carmines my oldest/ biggest tree but its the only one so far that hasnt suckered. romeo has 3 i have to dig and pot this spring. juliet has 1. love free cherry bushes! are yours growing as single trunk tree or multi stemmed shrubs? mine all grew on a single trunk. they have a nice even form. in 6 yrs. ive only pruned out a few crossing branches or crowding in the middle.
1 Like
I don’t go out to my land much in winter, but it seems they have just a trunk or two per bush. I have never pruned them.
2 Likes
Thanks clarkinks, I must have intuited this …the last year before I decided to give up on rootstocks that were not Mazzard, I planted the apricot and sweet cherry trees i bought that year in a raised box (not very high) but also on the high spot on our property ( also not very high), but so far the combination seems to have worked. I may try agin at some future point in an 18" or 2 foot high box.
1 Like
they really like your location. you ever had disease issues with them? i cant find any info. on that about these cherries. maybe no news is good news then? i spray mine when i spray my apricot and apples.
1 Like
Only one disease is a problem and requires a fungicide spray or two a year Sour Cherry Leaf Spot .Carmine jewell have been grown here since their release in the USA. I waited for years patiently as I saw how well they did in Canada. They began replacing evans in Canada so i knew they were exceptional. Evans is believed to be a child of montmorency. Growing montmorency as well im aware its really good. North star does not do great for me here which is a parent of carmine jewell. There have been a couple of years where illness prevented me from taking care of the cherries. Have lost 2 bushes throughout the years and gained a million from suckers! They are great cherry bushes there is nothing better than Carmine jewell. These bushes are highly resistant to canker.
3 Likes
I picked 10 quarts of carmine jewel and juliet cherries yesterday. My mom had the inspired idea of pitting them with a metal straw. I didn’t take any pictures because my hands were dripping with cherry juice, but it works like a charm. You can skewer a 5 or 6 on a straw and then slide them into a bag for freezing. Much less plum curculio this year - maybe because I had hardly any fruit last year and mulched heavily with wood chips this spring. Juliet is noticeably sweeter than Carmine Jewel, but the Carmine Jewel probably has the edge in productivity. My Romeo bush is just starting to ripen its first cherries.
14 Likes
That is a nice quantity and quality of cherries finally I may be able to taste the greatness of these with a handful of them
2 Likes
mine were covered with blooms. if they all develop ill have at least that. need to spray1 more time once all blooms drop. anyone know if you can mix sevin and immunox in the same tank?
1 Like
Yes, you can.
2 Likes
thanks!
2 Likes
Sorry for pushing. What do you mean by “metal straw”? dimensions? If you processed that many yesterday, surely you have enough left over today to give us a picture of the metal straw in use. I would love to have cherry juice all over my hands! My plants look promising, but are just starting to open their fruit buds.
@chinook Here’s a picture of the metal drinking straw I used. It’s 0.5cm in diameter. You can push the straw through the middle of the cherry to remove the pit. My Romeo bush is just starting to ripen, so when I have enough to process, I will try to take a picture of the straw in use.
1 Like
great cheap idea! just ordered some off amazon…
1 Like
I use the fork with 2 bent tines method, once you get the hang of it that goes fairly fast also…
2 Likes
Guys I am so sad, some animal went though my mesh net and ate my cherries I’ve wait for alsready 5 years, there are only a few left are those edible conciding and animal my have touched them? 
@chinook Here’s all there is to it. Stick the straw into the middle of the cherry and push the pit out the other side. You can string a handful on the straw before you push them off into a storage container. I did this over a baking tray to catch the juice, but I still squirted myself in the eye a few times. It’s a good idea to check for plum curculio in the cherries as you pit them. I had a few dozen cherries that I had to discard out of the ten quarts, but in past years it’s been a lot more. I haven’t ever sprayed them, though.
7 Likes
do you partially freeze them 1st? ive read its much less messy that way.
Very nice! Thank you. It appears I have to go shopping for some metal straws.
1 Like
That makes sense. My only concern would be that it might be harder to identify the plum curculio larvae and their frass in partially frozen cherries.
1 Like