Wait just a bit longer but remember any signs of rain can cause the fruit to crack.
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The real ripe ones might need picked a little early. Try to pick enough for a small pie first and eat the pie to see if you will be ok with the flavor before picking the others. In Kansas I love picking on a cool rainy day since I’m the one doing the picking. Better to get some slightly sour cherries in the bucket than to get none at all. If they are to light colored leave them they won’t split in that stage. Once they are darkening they split easily from rain. There are 3 weaknesses with these cherries #1 They split from rain in the final stage #2 They are a little small so pitting is challenging #3 They are susceptible to cherry leaf spot so they must be sprayed. They are heavy feeders so as they age give them plenty of nutrients and every year they yield more cherries. Congratulations on doing a fine job of growing them. We owe a debt of gratitude to the Canadians for breeding them. Truly this is just the beginning in a few years we could see hundreds of new varities 100x better than these. Size of cherry, production, and hardiness can all be improved.
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Clark, I agreed with your1~3 .but this1~3 not just pertain to carmine jewel. Sweet cherries are larger but they split in the rain and have way severe fungi issues here. Carmine jewel is a relatively easy fruits tree to grow compare tons of spray that sweet cherries, peaches, and plum need.
I grow to like the flavor of Carmine jewel and eat them fresh out of the tree. Any time I saw a fruit with red rain drop, I pick and pop into my mouth😋.
I didn’t have breakfast today, all I have is the Carmine jewel cherries🤭
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Not many people eat them fresh like we do. Sounds great if you need to freeze them pit in and juice them later after you pick them all if you get to many other things going. I’ve done it then went back and juiced them once I slowed down
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I’ve been letting mine get darker and don’t notice an increase in sweetness. I’ll probably wait another week out of curiosity. They do seem to be developing a stronger taste.
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I picked less than half of the tree. Tired. Next year I won’t wish have this many cherries.
Made about 2 gallons of cherry wine; vaccum frozen two bags; cook the rest. Once they are cook, the stones are easy separated. Need to take a break before I finish the rest
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I admire you guys who can eat CJ fresh. They are way too sour for my taste. Sour and small is a bad combination.
I take Juliet any day over CJ. At least I can eat a few Juliet fresh 
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I actually taste Carmine jewel more tart than sour. Because it is soft, the stone is easily spit out like eat eating grape when eat it fresh. I wasn’t sure if I liked Carmine jewel for I don’t like soft cherries and I don’t like not sweet cherries. But up to this point I think I start to like Carmine jewel. It has flavor.
Its has very saturated red juice color, I can’t wait for my carmine jewel cherry wine to be ready
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Although dictionary differentiate between tart and sour. I personally use it interchangeably.
I can tolerate a few Juliet but not CJ except if I’d like to torture myself. 
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I tried my first CJ a few days ago. It was good, but sour. I eat MOnty all day fresh. With the biochar, production and flavor have greatly improved. Monty grows so well and I prefer the flavor, so I might wait to see if CJ can be grown reliably here in PNWet, or if this is just a freaky good year.
John S
PDX OR
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Is this tart bush cherry sweet enough, generally speaking, for fresh eating?
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Not really, unless you like really sour stuff. But they make fabulous pies.
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I think so, but I like tart things. I’d say they’re sweeter than a typical pie cherry but less sweet than a Bing type cherry. Pretty much exactly halfway between.
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I just rinsed off the cherries, put them into gallon ziplock bags and froze them. In winter we have more time to make them into something. For our own family we don’t even pit them. It is easy to spit out the pits, like spitting the seeds from watermelon.
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The Juliets I can nibble right off the bush. Not the Carmine Jewels. Haven’t tasted the Wowzas yet. Romeos taste same as Carmines, and the three Crimson passion bushes all died, it appears.
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Crimson Passion are a bit difficult to get going compared to the other Romance Series cherries. If you can keep them past 2 years then (I think ) you are on your way. I have lost many of these bushes and had to replant, mainly the Crimson Passion. Don’t fuss over them, don’t feed them ( you can always do that later when thy are established), and make sure they have good drainage but don’t dry out. I think my main reason I lost so many is I have heavy soil…(aside from moving them all one year because a wild sour cherry on that side of the property got black knot…I cut the wild ones down sprayed the whole area with Bordeaux and moved all my cherries to the other side of the property)…the sour cherries do much better than sweet cherries for sure…I’m done with Krymsk and Gisela and other dwarfing rootstocks for sweet cherries…they are always wilting or cankering and struggling then finally dying or I chop them) I have a few sweet cherries on Mazzard and they are a beast…the trunks on them grow huge in no time, the wood and leaves and everything is spotless and healthy. Getting back to the Romance Series…I believe my main issue was with drainage and then conversely drought…a bad combination…but CP definitely are more difficult to grow.
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I have an ample supply of other varieties, so not going to worry about the Crimson Passions. My Carmine Jewels are getting huge. May need a step stool this year for picking. Eventually will have to lop off tops to be able to net them. Lots of suckers, too.
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Just a side note growing sweet cherries on level ground is ill advised rather grow them on mounds. Cherry roots drown easily. Most people tell me they kill cherries then I advise they change their strategy and they are successful. Sour cherries like carmine jewell are very adaptable.
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im on heavy rocky clay and i just cover a 5ft. area of lawn w/ cardboard, put the tree in the center then cover/ mound soil to cover all the cardboard. mulch over everything 3-4in. a few of my romace cherries are planted this way in the low spot on my property and are doing great.12in raised beds work good too. make sure you use good draining soil mix so it drains well. i have 2 juliets, a carmine jewel, romeo , lutowaka rose polish and monty sour cherry planted this way. before i did this, i killed 3 apples trying to grow them in ground here.
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