2022 SoCal cherry observations and tests

Mango. My experiment failed miserably. My growing season wasn’t long enough for it. And the nights get too cold for it. It’s probably the only fruit at the top of my head that my entire family loves that can’t grow here.

@Martin @JamesN How are your cherries doing in SoCal? Did they already bloom and then get washed out? I hope not! Many of my plums and all of my apricots had already bloomed before we got this bizarre series of storms and cold nights, and what with the hail we got yesterday I’m guessing no fruit :cry:

Hi Lizzy,

I think those cherries are not just low chill, but also extremely consistent relative to photoperiod. No matter what is happening that year with the weather, RL/MR/RC always bloom around the same time:

The pattern is scattered bloom starting in mid-February, with peak bloom typically the first week of March. Minnie Royal is always first, and Royal Lee is always latest.

Right now I have some scattered flowers on RL and RC but mainly MR. If I could just have a nice 3 day stretch of 70 degree sunny days I am sure they would all go in better synchronicity.

You must be more coastal for warmer nights? My plums and apricots have scattered bloom on selected cultivars but the bulk of the yard is a couple weeks away.

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What syncs most with royal crimson- RL, MR, or brooks?

For me it is:
MR-RC-RL-Brooks

There is some overlap each step of the way.

DWN advertises Royal Crimson as a bridge to help pollination between Minnie Royal and Royal Lee and it has been very reliable in its bloom order.

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Yup, coastal–Santa Cruz. USUALLY not this cold at night, but everything is weird this year!

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With all the cold weather in Zone 10b SoCal on the coast this year, my Minnie Royal and Royal Lee went bonkers this year! Im having to pick earlier than I like due to the birds, but they taste good!

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Congrats!

You can use organza bags from amazon.com and protect a bunch of cherries at once if you want to have some of them ripen fully.

I have found that minnie royal is good at brix 15, but mine will go up to 28 if I use the bags and somehow prevent my 7 year old from picking them too early.

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I do have some of those and will give it a shot. I use them for my figs. And in that video you can see my 8 year old picking a ton too hah

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Lets see if these help a bit

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Wow, that’s a big tree, are you in zone 10 or 8, your profile says 8. What kind of rootstock?

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Oops! When I joined I was in the Seattle area. I am now in zone 10b for the past 4 years - Southern Orange County CA on the coast. About a mile inland up on a hill. I bought these trees about 4 years ago as a “twofer”. They were decent size trees in the same pot. I planted them in the same hole.

Looks like the rootstock is Maxma 14


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You are near me then, it gives me hope.