Sweetheart Production Experience: Developed at the Summerland Research Station and named in 1994. There have been some large and small plantings of Sweetheart in the Mid-Columbia in the last few years but little production experience. According to one nurseryman, Sweetheart is the best selling new variety produced at the nursery.
Fruit: A very late cherry with harvest beginning 21 days after Bing. The fruit is very firm and large, averaging 10 row in size. The cherry is round and picks as a bright red cherry. The flavor is only fair until fully ripe but improves to a nice tart-sweet flavor when ripe. Sweetheart is tolerant to rain cracking and avoids most rains due to its late ripening date.
Bloom: Self-fertile, therefore no pollenizer is needed. The tree blooms slightly ahead of Bing.
Rootstock: Sweetheart is precocious and very productive, therefore it is not recommended with dwarfing rootstocks.