June, July, August, September
Did you know...Besides the fruit, cherries also have attractive flowers, and they are commonly planted for their flower display in spring; several of the Asian cherries are particularly noted for their flower displays. The Japanese sakura in particular are a national symbol celebrated in the yearly Hanami festival. Many flowering cherry cultivars (known as 'ornamental cherries') have the stamens and pistils replaced by additional petals ("double" flowers), so are sterile and do not bear fruit. They are grown purely for their flowers and decorative value. The most common of these sterile cherries is the cultivar 'Kanzan'. Cherry trees provide food for the caterpillars of several Lepidoptera. 
cherry DescriptionThe word cherry refers to a fleshy fruit (drupe) that contains a single stony seed. The cherry belongs to the family Rosaceae, genus Prunus, along with almonds, peaches, plums, apricots and bird cherries. The subgenus, Cerasus, is distinguished by having the flowers in small corymbs of several together (not singly, nor in racemes), and by having a smooth fruit with only a weak groove or none along one side. There are two categories of cherry: sweet and sour. Fruit SelectionCherries should be large (at least an inch in diameter), glossy, plump, hard, and dark colored. Reject soft, flabby, bruised, or sticky fruit. The stems should be fresh and green. Avoid cherries without stems. Recommended StorageLoosely pack unwashed cherries in plastic bags. Store them in the refrigerator for up to a week. |
