Medium sized tree with a rounder, more spreading habit than the erect sweet cherry. Leaves elliptic with acute tips, smaller than sweet cherry, petioled. Similar to sweet cherry. Sour cherry inflorescence buds usually produce 2-4 flowers, with long pedicels, as in sweet cherry. Sour cherries are the latest blooming of the stone fruits, therefore would be less frost prone than sweets.
Sour cherries are self-fertile, and require no pollinizers.
Fruits are the same as for sweet cherry, but sour cherries generally have lower sugars and higher organic acid contents, and are generally red in color. Fruiting begins earlier for sour cherry trees, after 3-4 yr. Productive life is shorter, however, only 20-25 yr. Thinning is unnecessary for sours since a high proportion must set for a full crop. They also seem to have high post-dormancy heat requirements, since they bloom later than peach, but just prior to or with apples.