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Northern Gardening: Dwarf cherries are sweet enough to eat

Sour cherries are the traditional pie cherries, but the dwarf sour cherries from the University of Saskatchewan are said to be sweet enough to eat fresh, and I agree – they are delicious. Pure sour cherries grow on tall, single-stemmed trees.
cherries

Sour cherries are the traditional pie cherries, but the dwarf sour cherries from the University of Saskatchewan are said to be sweet enough to eat fresh, and I agree – they are delicious.

Pure sour cherries grow on tall, single-stemmed trees. Dwarf sour cherries grow on multi-stemmed shrubs that range from four to seven feet tall, depending on variety.

The history of the development of these cherries is interesting. Les Kerr began hybridizing sour and Mongolian cherries at Sutherland Tree Nursery in the 1940s, to improve the hardiness of the plant. This was outside his mandate of breeding plants for shelterbelts, and he was reprimanded. Kerr continued breeding cherries in secret, distributing seedlings to friends. Before he passed away in 1983 he revealed his secret to Dr. Cecil Stushnoff at the University of Saskatchewan. Together with Rick Sawatzky, Dr. Stushnoff relocated the best seedlings to the university and they continued the breeding program. In 1999, Carmine Jewel was the first dwarf sour cherry to be released, just as Bob Bors became head of the fruit program.

The breeding program continued, leading to the Romance series. In 2001 Bob Bors reported on the breeding program at the international cherry symposium, creating quite a stir with cold-hardy, good quality bush cherries on their own roots.

Each of the named varieties – Carmine Jewel, Romeo, Juliet, Cupid, Valentine and Crimson Passion – has its own flavour, growth habit and degree of hardiness. Dwarf sour cherries can be grown in a sheltered location as far north as zone 1b, but were developed primarily for zone 2. Romeo is the least hardy to zone 3, while Juliet and Valentine are likely the most hardy. Each variety will produce suckers, with Crimson Passion suckering the least.

Ripening time, as well as size and amount of fruit also vary with variety.

I grow Carmine Jewel, Romeo and Juliet. Carmine Jewel is the oldest and has produced the largest crop in the past. Unfortunately this past winter all three suffered severe dieback. I only have a couple of productive branches. Fortunately, they all sucker, so I will carry on with the suckers. I will try training my sour cherries to grow as a hedge, as recommended, allowing suckers to fill the space between plants. This way any stems that die will be removed, and the suckers will prevent total loss, maintaining fruit production. A few years will tell if this strategy is better than growing plants as individuals.

With my interest in growing fruit I purchased Growing Fruit in Northern Gardens by Sara Williams and Bob Bors, ISBN 978-1-55050-913-7 (softcover) ISBN 978-1-55050-914-4 (PDF), published by Coteau Books, Regina, Saskatchewan. I have used this book as a reference for this article, and have found all kinds of good information for other fruits.

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