Rainier Cherry

Prunus avium 'Rainier'

fruit

Rainier is the cream-colored sweet cherry with a vivid red blush, crossed at Washington State University's Prosser station in 1952 from Bing and Van, released in 1960, and named after Mount Rainier. The cherries carry among the highest sugar content of any cherry (about 17 to 23 percent sugar), with a delicate floral sweetness and notes of peach and caramel. Rainier is the cherry connoisseurs cherry, with a short harvest window in late June through early July.

✅ Plant alongside

Good neighbors that attract beneficial insects or deter pests

• Chives — Repels aphids and may suppress brown rot
• Comfrey — Chop-and-drop mulch returns potassium
• Daffodils — Deters voles and rabbits around the trunk
• Yarrow — Attracts parasitic wasps that hunt cherry fruit fly

🛡️ Pest & disease prevention

Proactive ways to stop trouble before it starts — tap a name with an arrow for its full guide

• Cherry fruit fly →

  Yellow sticky traps in June; spinosad as adults emerge; pick up dropped fruit

• Brown rot →

  Prune for airflow, remove mummies, harvest before fruit softens

• Black knot →

  Cut out swollen galls 4 in below knots in dormant season

• Birds →

  Net the tree 2 weeks before ripening; the cream-yellow color does not hide ripe fruit from birds

🌾 Harvest & storage

Rainier ripens late June to early July. Pick when the cream-yellow background flushes deep red over half the fruit and the stem comes off easily with a gentle pull. Handle gently; Rainier bruises if you so much as breathe on it, which is why it costs so much in stores. Refrigerate immediately and eat within a week; do not wash until just before eating.

🥗 Nutrition & benefits

About 63 calories per 100 g with 2.1 g fiber, 7 mg vitamin C, and 222 mg potassium. Rainier is among the sweetest of all cherries but still carries the cardiovascular-protective polyphenols of dark cherries; the yellow flesh is also rich in carotenoids missing from purple-black varieties.

⚠️ Toxicity & safety

Eat the flesh, not the pit. The kernel inside the pit contains amygdalin, a cyanide-releasing compound - discard the pits and never eat or crush the seeds inside.