Balaton Tart Cherry Seeds (100 Seeds) | Ships ASAP

These are seeds from Balaton (Újfehértói Fürtös), the most flavorful of all the tart cherries. It's a Hungarian dark tart cherry, one of the clonal landrace pie cherries out of Hungary, the same group as Danube and Erde Jubileum. The cherries have real size and real flavor, and the flesh is a deep burgundy all the way through instead of the pale flesh of a Montmorency. They're sweeter than Montmorency with a deeper, almost wine-like flavor, and firm enough to hold their shape in a pie. They made the best cherry pie we've ever had, and the best looking one, too.

Will They Come True to Seed?

Not exactly. No cherry grown from seed is a copy of its parent, so every one of these will be its own new tart cherry. That said, tart cherries come closer than most fruit. Balaton is self-fertile and sets most of its crop with its own pollen, so most of these seeds are Balaton crossed with itself. Expect dark tart cherries in a range of sizes, flavors and ripening dates, with some pretty close to Balaton and some that aren't. Tart cherry seedlings usually start bearing in about 3 to 5 years.

Self-fertility can shuffle a bit in seedlings too, and the odd one can end up needing a partner, so plant several. That's the fun of it anyway: grow out a bunch and keep the best.

Planting

Cherry seed needs a long cold, moist winter before it'll sprout. Plant them outside this fall about an inch deep, or keep them in damp sand or peat in the fridge for about 3 months and plant in early spring. Don't let them dry out.