North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Lon J. Rombough" <lonrom@hevanet.com>]

Title: Re: [NAFEX] help ID mystery plum-apricot

I haven't taken time to look it up, but since P. cerasifera is native to northern Europe and is grown in Scandanavia and into Russia, at least some of it should be hardy to zone 4, at least.  The big problem might be that it blooms fairly early.  P. pissardi, which is really just a red leaf version of P. cerasifera, is grown in some fairly cold areas.
>

> Just how hardy is Prunus cerasifera? Can it survive zone 4, or is it a
> zone 5 plant?  I have Sapalta and Compass cherry plums and both are
> described as best for preserves rather than fresh eating. My Sapalta
> is as good as any cherry once you get past the bitter skin. It does
> make a great jam unless the maker adds too much sugar, drowning out
> the flavor imparted by the skin. I however prefer fruit for eating
> fresh as that is part of what makes Fall such a great season. So if
> anyone comes across a cherry plum that truly tastes like a Black
> Cherry without the bitter skin please let us know about it. Prunus
> cerasifera still sounds good to me, but if it cannot deal well with
> zone 4 conditions I'm out of luck.
>
> Rodney Eveland
> in Northeast Wyoming where Montmorency, Stanley, Harlson, Sapalta,
> Compass, and a couple of other plums were the only trees to set fruit
> after 2 hard frosts while they were blooming this spring. It will be a
> light crop but hopefully quality will be up.