In 1875, farmer Ah Bing developed the now-popular Bing Cherry. The cultivar was created with graft from the Black Republican cherry by Oregon horticulturist Seth Lewelling and his Manchurian Chinese foreman Ah Bing, for whom the cherry is named.

It took until the mid-1990s for other sweet cherry cultivars to break the exclusive hold that Bing had on the industry, by offering orchardists larger fruited cultivars and harvest dates that expanded the season. Until that time, Bing was the only dark red, fresh market cherry cultivar grown commercially in the Pacific Northwest, the largest cherry production region in the United States. For many years, it was also the main cultivar grown in California and Chile.

Bing is primarily grown in the drier regions of central and eastern Oregon due to its propensity to crack in the rain. Oregon is the third largest producer of sweet cherries in the United States. Bing is also widely planted in Washington and California, the two largest producing states in the country.