Rainier cherry, a cross between Bing and Van, has a reputation that speaks for itself. Arguably the most famous yellow(ish) cherry, Rainier is known for its rich, zesty flavor. Producing a large, firm cherry, Washington growers love the cherry but hate to grow it due to its proneness to cracking from the rain. Fortunately for most of Montana, our dry climates make growing this cherry far easier, unless you are in the colder parts of Montana. We would rank Rainier as tied with Stella as the 5th most cold hardy sweet cherry, after Gold, followed by Lapins, Black Gold, and White Gold. Hardy to -30F (all the others are hardy into the -30Fs).

These Rainier are grafted onto Mazzard.

Image courtesy of Stephen’s Farm