Hello! I live in TN, and I am especially interested in Carmine Jewel. Does it bloom later than other cherry trees/bushes? How sensitive to frost are the buds and flowers? We tend to have freezes still in March and frosts in April.
Also, when is a good time to plant dormant plants? I see “early spring,” but that’s April to May here. I would say by June, we can easily be in the 80s.
I have Carmine Jewel here in NC. It blooms late enough to avoid frosts, even last year which was the worst in 12 years. I wouldnt hesitate to plant one right away. Best time is November. Avoid June-September.
I would plant them anytime the ground isn’t frozen, and ideally before any bud break
Awesome! That’s all good to know!
We got those late freezes, too, last year. I was terrified for my budding/blooming blueberries! How big is your CJ in NC?
Being able to withstand high temps is good to know, since we get into the 90s. Thank you! And thanks for the quote. Part of my husband’s excitement is the large yield. We are aware of the issues with pitting them, but he’s willing to do it by hand if freezing and the Norpro Deluxe doesn’t work
Here are mine in Arlington, VA. - 7B. One of my favorite fruit I’m growing and a source of many delicious pies every year.
Yum, zendog! That’s a lot of cherries! :o
Yes it is! My bushes aren’t as big as some people report, probably due to less fertilizer, etc., but the produce plenty.
The biggest issue I have is protecting them from plum curculio, which I do with Surround. It works great as long as you get it on early enough (before the first warmish night) and reapply as necessary after any rains. They found me the second year of the bushes making a good crop and ruined almost every cherry.
I also grow Juliet, which is very tasty as well, but I think the smaller bush size of Carmine Jewel makes it easier for me to keep well sprayed with Surround.
id add some of the other U of SK releases as well like Juliet and Romeo. there are newer releases but these are a little bigger cherry and are good for fresh eating and easier to pit. check out HoneyberryUSA. they have them all there. just as easy to grow and they ripen at different times so you’re not stuck harvesting them all at the same time. good luck!
Oh thanks for the site! Do these cherries sucker 20 feet like they say??
Zen, thanks for heads up on that weevil. He’s a nasty-looking creature!
some do. it says in the descriptions if they do. i like the suckers as i get free trees. 
they don’t sucker alot. usually 1 or 2 a season. easy enough to remove them if they aren’t wanted. carmine suckers quite a bit. if id do it again, i wouldn’t plant carmine at all. its such a nice productive tree though so ill leave it and gift its suckers to friends and family.
I grew it and while it was fine I liked my Montmorency better in about every way. More vigor, more fruit, tastier fruit, smaller seed, less disease, same bloom hardiness.
Oh that does sound nice, Scott! I do not see it in bush form, and that’s all I have room for. Thanks, though!
Steve, thanks. How many a season? What zone are you?
You can prune a sour cherry to a bush, but if that’s what you need I agree it would be easier to just get a bush cherry.
i have it and agree.
z4. 6 seasons.
Thanks. How many suckers does it send out and how far? I dealt with runaway wisteria suckers at my old house from a plant already there, so now I’m afraid. lol I can’t pull dozens of suckers when I get old.
not far and not many. most are within the drip line but with my clay soil roots have a hard time traveling.
The most suckers I’ve seen from a romance cherry was one year I had 6 coming off a single Juliet. But they are easy to manage and I’ve found homes for them with friends and through trades on this site.
I believe I’m seeing a bit of a pattern of the suckers coming more frequently on the downhill side of a plant toward the edges of a raised growing area or bed. I think it may be because roots near the surface wind up closer to the top in those areas. If they are like other suckering plants, you may also notice more suckers if you cultivate around them and cut, nick, or scrape roots below the soil.
But they are easy to pull or just cut and let regrow, so I don’t see them as an issue. For comparison, I had M111 apple rootstock below Bud9 interstem, which throttled back the M111’s vigor, so they were constantly suckering from the base. And those suckers came mostly right from the base, so they were harder to get rid of unlike a single sucker growing off a lone surface root.