Regina is a modern late-season sweet cherry, ripening in mid-to-late July.
Although usually classified as a "black" cherry, in practice the color is more often very dark red. The flesh is firm, dark red, with an excellent flavor. Regina often ranks well in consumer taste tests, for appearance and flavor.
Regina has quickly proved popular with both commercial growers and gardeners alike, on account of its good balanced flavor, large fruit size, and resistance to fruit-cracking.
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Regina has some resistance to cracking and splitting, a common problem with sweet cherries, caused by rainfall at the time of ripening.
Regina is not self-fertile and requires a compatible cherry tree nearby to ensure pollination - BlackGold is a good choice.
Cropping is often better in cooler climates than warm climates, but Regina is usually a regular cropper, and more productive than most other sweet cherry varieties.
Advice on fruit tree pollination.
Regina was developed in the 1950s at the Jork Fruit Experiment Station, Hanover, Germany. It was released in the 1990s. It is a cross between two other German cherry varieties, Schneiders Spate Knorpelkirsche and Rube.