To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Black Cherry
Date: Wed, 10 Aug 2005 19:45:28 -0500
Prunus Serotina - the native american big cherry tree - the same used to make
cherry furniture - is a flavor rarely tasted even by fruit fanciers. The
closest would be Luden's Wild cherry flavored cough drops. A rare special
experience to taste. This tree like any others is subject to variation
throughout its vast range, and better and worse areas of local trees are
found. There are a few good ones to be encountered, but few and far between.
I've got a good one grafted, but the berries are small. Who knows what
prevents these powerful, young-bearing trees from fulfilling their fruiting
potential, birds are part of the reason but other reasons could exist, who
knows what it is.
Charlie Paradise Massachusetts
Jim Fruth wrote:
> A pain in the butt to pick the fruit. I run into them while picking
> choke cherries. Both have clusters of fruit not unlike grapes. Choke
> cherries ripen the whole cluster at the same time. Black cherries ripen one
> cherry at a time with the whole cluster ripening over a couple of weeks with
> never more than one or two ripe berries to be found within the cluster -
> berries fall off soon after ripening if the birds don't get them first.
> --
>
> Jim Fruth
> Brambleberry Farm
> Pequot Lakes, MN
> www.bberryfarm.com