February Is National Cherry Month!

Here in the sweet cherry fruit lands of Washington State, February is a special time because it's National Cherry Month, even though our cherry trees are dormant and dusted with snow. You may be thinking, "Why is February chosen to celebrate one of summer's sweetest fruits?" The answer is simply rooted in trivia and history: February is the birthday month of George Washington, who chopped down his father's favorite cherry tree and famously replied when questioned about it, "I cannot tell a lie, I chopped down the cherry tree."

February is also the time of year when the National Cherry Blossom Festival is held in Washington, DC. We are proud to sell our pink Cherry Blossoms in the Festival's official gift shop. Our Cherry Blossoms, a naturally pink chocolate treat, feature white and dark chocolate surrounding a dried tart cherry.

Now, on to some cherry factoids that you might enjoy:

Where Are Cherries Grown in the US?

Every year, the US grows 650 million pounds of tart and sweet cherries! The Pacific Northwest has the perfect weather and soil to allow sweet cherries like Bings and Rainiers to flourish. Over 60% of the sweet cherry crop is grown in Washington and Oregon, along with a smaller crop of tart cherries. Michigan grows approximately 75% of the tart, also called Montmorency, cherries in the US.

Tart cherries are small and not typically consumed fresh like the sweet cherries you can buy in the grocery store. Instead, tart cherries are most often used in pies, preserves, and juice. Sweet cherries like Bings and Rainiers are plump, juicy, sweet, and large. They can also be used in pies, but are more typically consumed fresh, frozen (think smoothies!), or dehydrated like our own naturally Dried Cherries.

Other states with small commercial cherry crops include California, Utah, Wisconsin, New York, and Pennsylvania.

When Do Cherries Grow?

Unlike apples and other tree fruits, cherries have a much shorter and earlier growing season. In fact, cherries have the shortest period between flower blossom and harvest of any tree fruit (60-75 days).

Northwest-grown cherries typically blossom in April and harvest season begins as early as June. In Eastern Washington, we typically are in peak harvest late June through July. Weather and the type of cherry also influence the time of harvest. In California, thanks to warmer temps, harvest begins in mid-April and concludes in early June.

At Chukar, we pick our cherries when they are fully ripe. This is because the cherries are loaded up and driven straight to our headquarters in Prosser for washing and dehydrating in our tunnels. As you may know, most fruits in the grocery store are picked when un-ripe so that they have time to ripen as they make their long journey from the field to the distributor to the grocery store shelf. Fresh cherries have a very short shelf life and must be handled carefully to reduce bruising.

What Is the History of Northwest Cherries in the US?

Cherries came to the US by ship with English colonists in the 1600s. Settlers found that tart cherries flourished in Michigan and, in the 1800s, modern day cherry production in the Traverse City area was underway.

In 1847, a man named Henderson Lewelling traveled from Iowa to western Oregon by ox cart. His cuttings became the first cherry trees planted in the Northwest. The Lewellings had a large role to play in sweet cherry history. Seth Lewelling, Henderson’s younger brother, was responsible for the creation of the most famous sweet cherry variety grown today, the Bing cherry. Seth named the cherry "Bing" after Seth Lewelling’s Manchurian orchard foreman and friend, Bing. Bing was over 7 feet tall.

Lewelling Farms became known for its sweet cherries with its orchards coming into commercial production during the 1870s. The time gap between the Lewellings' arrival and commerical production is largely because cherry trees take a long time to produce fruit! After an orchard is planted, it takes about 6 years until it produces its first major crop. As noted above, the Lewellings were also steadfast in their experimentation for the perfect sweet cherry and their legacy lives on today, especially in all things Chukar.

Thanks for reading!