Skip to product information
Balaton Tart Cherry (Spring 2027)
$89.99
Reliable shipping
Flexible returns
Pollination
Self-fertile
Bloom group
3 of 7 (Early-Mid)
Ripening
Will it finish before your first hard freeze?
Check it on the Ripening Map (opens in a new tab)
Disease resistanceNo strong resistance
- 3 Bacterial canker : Moderate, 3 of 5
- ? Black knot : Unknown, no published data yet
- 1 Brown rot : Highly susceptible, 1 of 5
- 2 Cherry leaf spot : Susceptible, 2 of 5
- ? Cytospora canker : Unknown, no published data yet
Scored 1 to 5. Higher resists better, and ? means no published data yet.
See it on our cherry disease chart (opens in a new tab)At a glance: Balaton Tart Cherry is a cherry tree rated hardy to zone 3b in our ratings (winters to -35°F), self-fertile, so one tree can crop (bloom group 3 of 7, early-mid for a tart cherry), and it ripens about Jul 29 to Aug 10 in Missoula (our Missoula estimate).
| Hardy to | Zone 3b to 8. The b means the warmer half of zone 3 only (winters to -35°F). Find your zone with our cold hardiness calculator. |
|---|---|
| Chill hours | About 700 hours (600 to 900). From published figures. Montana winters give it plenty. In milder climates, make sure your winters average at least this much. Check your chill hours or see our sources. |
| Pollination | Self-Fertile. Bloom group 3 of 7 (early-mid), mid spring here. Balaton is self-fertile, so one tree will crop on its own. It blooms a little ahead of Montmorency and Evans Bali. Nearby varieties that can boost the crop: Danube Tart Cherry, Evan's Bali Tart Cherry, Meteor Tart Cherry, Montmorency Tart Cherry and 1 more. Tart Cherry Pollination Map. |
| Ripens | About Jul 29 to Aug 10 in Missoula (a Missoula estimate from published sources). Real years swing about a week either way. See the date for your town. |
| Rootstock and size | Mazzard: full size, about 25 to 35 ft (sweet cherry), 15 to 18 ft (tart cherry) tall unpruned. Slow to bear, often 5 to 6 years. Our rootstock guide. |
| Good for | Pies and baking (10/10), jams and jellies (9/10), brandy and liqueurs (9/10), canning and freezing (8/10), drying (8/10), juice and sweet cider (8/10). Scores are our own 1 to 10 ratings; 8 and up makes our Best Of lists. |
| Deer | A deer favorite. Fence it or cage it. |
| What you get | Bare root, 5-7 ft. Shipped or picked up in Missoula in spring, roots wrapped in moist sawdust. Guaranteed to bud out. |
New for Spring 2027! These are the best pie cherries we have ever had! Balaton (Újfehértói Fürtös) is a Hungarian dark tart cherry, and it is one of the clonal landrace pie cherries out of Hungary, the same group as Danube and Erde Jubileum.
Our Take
We had grown both Danube and Erde Jubileum and thought highly of them, but we had not tried Balaton until this year. Balaton may take the cake. These cherries have real size and real flavor, and the flesh is a deep burgundy rather than the pale flesh of a Montmorency. They made the best cherry pie we have had, and the best looking one, too. Hardy to zone 3b (to about -35°F).
From a Hungarian Village to Michigan
The Hungarian name means "the bunched one of Újfehértó," after the village in far eastern Hungary where it was collected and the way the fruit hangs in clusters. It went on to become the most widely planted sour cherry in Hungary.
Dr. Amy Iezzoni, a cherry breeder at Michigan State University, came across it there in the early 1980s while hunting for tart cherries that bloomed later and could dodge late spring freezes. She brought it to the US in 1984. Nobody here was going to pronounce Újfehértói Fürtös, so it was named after Lake Balaton, and Michigan State and the Hungarian institutes released it together in 1998.
Fruit
- Size: large and plump for a tart cherry
- Color: dark red skin, with burgundy flesh and juice all the way through
- Flavor: sweeter than Montmorency, with a deeper, almost wine-like cherry flavor
- Texture: firm, so it holds its shape in a pie instead of cooking down to mush
That color carries into everything you make with it, which is why the pie looked so good. It's just as good for jam, juice, drying and cherry liqueur.
Questions we get about Balaton Tart Cherry
Does Balaton Tart Cherry need a pollenizer?
No. Balaton Tart Cherry is self-fertile, so a single tree can set fruit. Balaton is self-fertile, so one tree will crop on its own. It blooms a little ahead of Montmorency and Evans Bali. Partners we carry include Danube Tart Cherry, Evan's Bali Tart Cherry, Meteor Tart Cherry.
How cold hardy is Balaton Tart Cherry?
We rate Balaton Tart Cherry hardy to zone 3b, which means winters down to about -35°F. Our ratings come from real winters at our two Montana sites and from trusted growers across the North, not from a catalog average.
How many chill hours does Balaton Tart Cherry need?
About 700 hours of winter chill (we count hours at or below 45°F), likely somewhere between 600 and 900. That comes from published figures for this variety. That's about the same as Montmorency. Montana winters cover it easily; spring frost on the blossoms is the real risk. Our chill hours guide has a calculator for your winters, and our research page lists the sources.
When does Balaton Tart Cherry ripen?
About Jul 29 to Aug 10 in Missoula, Montana (an estimate built from published sources and our climate). Warmer places run earlier and cooler places later; our ripening map converts the date to your town.
How big does Balaton Tart Cherry get?
We graft Balaton Tart Cherry onto Mazzard (full size), which makes a tree roughly 25 to 35 ft (sweet cherry), 15 to 18 ft (tart cherry) tall if you never prune it.
What is Balaton Tart Cherry good for?
Our top use scores for Balaton Tart Cherry are pies and baking (10/10), jams and jellies (9/10), brandy and liqueurs (9/10), canning and freezing (8/10). Anything scored 8 or higher makes our Best Of lists.
Is Balaton Tart Cherry disease resistant?
Not really. It holds up moderately well against bacterial canker. It's very prone to brown rot, and prone to cherry leaf spot. Nobody has published solid data on it for black knot and cytospora canker yet, so we list those as unknown. Our cherry disease resistance chart has every rating, the notes and the sources.
Will deer eat Balaton Tart Cherry?
Yes, deer love it. Protect Balaton Tart Cherry with a fence or a cage, especially while it is young.
More Plants Like This
By Zone
Best For
Pollination, Bloom & Ripening
Pollination partners
Good partners for Balaton Tart Cherry
Balaton Tart Cherry is self-fertile, so one tree will fruit on its own. If you'd like a second tart cherry, these bloom at the same time and work well together.
Bloom group
3 of 7 (Early-Mid)
Pollination
Self-fertile
Pollen
Good pollenizer
-
Meteor Tart Cherry(Spring 2027)
$119.99
-
Montmorency Tart Cherry(Spring 2027)
From $64.99
-
FE Tart Cherry(Spring 2027)
From $49.99
