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

Here in St. Paul, Minn., Evans has performed admirably for me (actually
for my neighbor, in whose yard I planted a tree).  It has not missed a
crop since the tree started to bear about 5 years ago (I'd estimate it's
been in the ground about 7 years and is now about 15 feet tall).   I
believe the tree came from Lawyer Nursery (I got it from Del Stubbs, who
had bought a quantity of small trees for his orchard).   This year the
harvest was really good; I canned 18 quarts and the neighbors probably
picked another 7 or 8.  Yes, the fruit is tart when ripe, but that
doesn't bother me; I still like to munch on the fruit right off the
tree.  Compared to Northstar, the fruit is much lighter colored and the
juice a much paler pink.    Our own-root tree does sucker, with some
suckers coming out of the lawn as far as 8 ft. away or out of an
adjacent compost pile.  About the only weakness I've seen so far is
Evans propensity to get mildew on the foliage and fruit when we have a
stretch of extraordinarily wet or humid weather. -- Sam Brungardt (USDA
Zone 4b)
-----Original Message-----
From: nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of loneroc
Sent: Friday, July 27, 2007 5:41 AM
To: North American Fruit Explorers
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Bali vs Evans


My understanding of the issue is that Evans was the name of the fellow
up in Alberta who widely distributed a cherry that had been locally
grown for decades, especially by Italian immigrants (though I may not be
remembering the immigrants' country correctly).  Bill MacKentley, of St.
Lawrence Nurseries, received the plant, whether directly from Dr Evans
(sometimes spelled Euans) or not I don't know, and named the cherry
after his daughter, Bali.  The rest of the world referred to the cherry
by the name of its "discoverer", who was, apparently, too modest to name
it after himself, and MacKentley continues selling it under the Bali
name.

This doesn't account for the differences between the "two" cherries that
the original poster has observed.  I suspect that there may have been a
nursery mix up somewhere or perhaps there is a sport involved.  The
plant I received from St. Lawrence fits the written descriptions I've
seen of Evans.  It has been hardy and magnificently productive here in a
warming zone 3.  The cherries ripen to a medium red--they are edible,
though veeery tart when ripe.  They make a beautiful pie and preserves.
I always detect a certain degree of astringency that might not appeal to
some pallets.  You need more sugar in the pie than you would for most
fruit in order for family members not to sniveled, "it's too sour",
though I prefer to add the extra sugar in the form of ice cream.

I've grown Mesabi and North Star in the past.  Mesabi nearly died in a
cold winter and I took it out.  North Star provided a mediocre crop and
the tree was puny. I cut it down, too.  Evans is, after eight or nine
years, a small tree, 12-15 feet high, and it looks like it's not going
to get much larger. The only problems that I've had with its culture is
that it sends up suckers, much as a Prunus americana does, far from the
tree.  I have my plums and Evans in grass and suckers will appear in
planting beds 40-50 feet away from the mother trees--kind of a pain.
The Evans does have some sort of trunk damage on the SW side.  It's not
sun scald.  I left a stake in the ground next to the tree too long and
the resulting wound is still there, bubbling gum occasionally.  I
suspect that the original wound was infected with something but the
tree's overall health seems fine and the wound, though getting a bit
larger, seems to have stayed about the same, relative to the size of the
expanding trunk.

I would recommend the Evans cherry (it's always kind of bugged me that
St. Lawrence renamed it--maybe they had Dr. Evans permission?) to cold
climate growers.  There's been nothing comparable that is hardy until
the recent U of Saskatchewan releases.  Anyone tried those?

Steve H, Lone Rock, WI   USDA zone 3  where Japanese beetles appeared
for
the first time this month:-(

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Steve" <SDW12986@aol.com>
To: "North American Fruit Explorers" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Thursday, July 26, 2007 11:07 PM
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Bali vs Evans


> I was hoping someone would have the answer to this. I recently read a
> description of the Evans cherry and it nearly made me want to try a 
> cherry tree again. Years ago, I tried a Northstar cherry. After it 
> died, I planted a Bali. Both had the same history. They grew well and 
> looked very promising at first. Later they would bloom but never 
> produced more than a handful of cherries. When the trunk diameter got 
> up to about 4 inches or slightly bigger, they just died.
> If, in fact, the Bali and Evans are the same, there is little point in
> planting an Evans, at least until global warming kicks in. ;-)
>
> Steve Wilson
>
> jfruth@tds.net wrote:
>
> >    Someone once mentioned that Bali and Evans cherries are the same
plant
> >with different names.  I have evidence to the contrary.  My Evans,
> >that I bought from FEDCO, has fire-engine red fruits that are 3/4" to

> >7/8" in diameter.  A friend of mine bought a Bali from St. Lawrence 
> >Nursery.  His fruits are purplish and run 1/2" to 5/8".  Does anyone 
> >else have access
to
> >both varieties for a comparison of my observations?
> >
> >Jim Fruth
> >Brambleberry Farm
> >Pequot Lakes, MN  56472
> >For jams, jellies & syrups:
> >www.bberryfarm.com
> >(877)265-6856 [Store]
> >(218)831-7018 [My Cell]
> >
> >
> >
>
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