Governor Wood

Cherry

Size

Medium-large

Shape

Round-heart shaped, typical sweet cherry form

Flavor

Rich, aromatic, very sweet with high aroma

Texture

Firm but tender; resists cracking in spring rain

Ripening window

Early season (varies by climate; roughly July-August)

Best uses

Fresh eating, desserts, pies

Pollination

Self-fertile - no pollinator needed

Tree size

12-16 ft

Notes

English heirloom sweet cherry (Prunus avium), introduced 1842. Golden-yellow skin with red blush. Good general disease resistance, some bacterial canker susceptibility (manageable with copper spray). No published chill-hour figure found, but sweet cherries as a category typically need 700-1,200 hours and this variety isn't marketed as low-chill - combined with the species' general intolerance of heat and humidity, this is a poor fit for zone 8a Oak Point; AgriLife Extension guidance effectively restricts reliable sweet cherry growing to the Texas Panhandle, well north of DFW. Keeping this record for reference, but flagging it as high-risk/not recommended for this climate.