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  • From: "Richard J. Ossolinski" <osso@acadia.net>
  • To: nafex@egroups.com
  • Subject: Re: [nafex] New Cherry Varieties
  • Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2001 14:18:15 -0500

Hi, Don,
As usual, enjoyed your thoughtful post (this time in response to Mark Lee's
query.) I know nothing about cherries (tart or sweet) except that our
three Montmorency trees (on Mazzard, I think) have produced
satisfactory (if not exceptional) crops for us here in coastal Downeast Maine
(zone 5) in all but one of the past fourteen years. The fruits ripen unevenly
and can be harvested over a period of several weeks. When fully ripe they are
practically devoid of any "tartness," though one would certainly never confuse
them with "sweet" cherries.

As to your mention of the Hungarian introductions offered by One Green World:

> > 2. Anyway, this year they are listing two "new" cherry varieties from a
> > cherry breeding program in Erd, Hungary, that are described as having a
> > "remarakable, complex sweet-tart flavor". Those varieties are called
> > Danube and Jubileum. Both are described as self-fertile and
> > June-ripening.

For the last few years Hilltop Nurseries (Michigan) has shown, in its catalog,
"Late Hungarian Tart" and "Sassy" (Erdi, Botermo) both of which are reputed to
be sweeter than Montmorency, though "Sassy" is, "more susceptible to
mid-winter cold and European brown rot than Montmorency." "Sassy" is
trademarked, but so is OGW's "Danube," though it shares the same "Erdi,
Botermo" after its trademarked nomen. And, though Sassy and Late Hungarian
Tart are pictured in the Hilltop catalog, neither is included on their list
(separate insert) of varieties "Available for Spring 2001." If given a
choice, I
would opt for trees from Hilltop, as in my (limited) experience, their stock
has been of consistently higher quality. For what's it's worth.....
Richard

Don Yellman wrote:
>
> 1. Mark Lee's cherry question has reminded me that I have a cherry
> question myself, and some info that might be interesting to Mark. I get
> a catalog from a nursery in Molalla, OR called "One Green World" (it
> used to be called something else like Northlake or Northwoods nursery
> --- can't remember), which specializes in new and unusual fruiting
> plants. They seem to have very close relationships with plant breeders
> in the former Soviet Union --- Russia, Ukraine, and the countries of E.
> Europe. They are legit --- I ordered a couple Cornelian Cherries (which
> of course are not really cherries) and some Aronia from them several
> years ago and was quite pleased. I'm sure that some of you PNW'ers have
> heard of them and may even have done business with them. The catalog
> shows the names of the plants in English and Russian, which is
> especially helpful if you can read Russian, which I can't.
>

>
> 3. They credit Amy Iezzoni, a cherry breeder at Mich. State Univ. for
> having discovered and brought these cultivars to the U.S. for use in her
> breeding program. I checked out the MSU website, and Amy Iezzoni is in
> fact a real person, a professor of horticulture, and head of the cherry
> breeding program there. I even found her e-mail address, but hesitate
> to buzz her with my questions without having exhausted other sources of
> info. She could be busy breeding cherries or something more important.
> But I probably will try to contact her if I can't find anyone who has
> some experience with these cherries.
>
> 4. In the past couple of years I have lost two Northstars and one
> Meteor. I think they just reached the end of their useful lives, which
> I figure is about 20 years in this climate. Still have one large
> Meteor, and a full-size Montmorency (25 ft.) which is very healthy, and
> capable of meeting the sour cherry needs of ourselves and several of the
> neighbors all on its own. So I am inclined to try these "sweet-tart"
> cultivars, especially if they are really agreeable when eaten fresh, as
> replacement trees. I know that whether or not a sour cherry can be
> eaten fresh is very much a matter of taste. The grandchildren here, and
> some of the neighborhood kids seem quite capable of eating Montmorency
> and Meteor cherries right off the trees with no problem. But I'm
> looking for something just a tad sweeter so I can eat them fresh myself
> without puckering. I have never had much luck with real sweet cherries,
> having tried at least 8 varieties, with the exception of an old yellow
> cherry called Governor Wood, which is very good but small, and Stark
> Gold, which doesn't have much flavor, but seems to pollinate the Gov.
> Wood..
>
> 5. Hence the bottom-line question: has anyone tried these Hungarian
> cherries, and, if so, how's the growth habit, productivity, and
> especially the flavor?
>
> 6. With respect to your question about late cherries Mark, I am amazed
> that you have already found a cherry that ripens as late as September.
> If I may ask, what is it about late ripening that appeals to you? Is it
> to fill a particular marketing niche? I think I'd be pretty surprised
> if the Hungarians, Amy Iezzoni, or anyone else has found a sweet cherry
> that ripens later than September. After all, that's when the apples are
> ripe, and they are generally much larger. BTW, I have tried the
> Hansen's bush cherry here, which came from a South Dakota breeding
> program of the well-known Dr. Hansen. I think it is essentially the
> same thing as the Nanking cherry, and I guess they were ok, but the
> fruit was small and the bushes not very productive. I would not compare
> them in quality to any of the tree cherries, including Northstar, which
> I found to be even more tart than Montmorency and Meteor, although it
> had very pretty, dark juice.
>
> Best Regards, Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA







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