indeed
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Dax was my source as well.
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Always hard to tell on first year leaves after grafting. The leaves dont look like any other Virginiana I have.
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Agreed. On my young grafts, the leaves can be giant or be indistinguishable from seedling leaves, but then look completely different the next year.
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@Harbin could you share photos of current season growth?
This has absolutely no fuzz on the stems and while green the stems have a bloom that can be rubbed off.
Any fool proof ways to identify DS?
Last photo is Nakitas Gift on the left DS on the right.
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By their fruits ye shall know them. I too have Dar Sofievkiy from Dax.
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OK, I went to make some photos of my Dar Sofiyivky and I focused on the larger leaves:
and here is H-120 just for comparison:
That bloom on the new shoots suggests virginiana, but I may be wrong in which case I apologise.
In any case you have to wait for the fruits. DS takes some time to fruit unless you topwork older tree.
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I’ll have to pay closer attention to the new growth on my trees next spring! Never noticed that difference.
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@Harbin Thank you for sharing the photos of your DS. I do have a much larger one that is over 8ft tall with good branching already so I hope to see some fruit in a couple years.
@jcguarneri I thought the bald stems are unusual and probably a good place to start with the id. All the Virginiana I grow have stems with some degree of fuzz and many are literally hairy. First 2 photos are DS vs Virginiana stem
I’ll leave more photos here in the meantime so we can compare. IMO the DS from Dax’s euro source does look like Harbin’s tree and other DS on the net. I’ll remain hopeful but if I do make scion available it will come with the disclaimer that I have not fruited it yet. To me the leaf shape looks correct and they are really thick and not flimsy compared to Virginiana leaf.
Compared to seedling Virginiana and H-120
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Compared to Zima Khurma leaf on the left
![20230918_133235|486x1000]
(upload://cO5h2IyAs7mtd3sMwOJyhnHK2Ku.jpeg)
Compared to Virginiana
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I have a little 1 meter tall Dar Sofiyivky that seems like it will hold the fruits to maybe fully ripen. I thinned out 90% of the fruitlets… seems to be precocious for me… My other kaki and Virginiana have dropped their fruits almost a month ago. DS still holding 6 ish fruits. They are more orange in person, phone makes it look more pale.
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Can you make photos of calyx lobes? These are the most typical mark of DS.
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Not knowing DS vs other hybrids, they are fairly distinct from virginiana IMLE.
Bozhyj dar is striking. Leaves, buds, lenticles, pedicles, all are noticeably different.
The leaves on my ukraine sourced “DS” are looking pretty mangy. They feel thicker and more myrtle-like though. Stems are bare. Lots of small lenticles. The buds are unusual. Very pointy
FWIW, both came from the same source
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I’d love to hear how that variety performs for you re: winter hardiness after a few years. If it works well for you in Vermont, I might just have to find a creative way to squeeze yet another variety in.
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Bozhyi Dar is a dwarf…so therefore it is slow growing. By looking at the first picture - it looks to be it.
I do not like it at all, it is probably the worst of all Derevyanko hybrids. But for a small garden it is probably OK.
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Interesting. It’s that based on taste, or the small tree size? Or some other combination of factors?
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Taste: marmelade pulp with no juiciness and no aroma, fruits are very small (about the size of virginiana).
As a pollinator it perfoms very poorly. The only positive thing about it is its compact size.
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Hi, I am looking for Dar Sofiyivky Scion wood this winter and would be happy to trade with anyone. I have around 50 varieties, if anyone is interested I can send the list. Below are a few of the trees I have.
Zima Khurma
Nikita’s Gift
Gora Roman with what looks like a male fruit
Chibacha on top and I think Miss Kim below, probably small as it has just been in a small container for a couple years
Chinebuli
Grafts and seedlings
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