Cold hardy sweet cherries

General Fruit Growing
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I have a Kristin sweet cherry that is doing really well. However the Starkcrimson sweet cherry that Stark Bros. recommends as a cross pollinator is really struggling. Any recommendations on a cold hardy sweet that would work with my Kristin here in Minnesota?

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If you’re in the north you might have trouble growing sweet cherries. I think Konrad has been trying to grow Lapins with little success but he’s in Saskatchewan.

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Lapins has been very reliable the past 5 years. I think they can easily handle -20F. Mine is loaded with flowers this year.

I’ve tried Kristin and Black Gold too. All 3 seem very good. I like Lapins because its self fertile.

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Thanks for the input guys

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Here is Lapins. Probably the heaviest bloom yet.

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Warm X I am so stumped! Here I am in zone 7a and I have ONE, only ONE blossom open on a mirabelle. Everything else is still in tight cluster!!! Wow.

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I wonder about Van, Hedelfingen, and Emperor Francis.

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My White Gold has come through some cold weather successfully.

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Thanks for the tips guys, I ordered up a black gold, time to shovel prune the stark crimson :smiling_imp:

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Mike,
I have BG. It is loaded with fruit every year. However, you may want to check Whit Gold. Its yellowish color is less attractive to birds. If you do not net or have no time to net, it is likely that you stillhave some cherries to pick. I have heard the taste is similar.

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If I’m fortunate enough to get sweet cherries in Minnesota I’ll definitely make time for netting. I was tempted by the WG, guess I leaned toward BG because some sites people claimed it could handle down to 30 below

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Mine never get down below -20. At -15 F, it had about 50% fruit buds killed but never totally wiped out.

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Klondike, I live in similar conditions to you. I planted a Lapins standard in 2008. It has had a few stray clumps of blossoms a couple times, but not enough to bother netting the tree. I’ve yet to taste a cherry. I also have a Kristin planted in 2010 that I hope will perform better. I am more hopeful of my Romance Series bush cherries, which are finally reaching bearing size after a long wait.

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So is it true that if the root stock is suitable, you can graft over it? Kinda seems like the time investment growing roots can be made the best of by grafting over what you have. But I don’t know enough about root stocks that this would be a possibility.

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I would like to try those bush cherries, just don’t have the room. : .

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I have Carmine Jewel that i hope finally puts on some size this year after the rabbits dined on it last year.

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Anne, I’d be concerned about the cold hardiness of the Stark Crimson as far as using it for a rootstock goes. Its died back 3 winters in a row and this winter the low was only like -13

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I was wondering if something like this might work for you? Still too cold?

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Cool idea!

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This member of this forum has a lot of tips.
I’d like to root some suckers from a root stock, but need to research hw to do that. Gonna treat it like a cutting I guess.