North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Jwlehman@aol.com]

In a message dated 10/21/2014 4:29:25 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
lpittman@murraystate.edu writes:

I can't  speak to the cold-hardiness of BW cultivars - Jerry may have a 
better handle  on that than me... but many of the 'improved' BW cultivars 
have 
much thinner  shells and higher kernel percentages than the run-of-the-mill 
'wild' BW - some  2-3X the kernel %. 
'Clermont' has the thinnest shell I've ever seen on a  BW...'Thomas Myers' 
probably the best one I grow...  IIRC, John Gordon  really liked Emma Kay at 
his place in Amherst, NY, my buddy Gordon Nofs, at  Flint, MI likes Kwik 
Krop best.
 
These are good cultivars. I know of no winter hardiness problems with any  
BW variety in zone 5 or parts of zone 4, likely all of zone 4. 
 
I have Emma Kay, very thin shell such that one needs be careful in removing 
 husk and cleaning not to break the shell. But flavor isn't as intense as 
my wild  seedlings. But good!
 
Jerry