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  • From: Lucky Pittman <lucky.pittman@murraystate.edu>
  • To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [NAFEX] Evans Cherry
  • Date: Thu, 02 Apr 2009 15:25:59 -0500

Yet another archived post on Evan, from Bernie

Wed, 1 Aug 2001
From: Bernie Nikolai
My Evans cherry is now 60% ripe, a gorgeous red, a real show stopper. I'm
pruning my Evans to be a "tree", not a bush. Its about 10 ft. tall after 5
years from tissue culture, and looking very much like a "tree" with a single
trunk and nice lateral branches. Left without pruning Evans looks like a
Nanking cherry bush, with multi stems. I thin the fruit only because Evans
seems to want to produce huge quantities of cherries, even in my tough
climate, at the expense of tree growth. I hope to grow it to at least 15
feet as a traditional "tree". The taste this year is particularly
excellent, the best "tart" cherry I have ever tasted. When frozen whole in
a plastic baggie, they lose much of the tartness and are almost like a true
sweet cherry, but I like them just fine fresh off the tree. If you live in
a northern climate, zone 3 or 4, and want a very hardy, reliable, very
productive, excellent tasting tart cherry, get Evans. Nothing comes
remotely close from what I've seen. It MUST be on its own roots however.
It may be okay to have it grafted on Mahaleb or Mazzard. It hasn't been
tried up here as those two rootstocks would not normally be considered hardy
in zone 3. We just get tissue cultured plants or dig up root suckers.
Evans grafts readily, but seems to invariably die over the winter unless its
on its own roots. It seems to do best with grass competition right up to
the trunk, and no or very little fertilizer. It virtually seems to thrive
best on neglect, quite an unusual trait for a cherry tree.
Bernie Nikolai
Edmonton, Alberta zone 3





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