A study was carried out of shoot growth and branching, fruit bud setting and fruiting in four sour cherry cultivars: 'Debreceni Botermo', 'Nefris', 'Schatten- morelle' and 'Serocka'. Trees were planted at a high density (4 x 1.5 m), trained with a leader and pruned with the renewal method. A relationship was shown to exist between shoot length and fruit bud setting density. Trees of 'Debreceni Botermo' were found to be the most vigorous, setting fruit buds on weak shoots and two-year-old spurs. 'Nefris' and ' Serocka' were medium in vigour, setting fruit buds mostly on one-year-old shoots irrespective of shoot length. They were characterized by heavy branching. 'Schattenmorelle' trees were small, slowly growing, setting fruit buds on one-year-old shoots with only one terminal leaf bud. This type of fruiting led to bare wood. Pruning appropriate to tree morphology is suggested.