North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["kieran or donna" <redherring@tnaccess.com>]

Jerry,  I read where someone said he planted a new cherry tree every 10
years because that was their lifespan where he was.  I know that "Granny's"
trees on their own roots last longer than that around here, which makes me
wonder what kind of rootstock the commercial trees are on.  Can you find any
hand-me-down cherries in your area to see what their owners say about
lifespan?  I knew one old lady who would chop down one of her 2 sour cherry
trees at intervals because they'd get too big to reach most of the fruit.
She'd let a sucker grow up to replace it, so she always had at least one
bearing tree.  But the trees didn't seem to die of old age.  If you can find
a local variety, you could dig some sprouts and either settle for what they
make, or bud them to something with bigger fruit.  Donna