Prunus Avium Bigarreau Burlat Cherry Tree

Prunus Avium Bigarreau Burlat is an RHS AGM-winning deciduous cherry tree with sweet dark cherries in June. It requires a pollinating partner such as Merton Premier. This pairing is ideal for informal gardens and specimen trees.

Cherry Tree Bigarreau Burlat is synonymous with Prunus cerasus Burlat. It’s a highly productive, heavy-cropping fruit tree and a reliable staple in French kitchen gardens. It suits the UK climate provided it’s sunny and sheltered.

This productive cherry has masses of white blossom in spring that attracts so many pollinators the RHS has awarded it the Plants for Pollinators label. After pollination (this is not a self-fertile tree) cherries develop from small, hard orange spheres into dark red, sweet round fruits from the middle of May onwards.
It’s a vigorous grower with traditional serrated green leaves in spring and summer. In autumn, its foliage turns fiery orange and red shades. 
Lover of sweet cherries and beautiful blossom value Tree Bigarreau Burlat’s low maintenance nature and heavy annual harvest. It’s a great choice for small gardens and mixed borders.

Height and Spread Of Prunus Avium Bigarreau Burlat
Cherry Tree Bigarreau Burlat reaches an eventual height of four metres with a 2.5 metre crown. Its trunk and branches remain traditionally cherry-slim.

How Hardy is Prunus Avium Bigarreau Burlat
This is a hardy cherry tree in the UK, capable of withstanding sub-zero temperatures, heavy rain, and wind if its roots are well-drained and it receives lots of sunshine in summer. It has good disease resistance and tolerates some drought once established.

How To Use Prunus Avium Bigarreau Burlat
An excellent choice for baking fans and kitchen gardeners, Cherry Burlat produces such large juicy crops you’re hard-pressed to use them all. Be sure to eat plenty fresh, and bake the remainder into pies, tarts and cakes. They freeze reasonably well for up to six months.
Sweetly scented cherry blossoms attract masses of bees, so it is an excellent pollinating plant for orchards, vegetable patches, and fruit gardens as well as a strong biodiversity champion.

How To Care For Prunus Avium Bigarreau Burlat
Cherry Burlat is low maintenance and easy to grow, but it needs a pollinating partner to produce fruit. Merton Premier is a good choice. Cherry trees tolerate the majority of well-drained soil including chalk, but rich, fertile soil produces the heaviest crops.
If your soil is a little thin, bulk up the planting hole with compost or well-rotted manure and apply a thick layer of organic mulch annually.
To ripen its cherries, Prunus Avium Bigarreau Burlat needs shelter from harsh winds and all the sunshine you can muster. Water it well for at least a year while its root system establishes and prune out any crossed or damaged branches in late summer.
Prune stone fruit trees lightly in late summer after the harvest, removing broken or crossed branches first, then gently shaping the crown. Apply a thick layer of rich, well-rotted organic mulch to the base after pruning.