FLATHEAD LAKE — The famous Flathead cherry crop in western Montana got almost completely wiped out this year by a hard freeze in January, which one longtime grower called the worst she’s seen in a quarter century.
Large and small cherry orchards dot the landscape along Flathead Lake, mainly on the east side, because the lake’s enormous volume of water usually moderates the temperature enough to allow the delicate cherry buds to thrive during the Montana winters.
Luis Ortiz gracefully picks the outer branches of a Flathead cherry tree in August 2021. The Flathead cherry crop in western Montana was almost completely wiped out by a hard freeze in January 2024.
