sour cherries by continuing on in this article.
What are Meteor Sour Cherries?
Meteor Sour Cherry trees are a type of fruit tree that will provide you a bountiful harvest every single summer. These trees are similar to other cherry trees like the Stella Cherry and Sweetheart Cherry because they have year-round colors. White delicate flowers in the Spring and bronze fall foliage complement the large fruit that summer brings.
A Meteor Cherry Tree has an upright growth pattern and, as time goes on will need to be pruned to maintain its small shape. The Tart Cherry Tree is fairly resilient, being adaptable to a variety of soil types, disease-resistant, and cold hardy. Compared to other fruit trees, the dwarf stature of the Meteor Cherry Tree makes it much smaller than other sweet cherry trees you see. With a shorter height, finding an optimal space will be a lot easier.
The Meteor Cherry Tree(Prunus Cerasus Meteor) was created, developed, and cultivated at the University of Minnesota and has been made to withstand cold temperatures and be an all-around heavy producer. These shrubs can survive up to -50 degree temperatures and have no issues, which is absolutely spectacular. If you live in the more northern region, a Meteor Cherry Shrub may be just what you were looking for. A Meteor cherry is a hybrid of the popular Montmorency cherry, which is a tart cherry that is extremely loved by many, including wildlife.
What does a Meteor Cherry Taste Like?
A Meteor Cherry(Prunus Cerasus Meteor) is considered a sour cherry because of its tart and tangy flavor. There are various varieties of cherries that are sweet, but sour cherries are an entirely separate category.
As you begin to harvest your tart cherry tree, you will be greeted by large, plump red fruit, and as you take a bite, your welcome with a yellow interior bursting with unique flavors. Tart cherry is a lot more acidic than their sweet cherry counterparts, which is one reason they work better in cherry pies and cobblers. More often than not, sour cherries like the Montmorency and Meteor hold their shape and flavor remarkably well when cooked, steamed, or canned.
How to Use a Meteor Cherry?
A Meteor Cherry(Prunus Cerasus Meteor) is called a sour cherry for a reason; most of the time these types of cherries are used in pies and baking because of their tartness. That is why you will sometimes hear them referred to as pie cherries. While they are edible off of the tree, many people do not like the tartness of the cherry simply by themselves.
Meteor Sour Cherries are favorited by bakers everywhere for their incredible flavor that bakes perfectly into a variety of pastries, pies, and more. The bite of sour that the tart cherry provides adds a bit of tang to every dish it is used on. If you are a baker, having ready-to-use fruit is a perfect way to have accessible fresh produce for your next baking project just minutes away.
Sour or tart cherries are also incredibly useful for juicing, giving you plenty of options to freeze the juice to use later. When you harvest around fifty pounds of fruit every summer you will know every cherry recipe in the book. No matter what you add to your menu, you will have plenty of cherries to add to any dish you want to create next.
Another way to use the Meteor Cherry tree in your backyard is using any leftover fruit on the tree to attract birds to your yard. After you have picked your harvest, leave a few berries behind to continue to get a show as birds from near and far flock to the irresistible fruit that this tree provides. A tree that serves dual purposes is a perfect addition to any space.
Imagine having your family over for Thanksgiving dinner or your yearly celebration and being able to utilize fresh food from your backyard in your annual cherry pie. There is truly something special about the taste of fresh homegrown produce compared to store-bought cherries; they seem to have almost a completely different flavor profile.
Because of the vast amount of cherries these trees put out every single year, you won’t just be enjoying them in the summer months. Juicing, canning, dehydrating, and freezing are all actionable ways to make your cherry produce make it through the year with ease. No more going to the store to stock up on cherries; you will have your own cherry stop right outside.
How to Grow Meteor Cherries?
Meteor Sour cherries are grown often by finding a local cherry tree at a nursery or ordering one online to be delivered to your home. Nature Hills is a great option for an online store as they have a variety of trees and will deliver a healthy bare root tree ready to be planted right onto your doorstep. Nature Hills provides an assortment of fruit trees of all shapes and sizes, allowing you to have a backyard fruit orchard in no time. Ordering from an online nursery provides convenience and ease of starting your home garden and start growing cherries sooner rather than later.
After you find your sour cherry tree or order one online it is time to figure out where you can plant your tree for optimal growth. Meteor Sour Cherries do best in full sun and grow well in hardiness zones 4-8. They are also considered a dwarf variety so they rarely surpass a height of ten feet tall, making them a perfect choice for many people’s backyards. Finding an optimal planting site beforehand ensures you will have all of the right conditions ready for your new plant to grow strong and healthy.
Some fruit trees will need another tree to pollinate with, but for a sour cherry tree that is not the case. These cherry trees are self-pollinating and will provide you up to fifty pounds of fruit once they become established and mature. Meteor Tart Cherries can absolutely survive on their own beautifully, if you have another tree or two your harvest will be larger and more hearty. If you are short on space, having one will work just fine.
While many cherry trees don’t have to be pruned, it is recommended to prune sour cherry trees in the early spring to train them how you want them to grow. The Meteor Cherry is genetically a dwarf variety, but training your plant will help increase your harvest and keep your plant healthy.
After your plant has been established, be prepared to pick buckets of cherries off of your Meteor shrubs in the month of June. The bright red skin mixed with the yellow flesh of these sour cherries gives you a bit of crunch with a kick of juicy flavor. With the Meteor Sour Cherry doing well in so many growing zones, most people can grow their own in their home garden with ease all over the country.
Prepare yourself to sit back and relax as you watch the delicate blooms come unfurled in May and slowly begin to cover your once dark green tree. These blooms are a true sign that your cherry tree is about to put on a show. If the flower color and display aren’t enough to grow your own Meteor cherry, the continuous show of color may be the convincing feature.
A later bloom time for these cherry trees allows you to welcome summer in with beautiful color. From May with white blooms to the bright red fruit and finishing the year off with stunning fall color, a Meteor Cherry is a heavy producing fruit tree that also provides you ornamental value.
Meteor Sour Cherry Tree FAQs
When is the best time to plant cherry trees?
Cherry trees, like the Meteor Sour Cherry, should be planted in late fall or early spring to provide them with the most optimal growing conditions.
Are Meteor Sour Cherries Disease Resistant?
These fruit trees are resistant to one of the most common disease issues that cherry trees have. Leaf Spot causes all kinds of issues for cherry trees, large and small, so not having to worry about it is crucial.
Conclusion
Meteor Sour Cherry Trees are a perfect tree for all experience levels of gardening, and they provide you such a large crop of fruit that you will be an expert at all things cherry in no time. One great cherry for those that love to can and bake is the Meteor Sour Cherry.
This cherry tree stays small, rarely growing over a height of 10 feet, making them a great choice for those that live in tight spaces as well as those that have plenty of land. Many cherry trees offer you year-round ornamental displays of jaw-dropping colors, and the Meteor Sour Cherry is no exception. White blooms, bright red fruit, and warm fall leaves are enough to convince anyone to add this cherry shrub to their space.
Excited for more cherry content? Then visit our cherry page for more planting tips, growing guides, recipe ideas, and more!