What about Van? Anyone? I see it ranked higher then Bing in a taste test on another website. Also noticed a Utah variety. I'll keep searching.

Why did you eliminate Stella? I've considered adding a sweet cherry for some time now and I'm always at a loss to decide between Stella and Lapins.

~Chills

Didn't seem cold hardy enough for my climate?

Now my problem is rootstock. Raintree sells their trees on Gisela 5 and BurntRidge sells their trees on Colt. Still looking into other nurseries...not sure Colt is hardy enough for up here?

How cold does it get?

The LOWEST temps recorded for the last seven years...

Starting from 2006-07 first and going back into time...
-19F
-21F
-19F
-19F
-9F
-6F
-24F

Now sometimes we have very little snowcover or none and it will still drop to 0F or below (thats bad?). Usually with -10f or colder, we need a good deep snowcover(good?). It also doesn't sit at these temps for week like spots up north or Canada. It usually happens very few times that it will drop much under -10F.

In addition to how long it stays that cold, it is also most important how quickly it becomes that cold. A precipitous drop can be disastrous, but a slow drop can be tolerated.
I would plant what I wanted and do as Smithius said in a prior post in another thread, and wrap the trunks in burlap. In addition pile some kind of mulch over the roots. Regina, Sam, Hudson, Blackgold, Sandra Rose, Benton, all bloom late and that might be more important to you than winter survival. I mean, if they don't have fruit then you are only growing firewood and are better off with Black Locust. These cherries have all endured fifteen below without snow cover. They had full crops six months later.
Van, Stella are old varieties with mediocre taste that no one plants anymore. And Lapins has been replaced by Skeena.

Geraldo , what are the cherry trees people are planting now? I was thinking about Emperor Francis and Angela? I'd love to try Ranier, but heard it's difficult to grow.

Late blooming is a must. Then again, if the ground is frozen, i doubt the tree will wake up that early anyways. I'll do some more research on those types you listed.

What about rootstock? I can't find a whole lot of variety. I've found Colt/Gisela 5 so far. Not a lot of choices out there for the home grower.

perriz: I supposed the most planted variety lately would be Sweetheart. But, there are lot of new varieties and there is quite a mix being planted. Rainiers grow just as easily as most cherries, but they split in the rain and they show all of the marks and bruises. The variety will depend on where you are located. In IN you should at least plant one Balaton. I really like that cherry. Regina/G5 will bloom late, tolerate BG, mildew resistant; but it is difficult to get pollinated and you should use Sam for that.

frank: frozen ground and late bloom, it is all relative. I guess go with G5, but keep cutting it back or it will runt out on you. It will have a whole bunch of little cherries. In fact Regina is the only variety I would use G5.

geraldo ,what are your favorites sweet cherries as far as taste,thank you

Sorry Gerardo, just updated my info-recently moved to WA, new zone, new gardening. Yep, lots of rain here so looking for the crack resitant varietes.

today I like Benton, Sweetheart, Rainier, Sandra Rose, Skeena, Regina, Attika,
I have only tried a few of the eastern cherries like Schmidts, Hudson, etc. I can't remember them so I guess they didn't make much of an impression on me.