Along with Carmine Jewel, Romeo comes from breeders at the University of Saskatchewan and is a cold-hardy, sweet-sour cherry with a relatively high sugar content. It yields a harvest of 25 pounds of fruit at maturity. It has classic white cherry blossoms in the spring. Plant it in well-drained soil, and you can even treat it as a shrub in the landscape or grow it in a large pot. Its fruits are almost black with small pits. Eat them fresh or use in baking, canning, and winemaking.

Sun exposure:

• full sun

Soil pH:

• 6.0 to 6.5

Hardiness Zones:

• 3 to 7

Spacing:

• 5 feet

Moisture:

• 1 inch per week

Notes:

• reaches a height of 6 to 8 feet and a spread of 5 to 6 feet
• ripens in mid- to late summer
• does not require a pollinator

Have you ever grown Romeo cherries? Please tell us about your experiences with them.