Most people here on the Canadian prairies compare the 'smokey' saskatoon to
the wild saskatoon in terms of size and flavor compared to other varieties
of 'tame' saskatoons. What I find quite funny is that almost all varieties
of saskatoons have been selected from the wild so there aren't any 'tame'
ones!
Smokey is fine, but it is smaller in size than others. I prefer Martin,
Thiessen, Honeywood, & Pembina. Martin & Thiessen are very large and
impressive. Honeywood is a bit later blooming and more dwarfing so for my
own uses that is the one I would plant. I've had Northline at one orchard
that is excellent and in another location is was quite bad; it may be a lot
more particular about soil.
One cautionary note is that they are plagued by plenty of pests and diseases
and thus are almost impossible to grow organically. To put that into
perspective, we have an average of 10" rain each year with very low humidity
and I grow everything in my orchard organically without spraying (apples,
cherries, apricots, plums, etc.) It will be interesting to see how they do
in NE US.
Dean Kreutzer
Over the Hill Orchards
www.overthehillorchards.ca
(306)530-9133