jwm: Yes, Rainier is a Bing/Van cross, but that genetic change resulted in a cultivar that will pollinate Bing. Starkrimson is called Lapins by everyone but Stark Bros., and will undoubtedly supply some pollen too. I hope you are able to raise these large crisp cherries in Alabama without cracking. They are sure hard to raise here in N. Virginia, with its combination of heat and humidity during the ripening period. Lapins is softer and should be easier. Sweet cherries seem to be a delicate task just about anywhere they are raised. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

You are lucky to have had any cherries by now. Many people wait 4-5 yrs for their first fruit. If you remove the 3/1, you may have to wait yrs for any replacement to bloom. Keep the 3/1 and buy another tree. Bing is a very good pollinator for Rainier. It however is prone to split in rain, as is Rainier. A self fruitful variety like Sandra Rose, Sonata, Lapins, Skeena, or Sweetheart would be a good pollinator for Rainier, if they bloom together, and would not need another to pollinate itself. Bing and Rainier do bloom together. Sweetheart on a dwarfing rootstock like Giesla 5 blooms as fast as anything. It also matures later, which I think gets closer to your dry season. But it can overbear, giving small fruit of inferior guality. You solve that by severe pruning to remove fruit buds and force vegetative growth. The final size of your trees depends on how much you prune. The Fruitnut

Generally 2 trees only need to be within 50 feet (15 meters) of each other to cross pollinate. Pollination does usually require insects (most commonly bees), but can also be done by hand. Even if you do not commonly see bees in your yard, it is usually nothing to worry about. The bees will appear when the tree is covered in blossoms. In many parts of the country people only need to plant one apple tree in their yard, because there are usually a few other apple trees (or crabapples) growing somewhere in the neighborhood and the local bees are likely to be carrying pollen. The only reason I could see to ever want to plant the trees closer together is if they are very young trees with only a handful of blossoms that are unlikely to attract many bees. But in that case why not just pollinate by hand? The quality of the fruit is entirely dependent on the tree it is growing on; the variety that was used to pollinize it does not affect the fruit, though it does take a pollinizer for fruit to be able to form in the first place. Sweet cherries have a different number of chromosomes from sour cherries, and a cross between the two results in a triploid hybrid. Such a hybrid can still produce fruit, but the seeds are sterile. Sweet cherries have 16 chromosomes, while sour cherries have 32. Somewhat interestingly, wild Japanese cherry blossom trees have the same number of chromosomes as sweet cherries, while wild cherry varieties native to America (these include Black Cherry and Capulin) have the same number as sour cherries. This has implications for cross-breeding potential. Many cultivated cherry blossom varieties, including most in the serrulata group, are sterile triploid hybrids (with 24 chromosomes), and can only be propagated from cuttings.

Hello,Kimberly I assume you mean a sour pie cherry in standard size. Try Miller nurseries http://www.millernurseries.com/ You will probably have to wait until they ship bareroot trees later this fall or in spring. I don't think shipping is to high, your arm&leg should remain intact. I have noticed alot of the nurseries are selling dwarf or semi dwarf trees,I guess thats the trend. lp