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Cherries |
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Excellent fruit quality. Susceptible to rain
splitting. Winter tender and spring frost tender. Yields are
not high, with high cull rates. Not self-fertile.Fruit resembles
Montmorency. Tart, juicy, meaty flesh with small free pit.
Tree is a natural genetic dwarf, growing 8-12' tall. Self fruitful. Hardy to -50oF. Tree is spur-type. Ripens a week
later than Montmorency.
The standard for pie cherries. Medium large, bright red fruit with firm yellow flesh. Rich, tart, tangy flavor. Tree grows to 15' tall. Self-fertile.Large fruited Morello type with thin, light red skin, red flesh, red juice with small freestone. Fruit will turn mahogany if left on the tree. Crack resistant. A natural dwarf tree 6-12' tall. |
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| Cherry trees are usually grown on Mazzard or Mahaleb seedlings, or clonal selection Mazzard F 12/1 which
gives vigorous, standard sized trees. Recently some new rootstocks
such as Colt and the Gisela series produce fruit trees from
standard size down to 45% of normal. These new root stocks
are not yet widely tested in B.C. Semi-dwarf cherry trees
may be kept at 12 ft high (3.6 meters). |
Cherry trees are vigorous and fast growing.
In the nurseries and garden centers, cherry trees range from
5-8 ft tall (1.5 - 2.4 meters). If left alone the fruiting area may not be reached from the ground, necessitating use
of ladders. Home gardeners need to think about their needs,
namely fruit, shade, lawn mowers, etc. Normally, at planting
time trees are headed at 30-40 inches above the ground. If
the tree is for shade or if you need to get mowers under the
scaffold branches, you may choose to head higher. Cherry trees
are trained to an open-center system. Retention of the central
leader will result in a tall, narrow tree.
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How to buy fresh Cherries?
Excellent as dessert fruit, most sweet cherries found
in the food store are produced in the Western States
and are available from May through August. Red tart
cherries, also called sour or pie cherries and used
mainly in cooked desserts, have a softer flesh, lighter
red color, and a tart flavor. They generally are shipped
to processing plants and are sold frozen or canned.
Look for: A very dark color is your most important
indication of good flavor and maturity in sweet
cherries. Bing, Black Tartarian, Schmidt, Chapman,
and Republican varieties should range from deep
maroon or mahogany red to black for richest flavor.
Lambert cherries should be dark red. Rainier cherries
should be straw-colored. Good cherries have bright,
glossy, plump-looking surfaces and fresh-looking
stems.
Avoid: Overmature cherries lacking in flavor, indicated
by shrivelling, dried stems, and a generally dull
appearance. Decay is fairly common at times on sweet
cherries, but because of the normal dark color,
decayed areas are often inconspicuous. Soft, leaking
flesh, brown discoloration, and mold growth are
indications of decay. |
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Special fruits for this week
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.jpg "Strawberries have seeds outside them")
