North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Donna &/or Kieran" <holycow@cookeville.com>]

I don't see anything from Lucky on this subject.  I think he was the one who 
said the Evans had a reputation for cold tolerance but only when on it's own 
roots.   Whoever, said it, it was Lucky who sent me some sprouts, and one of 
them, though still small, has made a sprout some 8 ft away.  Our local 
heirloom sour cherries do the same, though ours are amarelles and I heard 
the Evans is a morello type (more color and acid).  Apparently sour cherries 
just make sprouts, and that's one of the reasons they get grafted on malaheb 
rootstocks.  The advantages of own root sour cherries include being able to 
give trees away, and being able to replace a tree very simply by moving a 
sprout or just letting one grow.  Sweet cherries also make at least a few 
sprouts unless grafted.  On maleheb sweet cherries are said to be somewhat 
dwarfed, but are more shortlived.  Supposedly sour cherries live longer on 
maleheb, but sounds like they don't live through the first winter in Z3.  I 
think Steve would be wise to try Evans again, on it's own roots.  Sounds 
like there are plenty of sprouts to go around in this group.    Donna