BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The archetypical double sigmoid-shaped growth curve of the sweet cherry drupe (Prunus avium) does not address critical development from eco-dormancy to anthesis and has not been correlated to reproductive bud development. Accurate representation of the growth and development of post-anthesis ovaries is confounded by anthesis timing, fruiting-density and the presence of unfertilized and defective ovaries whose growth differs from those that persist to maturation. These factors were addressed to assess pre-anthesis and full-season growth and development of three sweet cherry cultivars, 'Chelan', 'Bing' and 'Sweetheart', differing primarily in seasonal duration and fruit size. METHODS: Volume was calculated from photographic measurements of reproductive buds, ovaries and pits at all phases of development. A population of unfertilized ovaries was produced using bee-exclusion netting to enable a statistical comparison with an open pollinated population to detect differences in size and shape between successful and failing fruit growth. Anthesis timing and fruiting-density were manipulated by floral extinction at the spur and whole-tree scales. Developmental time indices were analysed using polynomial curve fitting of log-transformed data supported by Richards and logistic functions of asymptotic growth of the pit and maturing fruit, respectively. KEY RESULTS: Pre-anthesis growth began at the completion of eco-dormancy. A slight decline in relative growth rate (RGR) was observed during bud scale separation approx. -16 d from anthesis (DFA) before resumption of exponential growth to a maximum about 14 DFA. After anthesis, reduced growth of unfertilized or defective ovaries was partly discriminated from successful fruit at 5 DFA and completely at 25 DFA. Time indices of RGR inflections were similar among cultivars when adjusted for anthesis date alone, until the end of pit growth. Asymptotic growth of the pit underpinned the declining growth rate of fruit at the end of the first exponential growth phase. Duration of the subsequent expansive growth phase accounted for genotypic differences in seasonal duration and final size. Pit size and final fruit size were inversely related to fruiting-density. CONCLUSIONS: Developmental differences among early, mid and late maturing cultivars were not detected until the final growth period.