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Royal Lee Cherry - Raintree Nursery
Royal Lee Cherry - Raintree Nursery

Royal Lee Cherry

Size Options: Semi-Dwarf (4'-5')
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$59.99 - $59.99
$59.99
$59.99 - $59.99
$59.99
SKU C826

Prunus avium 'Royal Lee'

Now growers in lower chill areas can successfully grow cherries! Royal Lee is a medium-large red cherry; heart shaped, very firm with excellent flavor.

It ripens 11-14 days ahead of Bing. It is very productive with a few hundred hours less of chill requirement than other cherries. Select Minnie Royal or Royal Crimson as a pollinizer. Est. chill 400 to 500 hours.

Cold Hardy to USDA Zone: 7

Mature Height: 15' (Semi-Dwarf)

Sun: Full Sun

Ripening Time: July

Pollination: Needs a Pollinizer

Rootstock: Maxma 14

Read our Cherry Growing Guide

 

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

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  • can I grow Royal Lee Cherry and Minnie royal on Merritt island fl?

    Possibly, but you would need a raised bed or otherwise amended soils. The salt would be another concern.

  • I live in Henderson, TX, Zone 8b. Would these be suited for my area or is there a better variety I should look at?

    Yes, this is a great option! It will require another Sweet Cherry to pollinate it. 

  • Is November/fall the best time to plant these in Princeton TX zone 8b, or should I wait until the Spring?

    Wait until early spring. You can order it at any time and we will ship it to your area at the correct time of the year for your growing zone.

  • It says that Royal is for zones 8-10, Im in AZ and I am a little skeptical. I would love to try, but in the desert is it really feasible?

    USDA Zones refer only to the coldest temperatures a plant can survive, not the hottest. Royal Lee is not a hot climate cherry. There are cherries that do well in Northern AZ, such as Bing, provided they get enough chilling hours.

  • Im interested in the Mini Royal and Royal Lee Cherry combo for the deep south. I know it's a stretch to grow cherries here, not because of the chill hours (as I get more than these two varieties require), but the humidity and heat in the summer. I do my fruit tree plantings raised enough to never have a flooded root crown. Your website shows these are still available....are they recommended for me? Covington/Mandeville area, south Louisiana Thanks

    It's really the fluctuating winter temperatures that play havoc with cherries. These will grow in your area, but are not suggested for it.

  • If I wanted to plant multiple Royal Lee Cherry trees, would one Minnie Royal Tree be sufficient for pollination?

    Depending on the size of the trees you will want stick with an 8:1 ratio to ensure cross pollination is successful.

  • I am in centeral TX, our summers are very hot and humid. Wound the Royal lee and Minnie royal tolerate and produce in this climate?

    Royal Lee is an exceptional cherry for the Texas climate and Minnie Royal should do fine as well along with Lapins, Stella, and Black Tartarian.

  • 5 stars: 5 (83%)
  • 4 stars: 0 (0%)
  • 3 stars: 1 (17%)
  • 2 stars: 0 (0%)
  • 1 star: 0 (0%)
R
Raegan
Absolutely in love.

I live in zone 9b Texas. This is a treasure! We are so excited. I got it about a week ago, planted same day, it’s sprouting, the leaves are beautiful. It’s a very healthy tree! I can’t wait for cherries!

Raegan review photo
J
Jin X.
Healthy Royal Lee Cherry tree

I received this tree as one of the three trees purchased. Two others being the pollinator Minni Royal Cherry and a Fuji Persimmon tree. The leaves were yellow when I opened the box and soaked for a day as directed. Within half of day of being the ground, the yellow leaves already turned green. The pictures here when I first planted it in April/May being about 4 feet high and now in September being about 6 feet tall. I live in zone 8b in East Texas, a place known to be hot and wet (and we experienced a very wet spring and mild summer), but even though I wished I planted them a little higher than the surrounding ground, they all did so well.

Jin X. review photo Jin X. review photo Jin X. review photo
D
Deb B.
Minnie Royal and Royal Lee Cherry

The box as shown had seen better days but both bareroot trees were in perfect condition. 48 hrs later they had leafed out and were looking quite healthy. They were nice and tall and nicely pruned.

Deb B. review photo Deb B. review photo Deb B. review photo Deb B. review photo
C
Chass S.
1 of 2 broke dormancy

Bought the Royal Lee and Minnie Royal Cherry Trees. Both were beautiful little bare root trees when they arrived. I planted both side by side (10ft apart) and the Royal Lee is absolutely thriving here in Zone 9B. Saldy, the Minnie Royal never broke dormancy. They both received the exact same care, sun, water, etc and I have more that 20 fruit trees in my backyard, so I'm not sure what happened with the Minnie Royal. Wouldve been 5-stars, if both woke up, but I'll put it right in the middle... 3-stars.

H
Heather D.
Great plant

Bare root looks healthy. Good root system, thick stem. Leafed out immediately. I have high hopes for this variety in south central Texas.

T
Tamara S.
Great Size, Already Budding

After losing citrus trees to freeze for the second time in two years, I decided to go a different direction with my replanting. When I found these dwarf cherry trees, I was thrilled. They arrived with damp packing around the roots and already budding. I followed Raintree’s planting instruments, so now we’ll just see how it goes. Fingers crossed. I’ll update after a few months.