They are extremely delicate when you are trying to transplant a green shoot with the supporting root. I had better luck just propagating from the root portion. As a matter of fact I spotted about 3 suckers on my Romeo, all seem to be coming from the same root. Once the soil softens up (still frozen here and there) I will dig up the entire root, cut away the suckers, and use the root chunks to propagate 10 or so new plants.
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The Juliet is still young,but has more flowers than ever.They are fading,while Carmine Jewel is at about full bloom.
I havenāt baked anything yet,using the fruit,but they should be fine,with enough sweetener.
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For me they are much better than sweet cherries for pies and cobblers. Much more flavorful.
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Iām curious, are you grafting to the root chunks or pot it up and wait for new suckers to emerge?
Romance cherry root chunks are ridiculously easy to sprout. Cut into six inch pieces, cover with dirt, keep moist, and wait. In contrast green cuttings are ridiculously hard to get them to root.
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i got 4 2 year old suckers on my Romeo that ill be digging soon. i plan to take a good section of root with them at the same time. 
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At the risk of being repetitive; the ones Iām digging this year Iām actually chopping the green tops off, they just grow better that way. Unless you let the suckers age for a season+ most just get stunt for the first season while the root cuttings push out an amount of growth that they can sustain. By the next year both can be at the same development level but with root cuttings you can get a bunch more plants.
Steve, we were talking about you sending a care package of new-to-me plant material but I know you must be super busy with your new land project. If you donāt find the time I would understand and in fact I encourage you not to spread yourself too thin.
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I absolutely agree with everything you said, and I have very much had the same experiences. Also, when I transplant suckers I always use 2nd year ones. not those newly emerged, bright green ones because- as you have said- they are just too delicate. Also, I usually do what I think is a hybrid of what you doā¦meaning that I do transplant actually suckers (2nd year ones) but I ALSO leave a good chunk of the original mother root that they came off of and are still attached too- sort of like @steveb4 says he plans to do. You are probably right that I could just plant that big root chunk alone, but I feel like I get a faster tree by leaving that good sized sucker on it which puts out leaves in spring (Mine are usually about 12-18 inches when I move them, and always in dormancy.
Anyway, seems like we all have working systems so Iām sure they are all fine. Its one of my favorite things about the romance cherryā¦the fact that they put out so many good suckers and are so easy to move and donāt have to be grafted. This year I have moved some that I am going to let just form into a thicket/hedgerow.
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what do i owe you Don? i started a thread about it because i just dont remember who i traded with and what to send them. i have about 3 weeks before my plants aare delivered.
The suckers usually have root systems that are fairly predictable. they tend to run in an almost straight line from the mother bush. If you are having problems getting them to survive. Take a sawsall with a 12 inch blade and cut the main root about 6 inches on either side of the sucker, without digging it up. before it starts growing for the year, leave it alone to grow through the summer, then dig it up once it is dormant in the fall or the following spring, This will cause it to grow its own roots and it will have a better chance of surviving.
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Being more sour than Montmorency makes it even more attractive for cooking purposes. You can always add more sugar to your recipe.
I have received an email that my order has shipped and should arrive by Friday.
I currently have a long root that went to invade the personal space of the nearby Juliet. It currently has about 3 saplings spread a foot apart from one another. Iām harvesting it up from near the mother plant and as far as it goes.
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This is what I think you had that I could use:
- selenchenskaya black currant
- Tiben black currant
- Filbert seeds
- ground blueberry
I went to a guy that had a Kerr to see if he had scion wood I could send you but the moose did a prune job on his :-\
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they are starting to leaf out but i think they will still root. pm me your addy and ill get them out tom.
Good for you! Please donāt misunderstand meā¦I do love my Romance Cherries very much even if they are a little sour for my tastes. But they are trouble free, dependable, and probably one of the most productive of everything I grow on a per sq ft basis. ANd I do make cobblers, preserves, and so on. Like you, I do prefer sour cherries over sweets when cookingā¦just prefer the sweeter (but still sour) Monty. If I leave monty on the tree until it reaches dead ripe stage, I even enjoy them fresh. None of my Romance EVER get to that pointā¦though others here say they do eat them fresh so its subjective. Good luck with your new trees. THey are pretty slow growers the first 2 years (at least mine were).
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i too prefer monty to romance cherries fresh but to find in processing is where the romance cherries really shine. love the juice too and it helps with me and the wifeās arthritis.
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My Juliet cherry has arrived in good condition. It looks healthy so far. I am looking forward to seeing how it performs in our micro climate. I am glad that the delay in delivery does not seem to have caused any harm.
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my romeo and juliet have had large sections die for the first few years. this year (4th leaf) I think they stopped. I did increase my spray regimen to combat brown rot blossom blight which was a big problem. I think Iām getting a big crop this year, finally
The Cherries are the first I noticed Blossom Blight on any of my fruiting plants,a few years ago.This season,Daconil was tried for the first time and there isnāt any visual evidence.
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nice! whereād you get your daconil?