Cutie Pie Dwarf Cherry (Bundle of 2)

Overview

Cutie Pie Dwarf Cherry is an extreme dwarf sour cherry introduced by the University of Saskatchewan fruit breeding program in 2021 to mark its centennial. It descends from hardy sour cherry material developed through decades of prairie breeding work, drawing on the legacy of breeders such as Les Kerr. Cutie Pie was selected for its exceptionally compact, shrub-like growth habit and its bright red fruit, which is sweeter and more approachable than many traditional sour cherries.

Horticultural Information

Cutie Pie is a dwarf form of sour cherry (Prunus cerasus) with a naturally multi-stemmed, bushy growth habit. Plants typically reach about 4–5 feet tall and wide at maturity. The compact stature makes it well suited to small gardens, edible landscapes, borders, and container growing. Plants may sucker moderately, allowing them to slowly fill in space while remaining manageable.

Uses

The fruit of Cutie Pie is small, bright red, and pleasantly flavored, offering a balanced sweet–tart profile. The cherries can be eaten fresh by those who enjoy sour cherries and are well suited for pies, baking, jams, jellies, syrups, and other preserves. That said, these are not sweet cherries, contrary to what some places online will state. They are sweeter than a typical tart/pie cherry, such as Montmorency, but they are not as sweet as a sweet cherry. The spring flowers and compact form also make it an attractive ornamental edible shrub.

Cold Hardiness

Cutie Pie was bred specifically for cold prairie climates and is hardy to at least Zone 2, although University of Saskatchewan breeder Bob Bors believes that it could survive zone 1 possibly and with protection.

Spacing & Growth Habit

Due to its dwarf, shrub-like form, space Cutie Pie plants approximately 3–5 feet apart to allow for good air circulation and room to spread. Plants can be spaced more closely in ornamental or hedge-style plantings, but adequate spacing helps reduce disease pressure and improves fruiting.

Cross Pollination

Cutie Pie is self-fertile and capable of setting fruit on its own. However, as with other sour cherries, planting additional compatible sour cherry varieties nearby, such as Romeo, Juliet, and others could improve pollination efficiency and overall yield by increasing pollen availability and pollinator activity during bloom.

About the photo: this isn’t Cutie Pie itself. Photos of Cutie Pie are either under copyright or simply unavailable, so we picked the open-source image that looks closest to the fruit. Photo: “Prunus fruticosa (Zwerg-Weichsel) IMG 2187” by HermannSchachner, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC0.