Compact Van Sweet Cherry
Compact Van Sweet Cherry
History: Compact Van sweet cherries are a genetic variant of Van sweet cherries which were released by the Summerland Research and Development Centre in British Columbia in 1944. This variant naturally has a less-vigorous growth habit and do not get as tall at maturity, hence the name "compact."
Why We Grow It: Compact Van bears bright red, firm-fleshed fruit with good flavour for fresh eating and canning, drying, or freezing. For anyone looking for a cherry tree that won't take up as much space in the garden, this variety typically reaches a mature height of 8-10 feet (2.5-3.0m).
Fruit Specs
Fruit Specs
Recommended Use: Fresh eating, cooking, preserving
Fruit Size: Medium-large
Storage: Keeps about 1-2 weeks in the fridge
Harvest: July - Late
Growing Specs
Growing Specs
Canadian Hardiness Zone: 5
Soil Preference: Sandy loam, loam, clay loam with good fertility. Sweet cherries don't like their feet wet, so be sure to plant in well-drained soils, avoid planting anywhere that floods for more than two weeks in the spring.
Flowering Time: Middle
Bloom Colour: White
Pollination Requirements: Requires a pollinator of a different cherry variety that blooms around the same time. Sweet and Sour cherries cannot be relied upon to pollinate each other. Incompatible with Windsor.
Sun/Shade Requirements:
Full sun (approx. 8-10 hours of sun daily)
General Growth Habits:
Cold hardy, less vigorous than Van reaching about 8-10ft at maturity on average, good crops.
Shipping vs. Pick Up
Shipping vs. Pick Up
CLICK HERE to see how shipping compares to pick up.
Shipping: Every year we ship thousands of trees across Canada (except BC due to CFIA regulations). We carefully bag roots in damp sawdust, then box them and send them out via courrier. CLICK HERE to see our shipping policy.
Pick-up: We also have thousands of trees picked up from our nursery each year. The pick-up options is free, though you must wait until you have been emailed a confirmation that your order is ready to pick up, which will have further information such as hours, locations, etc. We really appreciate if you can make an appointment to pick up, then we can be as organized as possible during our busy season.
Size at Purchase
Size at Purchase
Our grafted fruit trees are graded into three categories, and the size includes the rootstock:
- 50-80cm whip: may have some minor branching, this grade is like a "b-grade" size tree in industry standards; we include in this price category trees that are over 1m but have some scarring or mild crookedness.
- 1m+ whip: may have some minor branching, aka feathering. This is like a typical one-year whip in industry standards.
- 1m+ branched: these trees must be over a meter and have 3 or more branches 30cm or longer, as well as a central leader. They are essentially a two-year tree in industry standards.
- For stone fruits only - 1m+ whip/branched: We have combined these grades based on the way these trees grow and are grafted. Plums, apricots, cherries, and peaches naturally tend to grow more vigorously compared to apples and are more likely to form larger trees with more branches. However, we only chip bud them so they are a one-year old tree by industry standards. Apples and pears are partially bench grafted, and using the knip-boom method the grading becomes more complicated, hence the reason they are split into different grades.
Orders that are cancelled last minute due to size (being "to small"), will still incur the applicable cancellation fees if the trees are true to our grading standards as per the agreement of sale when the order was placed.