So after doing my due diligence, I have completed a proposed list of cultivars for planting next year and now I am having a harder time than anticipated finding bareroot availability for several of them, particularly cherries. I was advised that Adams County Nursery is not taking Sweet or Tart Cherry orders for 2019. Does anyone know of potential sources for any of the following? I have already spoken with Schlabach’s identified what they will have available. Thank you in advance for any help you can provide.
Sweet Cherries on Gisela 12 or Krymsk 5 rootstock:
Black Pearl
Emperor Francis (W)
Benton
Rainer (W)
Attika
Stardust (W)
Regina
Hudson
Tart Cherries on Gisela 12 or Krymsk 5 rootstock:
Danube (M)
Montmorency (A)
Meteor (A)
English Morello (M)
Peaches on Lovell rootstock:
Carored
Nectarines on Lovell rootstock
PF-11
RedGold
European Plums Myro 29C rootstock:
Vanette
Oullins Gage
Imperial Epineuse
Japanese Plums on Myro 29C rootstock:
Early Magic
Ozark Premier
Red Heart
Simka
European Pears OHXF 87 rootstock:
Harrow Delight
Moonglow
Harvest Queen
Blake’s Pride
Buerre Bosc
Comice
Asian Pears OHXF 97 or Pyrus Betulifolia rootstock
If I might suggest. Eventually you know you are going to want to graft your own trees. It is not to late to order rootstock from cummins, raintree and others. Having the root stock in the ground a year in advanced is always advantaged. Not to mention the chances of finding some of those rootstock cultivar combinations are going to be impossible unless you do it your self.
Well said, and duly noted. I was trying to get a jump-start on the orchard and then learn the finer points of grafting once the foundation for the orchard was laid. To your point, I may have to take what I can get for next year and then graft the ones that I am unable to locate. Thanks again for the advice- I’m taking it to heart.
I agree with @lordkiwi, planting rootstocks this year and grafting them next year is the way to go. Grafting is not rocket science, it takes 30 minutes to learn how to do a simple cleft graft.
Thank you again for your help. I do appreciate it! Between Schlabach’s, White Oak Nursery and begging and pleading with several of the West Coast nurseries, I might be able to secure a plurality of the sweet/tart cherry combinations for next spring.
Thanks again for your helpful input, and have a great weekend.
Matt, we have to use irrigation because water is limited, my trees are on a strict water ration for most of the year, so growth is far from explosive. In a typical season, there will be much more vegetative growth on the East coast than I have here. I lived in NJ for 10 years, so I know this for a fact. A dry climate obviously has a lot of advantages for a fruit grower, but fast vegetative growth is not one of them (unless you have unlimited access to water, which most people don’t).
Thank you again for all your help. By way of Fowler Nursery, VanWell Nursery, Schlabach Nursery, White Oak Nursery, Burnt Ridge Nursery, The Arboreum Company and our own Barkslip, I have been able to considerably pare down the list of stray cultivars (listed below). I do appreciate everyone’s input, and have a great day!
Russ
Danube Tart Cherry on K-5
Carored Peach on Lovell
PF-11 Nectarine on Lovell
Vanette E. Plum on Myro 29-C
Redheart J. Plum on Myro 29-C
Simka J. Plum on Myro 29-C
Harvest Queen E. Pear on OHXF 87
I am not familiar with most of the varieties you have chosen but I grew Danube and want to share my experience.
I chose Danube because it was the sweetest (so they said) of the sour cherry. I found out later that it was a very stingy producer. After 4-5 years and a tre3 full of blooms, I got 20-30 cherries for the whole trees. I know I was not aline about Danube being a very shy bearer,
I think I have a pollination problems. My be the other swee5 cherries next to it were not good pollination partners. Maybe, Danube needs particular sour cherry varieties for cross pollination.
I did not have patience to find out. I remove the tree!!!
From what most people here mention, Montmorency isthe sour cherry tree worth growing,
Also, I don’t care for Krymsk 5. It seems quite susceptible to canker. I prefer Gisela rootstocks.
Thank you for the excellent feedback. I sincerely appreciate it! Was your Danube on Krymsk 5? I have read that the Krymsk stocks tend to have much lower bloom densities than the Gesela. Otherwise, I have many folks (including Schlabach, White Oak and Dr. Lynn Long with WSU) suggest that Krymsk is the only way to go due to better anchoring and higher heat tolerance… but who knows until you trial both on your site?
I do appreciate your input. Should I find Danube and try it on our site, I’ll let you know what I find out…
That is one I have not found as yet. Someone suggested Cummins, so I’ll give them a ring and see if they know what they will have in 2019. If I get some encouraging feedback, I’ll be glad they hey let you know.
Thank you again for your help and input. I sincerely appreciate it!
I got Danube from Schlabach so whatever the rootstocks they used at the time was what I had. Quite sure it wasn’t Krymsk 5. I got Black Star cherry on Krymsk 5 from Schlabach in 2015 and the tree died in 2017.
A few Danube cherries I tried were good, in a sense that they were not sour/tart. Had the tree be just a tad more productive, I would have kept it. It just wasn’t.
To me, Danube needs cross pollination from other sour cherries. If you have it on Krymsk 5, avoid grafting to many varieties on it. I grafted 2 varieties on it in 2016. It worked out well. I graft 5 varieties in 2017. Shortly after the tree leafed out, leaves all wilted and the tree was dead.
@Matt_in_Maryland said someone told him Krymsk 5 does not like being grafted on.