Low chill cherries in So Cal - synchronous bloom

General Fruit Growing
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Yesterday I noticed in my yard that I have bloom from all of my Dave Wilson low chill cherries (Royal Lee, Minnie Royal, and Royal Crimson). I know a lot of people from the Southwest have had their hopes for low chill cherries disappointed. We are up against the notorious tendency of cherries to die if planted too low or even at level, the issues with too much sun on the trunk, too much heat scorching the roots, and if you make it through all that, the winter temperature variations from night to day (often 40 degrees or more) and the fact that some of the rootstocks are not as precocious. Finally, you get all that right but then a low chill winter sends the bloom times out of sync with each other.

I reflected yesterday how beautiful it is to see cherrie blooms in San Diego and how that alone makes this worth it. Nonetheless I have gotten fruit from all 3 varieties in prior years. I am so glad they bred these varieties and I wanted to give credit where it is due. Thank you Dave Wilson and Zaiger for breeding and selling these! I hope you release one more so we can be guaranteed bloom overlap even in off years.

I am reminded how unique Minnie Royal, Royal Lee, and Royal Crimson are. All the other varieties of cherry I have grafted are later in bloom.

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One other note:
Many report problems with asynchronous bloom for low chill cherries. I ran experiments in my yard (inland San Dieg) grafting various scions on my trees. I also tried as many different rootstocks as I could.

Here are some things that in my experience, probably contribute to asynchronous bloom:
-how much sun vs shade during the day
-microclimates in yard, especially high vs low locations
-rootstock
-location of graft on tree (the lower it is, the earlier it blooms)
-randomness? (some things did not always make sense)
-inherent less synchronous bloom in lower chill areas (we already know this happens)

Here is what I might suggest:
-Order the varieties most suited to low chill (Minnie Royal, Royal Lee, Royal Crimson)
-Order them on the same rootstock (probably Maxma 14)
-Plant them in the same mound so they are in the same location
-Consider grafting other varieties in with them

Regarding other varieties:
-Arboreumco sells Cristobalina, from which these low chill cherries are derived (I was told by someone in a position to know). However, it seems to bloom well later than these varieties
-Lapins is considered a mid to late bloomer, but for me it was the next one to overlap, and would pollinate. It also is known to produce even in Orange County
-Brooks and Coral are promising for low chill status, but Brooks seems to bloom later
-Royal Rainier is reputed by a local nursery to fruit here, but pollination may be an issue, it is a later bloomer

So what I would do if I had two spaces for cherries is:
-Minnie Royal, Royal Lee, and Royal Crimson in the same hole, on the same rootstock
-Lapins, Coral, and Brooks in the same hole, nearby (though they may not overlap perfectly, with enough varieties, the variation will smooth out and you will likely get some overlap of everything, by something).

As for the pollinators, that is a completely different topic. Bottom line is make the yard attractive to them and they will make your yard their home and visit your cherries too.

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James, how hot is too hot for cherries to start declining and dying please?

Did you plant Cristabolina yourself? I don’t see it listed here: Cherries – The Arboreum Company

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Arboreum varies it by year. Most years they will have it. The cherries seem to stop growing in the heat, but they don’t die.

The heat kills them through an intermediary- me watering too much! I now plant high, water only the periphery, use mulch, and i am starting to plant bushes near them for a bit of shade. Still experimenting.

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@I grafted royal lee to lapins. This year they over lap a bit. Lapins started to bloom when Royal lee flowers started to wither.

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