Definitely would not choose Crimson Passion. Even though it might be the best tasting according to what I’ve read. I’ve heard that it is easily the worst grower out of the bunch and does not set well. Seems like most people love Carmine Jewell and Juliet. Those are the two I bought. But I’ve tasted neither.
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The first year Gurneys sold Carmine Jewel, they were just 6" sticks, too. The ones from HoneyberryUSA have gotten bigger as time goes on, too. I suspect we will see more and more of the Romance cherries around as the word gets out.
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I am not a big fan of tart fruit. From those who have fruited cherries of this series, Juliet seems to be the sweetest. That is my choice.
If you live in a hot, humid area, growinf cherries esp. sweet ones is not easy.
I thought I read that CP was the sweetest.
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Bob Bors’ studies says Juliet either is the sweetest or second sweetest to Crimson Passion so you are probably right.
All thing considered, fruit size, taste, productivity, I am happpy with Juliet. I also has only one spot for a bush cherry.
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For others reading these are the descriptions http://www.fruit.usask.ca/dwarfsourcherries.html. I made the right choice with carmine Jewell in my area. Juliet would be my second choice which i will eventually add. Some of the others may not do as well since I’m growing my carmine Jewell In amended heavy clay with a thin layer of natural loam on top. My property is difficult because some areas are loam but most are more clay than loam because modern agriculture ruined the top soil by causing heavy wind and water erosions many years before I was born. Clay soil is very nutrient rich so it can be highly productive when managed correctly with the right plants.
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I think you made the right call on Juliet. If Juliet and CP are close in sweetness then Juliet is a no-brainer since CP apparently doesn’t set well. I have a scion of CP I’m going to graft to my Juliet just for sh!ts and giggles.
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As far as adaptability Carmine Jewel wins. These cherries make such good processed stuff, pies, my preserves beat all my brambles for best jam of the year last year. It was Red Currant-Carmine Jewel preserves. It beat Tayberry-wyeberry jam, a distant 2nd. Another I liked was blackberry-elderbery jam. The elderberries tamed the blackberries well. Black raspberry-Mulberry is another favorite.
I’m thinking these cherries would make an excellent fruit leather.
If you rather eat fresh one could dry these and concentrate the sugars even more.
Dried cranberries are great, bet these would be even better.
I moved my Carmine Jewel from a pot that rooted into the ground bigtime. I had to cut this huge root to get it out. It’s not happy with that and I think aborted flower buds for this year. At least it’s in the ground now, as I want full potential of this one. It’s too good not to!
I put in a Juliet, so I’m happy. CJ ripening first followed by Juliet. That’s plenty of tart cherries for me to have fun with! I see scones, leather, dried, juice, cider, and pies made with cherries in my future!
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Please let us know the result of your grafting. I’d love to graft other varieties of this series on my Juliet, too.
I grafted Carmine Jewell on Danube last summer. It grew well and this year it is full of flowers. I grafted a couple of more branches this year.
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What kind/brand shovel is that pictured with you Juliet bush? Looks a good shovel for planting with the narrow blade and wide foot pads. I have never seen one quite like that.
@J.D I will find out for you when I get home. It’s recommended to me by our chiropractor. He is right. This style of shovel is very good for digging our rocky, hard soil and easier for our back.
I would recommend it to anyone for digging… For shoveling dirt/soil, I usually the regular size blade because it holds more volume.
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I’m going to bud it to my Meteor seedlings and maybe onto Lapins, although i doubt it will take on p avium?
@Antmary and @speedster1,
Just like to find out from you and others what are cherry varieties that people have grafted on to the Romance Series.
In the future, I’d love to graft all other Romance Series on to my Juliet just for a fun of it.
I did not try it. Sweet cherries have thick branches and Romance cherries have very thin branches, so I do not know how they go together.
I bought Romeo and Juliet bushes this spring, next year I will probably graft the other sour cherries on them. There should not be any problems with grafting. Carmine Jewel will go well with Studencheskaya because they both flower very early. Studencheskaya is supposed to be a good cherry. I hope it will set fruit for me this year to confirm this.
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Taht pointed shovel like that can be found on the Amleo site.
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That’s not a bad idea, and I do have two - 1 gallon glass carboys in the basement. I could try making some pure cherry-wine or pure cherry-cider in them this fall (if my bushes yield well again). The apple cider kit I have now is for a 5 gallon batch of cider, so when I next make the apple cider I will try it with 20% cherry juice to see how that works.
Thanks! I’m going to order one. What’s one more shovel in the tool shed going to hurt? 
That’s right. In my household, there is only one gardener and 3 shovels 
My chiropractor must get tired of readjusting my back. He has it and loves it so he wrote the name down for me and even follow- up to see if I bought one yet.
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