Black Knot Resistance in Chokecherries?

Hi. My first post!

An issue of a Canadian magazine called “The Gardener” a year or two ago had a letter from Dr. Ieuan Evans (of Evans Cherry fame) saying the “Lee Red” and “Lee Black” varieties of chokecherries have been “totally resistant to black knot” for him. This is amazing, because black knot is everywhere on the wild chokecherries that grow near me. Unfortunately, “Lee Red” and “Lee Black” aren’t easy to find but a number of greenhouses (e.g. T&T Seeds, Prairie Gardens) have the “Robert” variety developed by the same person - Lloyd Lee around Barrhead Alberta.

Unfortunately, the greenhouses that do carry it that I have contacted have no knowledge about this variety’s disease resistance. So does anyone have any information on the disease resistance of “Robert” to black knot? My internet search has come up empty. This resistance is a must for me given all the black knot around here.

And if anybody asks “why grow chokecherries” in the first place, it makes a spectacular syrup for pancakes. That’s all the reason I need!

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Welcome!

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welcome! im definitely following as we also have a ton of chokecherry full of knot as well. i saw someplace they had cultivars for sale but dont remember where. do the Romance cherries survive up there? id think they would be better to juice. so far no black knot has showed up on mine in 6 years. the chokecherry here have very little pulp. the bears love them. what Province are you?

Thanks @steveb4! The Romance cherries do indeed survive up here. In fact, they were developed at the University of Saskatchewan near where I live. I have a number of different varieties in my little orchard though they are still getting established. We only had a few last year but my neighbor has rows and rows of them. Get some if you can: they taste incredibly good and make the best pies and freezer jams, not to mention a phenomenal liqueur:

  • get a jar of some kind
  • fill it half full of pitted sour cherries
  • fill it the rest of the way with sugar cubes
  • fill to the top with vodka
  • put a lid on it
  • wait six months. If you can.
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i have 2 Juliet, 2 Carmine jewel, 3 Romeo , 1 Montmorency and 1 Lutowka rose cherry. the Romance series are 5 -6 yrs old. the monty is five and the Lutowka rose is 4. all survived the 3 -40 days we got 2 winters ago but Monty took minor damage. got about 60lbs. of cherries off of them last summer and 5 suckers ill be transplanting this spring. i love them straight up but the juice is to die for. did the vodka thing with black currants. will try it on cherries this year. take some cuttings in the fall and stick them in a clear spot in the garden up to the last bud. can use root hormone but i dont. put some mulch around them. i get about 50% to root. i leave them in place and transplant in the following oct or wait to the next spring to plant them out. i go by how much growth they put out. honeyberry cuttings root similarly.

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