All 3 varieties have ripened this weekend. I can’t say which I prefer, but I can say the bushes that produced less have superior cherries by quite a bit (implying they could certainly use a thinning). Flavor is similar, yet different, to prunus cerasus. They are probably less acidic, but not by much. Texture is much different. They have a dryness to them even when they are juicy. Maybe it’s astringency, but it’s much more pleasant than something like a redcurrant. The skin is thicker, making them a little chewy. They are pretty good, and are one of the few tart fruits that don’t (temporarily) wreck my enamel in a few sensitive spots (the other being seaberries). Maybe it’s a different type of acidity, maybe is has more calcium. I don’t know.
The best thing about them is that they were (again) completely untouched by plum curculio in spite of them never being sprayed. Additionally, they were the only thing that wasn’t regularly sprayed with (only) kaolin clay. Pressure was so high in some nearby areas that some of those sprayed were still hit hard. I’m assuming they were ignored because they ripen later than your typical cherry so they stay small for quite awhile (at least in this climate).
Fruit fly damage was practically nonexistent this year, but last year they got around 20% or so… I don’t remember.
I’ve read that birds are less interested in red berries later in the season. I have noticed this as well, but there are nearby elderberries that are starting to ripen. Maybe they prefer them over the cherries.
They bloom between American hybrid plums and prunus cerasus sour cherries, or along with peaches, but bloom times are significantly more compact here in the north.