North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Brungardt, Sam" <Sam.Brungardt@state.mn.us>]

Title: RE: [NAFEX] Cherry Questions

You may want to check the NAFEX message archives for a discussion not too long ago about bush cherries.

To recap my experience with them, I planted a plant each of Jan, Joy and Joel at my mother's in western Kansas (USDA hardiness zone 5b), where they have proved to be productive.  The bushes, I'd guess, have been in the ground about 5 years, are about 3.5' tall and began fruiting the year after I planted them.  So far, disease has not been a problem and we've found fruitworms in only a few.

The "cherries" are not large, maybe about 3/8-1/2" in diameter and have a flavor resembling that of tart (pie) cherries.  Since they're fairly small, pitting them is an act of love, but they do make very good jam and are good in pies and other baked goods.  I've not eaten Nanking cherries for some time, but I believe the flavor's about the same. One reason mom likes them is that the foliage is so dense on the plants (which I've never pruned) that the fruit can ripen fully without the birds getting them before we can pick them.  And beings she's in her 80s, she likes them because of the fruit's accessability  As you probably know, these cherries are a hybrid of P. japonica, the Japanese plum.  I don't know what Meader used for the other half of that cross.

I gave some seed from mom's plants to Dell Stubbs, who's got quite a few plants now in his orchard in northern Minnesota, but I don't know whether they've begun to produce yet or how hardy they've proved to be.  Del, can you weigh in on this discussion? -- Sam Brungardt, St. Paul, Minn. (USDA hardiness zone 4b)

 

-----Original Message-----
From: nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Mauch1@aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, February 02, 2005 1:17 PM
To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: [NAFEX] Cherry Questions

Are there any good 'bush' cherries out there?

Which are they?
Do you like Hansen, the Jan/Joy/Joel series, Nanking
Cherries and why?
Which are closest to sweet cherries/tart cherries?
What problems do they have?

Thanks,

--
Chris Mauchline
SE PA, zone 6
40° 5' N    75° 51'W
~650 ft elevation

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