About Blackgold Sweet Cherry
The Blackgold cherry is a sweet variety. The fruit is very dark, deep red, almost black, and has a sweet, strong flavor. The flesh is firm and dark purple in color. These cherries are ideal for eating right off the tree and can be frozen to preserve the crop for winter use. Blackgold was developed as a cross between the Stark Gold and Stella varieties to get a tree with positive attributes of both. The result is a tree that blooms later in the spring than most other sweet cherries. This means Blackgold can be grown in colder climates than other varieties without the usual risk of frost damage to buds and flowers. It also resists many of the diseases to which other sweet cherries may succumb.
How to Grow Blackgold Cherries
Care of Blackgold cherries begins with giving your tree the right conditions. Plant it in a spot that gets full sun and where the soil will drain well; standing water is problematic for cherry trees. Your soil should also be fertile, so amend with compost if necessary. Your Blackgold cherry tree should be watered regularly throughout the first growing season to establish healthy roots. After year one, watering is necessary only during drought conditions. Prune your tree to develop a central leader with lateral growth and trim each year as needed to maintain the shape or get rid of any dead or diseased branches. Most varieties of sweet cherry require another tree for pollination, but Blackgold is a rare self-fertile type. You can get fruit without having another cherry tree in the area, but an additional variety should give you an even greater yield. Blackgold cherry trees can, in turn, serve as a pollinator for other sweet cherries, like Bing or Rainier.
