Our Variety Assessment

Its strengths, growing requirements and the conditions in which it performs best.

Early Rivers suits gardens wanting the earliest possible cherry harvest, in a sunny, sheltered position. Its dark-red fruit is tender, very juicy, sweet and aromatic. We recommend it to growers who value flavour and softness rather than a very crisp texture. The variety is not self-fertile and needs an early-flowering compatible pollinator.

Early Rivers

Price range: 26,50 € through 64,50 €

One of the earliest-ripening cherries, ready to pick in early June in north-western Europe.

Pre-orders are open

No payment today. You are reserving your trees before the inventory in early August.

After inventory, we will confirm the available trees and send you a payment link.

Dispatch generally takes place from late November to February, depending on the weather and the progress of lifting the trees.

Choose your tree form

1 year old grafted tree – approx. 1–2 m

Half-standard – 1 to 1.5 m stem

Low-stem tree – approx. 60 cm stem

Standard tree – 1.8 m stem and over

Cherry rootstock options

Colt – approx. 4.5 m mature height

GiselA 5 – approx. 2.5 m mature height

GiselA 6 – approx. 3.5 m mature height

Mazzard – approx. 8 m mature height

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Tree size guide

Tree Establishment Guarantee — We support you if your tree fails to establish. View the conditions

SKU: 4209 Category: Cherry trees

Description

Early Rivers is a traditional English dark red cherry variety, raised by the famous Rivers Nursery in Hertfordshire in the 1860s.

The flavour is very good, and this is one of the earliest cherries available – ripening in early June in the south of England.

Variety characteristics

Variety origin

English variety bred by Thomas Rivers at Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, from a seedling of Early Purple Gean, first fruiting around 1869 then introduced in 1872.

Origin

Period of origin

USDA zone

Flowering

Harvest period

Eating / keeping period

Use

Sweetness / acidity

Disease resistance

Self-fertility

Pollinator value

Ploidy

Origin and identity

Parentage

Seedling of Early Purple Gean

Synonyms

Guigne Early Rivers, Précoce de Rivers, Bigarreau précoce de Rivers

Growth and adaptation

Vigour and habit

Strong vigour, habit sometimes described as semi-weeping or spreading, productive tree with a very early harvest

Pollination and fertility

Alleles

S1S2

Pollination

Compatible pollinating varieties

For reliable fruit set, plant at least one variety with a compatible flowering period nearby. Flowering period: 1 - very early.

Guigne Noire de Ruesnes View this variety

Lapins View this variety

Guigne Noire du Pevele View this variety

Burlat View this variety

Rainier View this variety

Bigarreau Moreau View this variety

Harvest calendar

Extend your harvest season

Discover varieties from the same category harvested just before, at the same time or just after.

About 15 days earlier

25 au 30 juin

Kordia View this variety

Regina View this variety

Blanche de Wavrans sur l’Aa View this variety

At the same time

June 1-15

Burlat View this variety

Bigarreau Moreau View this variety

Summit View this variety

About 15 days later

June 15-25

Lapins View this variety

Napoleon View this variety

Hedelfingen View this variety

Additional variety information for Early Rivers is provided in partnership with Orange Pippin.