North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[John S <swim_at_svc@yahoo.com>]

Ginda,

Thanks for sharing.  My Pioneer started fruiting lightly about 10 years ago 
and has fruited only sometimes since then.  However, this year it had a huge 
crop of fruit, almost breaking the limbs before they started ripening and the 
birds going after them.  A very pretty sight (I have some pics somewhere)  I 
think it takes a long tome for Pioneer to get going well.  I've had much 
quicker results with the variety called "Yellow" which has smaller fruits but 
started fruiting in quantity much earlier than Pioneer did.  My Elegant died 
a year or two after it started fruiting, but I did prefer the fruit from that 
tree, as it was easier to catch it at its prime.  Pioneer, which can be 
really complex and delicious, is much harder to catch in its prime.  A day or 
two too early can be tart and unappetizing.  A day or two after prime, the 
fruit can go to mush.

I think it helps to have a good pollinator near by.  My Yellow and Pioneer 
are close to each other.

John

--- On Wed, 8/29/12, Ginda Fisher <list@ginda.us> wrote:

> From: Ginda Fisher <list@ginda.us>
> Subject: Re: [nafex] [NAFEX] Looking for recommendation for CORNELIAN 
> CHERRY (Cornus mas), and/or scionwood or nursery source.
> To: "NAFEX Fruit Explorers" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
> Date: Wednesday, August 29, 2012, 10:19 PM
> 
> On Apr 3, 2011, at 12:26 PM, Ginda Fisher wrote:
> >> On Apr 1, 2011, at 3:09 AM, Steven Covacci wrote:
> >> 
> >>> Group: 
> >>> 
> >>> 
> >>> CORNELIAN CHERRY [C. mas] - 
> >>> 
> >>> 
> >>> I'm looking for a recommendation for a cultivar
> (selected for edibility) for cornelian cherry dogwood
> (Cornus mas); and perhaps scionwood or a nursery that
> carries the cultivar.
> >>> 
> >> 
> >> I have three C. mas, Jolico, Elegant, and something
> else whose name tag is currently buried in the snow. 
> One of these (not Jolico) has fruited.  I thought it
> was delicious.  It was tasty but extremely sour when
> red and firm, and sweeter and less sour and more richly
> flavored when it got soft.
> >> 
> >> It took several years for the trees to fruit, and
> the one that finally did fruit two years ago decided not to
> this year.  I think one of the others had female
> flowers last year, and might even have set a fruit or two,
> but if it did it dropped them early in the season.  So
> in my experience, this crop takes a lot of patience.
> >> 
> >> Mine are growing in the shade, though, so perhaps
> you'd get fruit faster in the sun.
> >> 
> > I got out and checked today, the third one (and the one
> that's fruited) is Pioneer.  It and Elegant are older
> than the Jolico by a few years.  The Elegant is the
> prettiest tree.
> > 
> > Despite bits of snow still on the ground, the Cornus
> Mas is about to flower, the buds are about half open.
> 
> Update:  I got ONE fruit from the Elegant this summer.
> As far as I can tell, it looks and tastes exactly the same
> as the Pioneer. I picked them slightly under-ripe (hey, the
> squirrels hadn't eaten them yet) and they were sweet, sour,
> just barely bitter, and delicious. I am fond of sour fruit,
> and don't care for apples that lack tartness, for example,
> so YMMV. 
> 
> I'm not getting much fruit off these trees, but any fruit
> from a tree grown in full shade feels like a win to me.
> 
> 
> Ginda
> Eastern MA, zone 6
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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