Cold-hardy, Prunus cerasus 'North Star' is a dwarf cherry tree of sturdy, vase-shaped habit with upright, spreading branches. In late spring, it boasts an abundance of white flowers in clusters along the branches. They are followed by a heavy crop of large, light red fruits of excellent quality in early-mid summer. They resist cracking and hang for a long time after they are ripe. They are excellent for pies and sauces. The canopy of leathery, elliptic, dark green leaves turns attractive shades of orange in the fall. Self fertile, this cherry tree does not require a pollinator but for better cross-pollination, planting several trees is recommended. Disease-resistant to brown rot and leaf spot.

• Grows up to 8-10 ft. tall (240-300 cm) and 6-8 ft. wide (180-240 cm) at maturity.
• Performs best in full sun in moist, relatively fertile, well-drained soils. Relatively easy to grow and widely adaptable.
• This cherry tree has a chill hours requirement of 1000 (hours of temperatures below 45ºF (7ºC) in the winter for their buds to open in the spring)
• Tart cherry trees need pruning both for training the young plants and for maintaining good yield on mature ones. Train in early to mid spring and once trained, prune after fruiting.
• Protect from birds that damage buds and eat the fruit. May suffer from aphids, winter moth caterpillars, pear and cherry slugworm, silver leaf, bacterial canker, brown rot and blossom wilt.
• Propagate by chip budding or grafting on clonal rootstock for fruit.
• Prunus cerasus species is native to Europe and Asia. Occasionally, it forms stands, displacing native species in some areas of the U.S.
• Find where this species is invasive in the United States.