For our area the Romance cherries are a great choice. I should get some fruit this year, hope so! 3rd leaf.
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Drew which ones do you have left. I know you said some died. How big are they now? I’m just curious how slow or fast they grow. I’m guessing slow.
I have 2 Carmine Jewel trees. Both are in pots. I’m going to put one in the ground very soon. The other stayed out all winter in a pot, the roots are into the ground. I decided to leave it. It looks great, came through winter fine. Third leaf about 3.5ft x 3.5ft. Maybe 4x4? It should flower. I might disturb one with the transplant to the ground. Once mature they start to take off on size, it seems like an easy tree to grow, I heard some others in the series are not as easy. Once established it’s going to be there a long time.
A good thread on them was here. A few people here have really nice plants.
Oh mine grew fast, it was very small though when I got it. Like a seedling. For a seedling growth is fairly fast fruiting in 3 years from being 8 inches high is pretty good!
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If for fresh eating, nanking cherries are one of my earliest fruits that I can eat, so definitely fills a niche that the romance cherries do not. And seems to be before swd infestations, too.
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Excellent info thanks!
I lost nearly all of my Nanking cherry fruit to frost this spring but the bushes are looking good and putting on some nice growth.
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Carmine Jewel escaped the cold, it’s blooming now, my peaches and plums are done. It will fruit for me this year. My plums though will not, and mixed with the peaches. Some look good, others the fruit buds are not viable. All mine too will be fine, just no fruit. That I guess is to be expected from time to time. It makes when you get fruit, the ability to really savor your harvest. They taste that much better!
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I should really try one of the romance series, maybe next spring.
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I would try a new romance, but my wife wont’ let me. 
John S
PDX OR
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John,
All you need is a dozen of red roses and nice dinner at the restaurant and you will get your romance without any issue.
Tony
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At least your going to get some growth for next seasons bumper crop.
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I should check and see if I’ll get a crop, I think they are pretty tolerant to cold temps, but if pollinators aren’t out, then that is more of the issue.
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I looked at mine, looks like an average crop of fruit is forming this year, the low when flowering was 19F. .
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Looking at bush cherries lately I revisited my interest in Joy, Jan, and Joel bush cherries. Old cultivars, not easy to find. They ripen in August! I don’t really know much about them?
Meader Bush Cherries — Prunus japonica X Prunus jacquemontii
Developed by E.M. Meader of the University of New Hampshire, these three
cultivars produce a firm-fleshed, tart cherry on a 4 foot bush. The fruit
ripens in August, thereby avoiding heavy bird pressure. About as hardy
as Nanking cherry, (minus 30 F,) although snow cover may afford additional
protection. Loaded with fruit in the late summer and with flashy red autumn
color, it makes a striking landscape plant.
My Carmine Jewel plants are in pots. One I kept in the garage. and it is profusely flowering now.
The other one rooted through the pot into the ground, so I left it outside all winter. it did fine! It is behind the other in flowering.
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I have 3 joy and 1 joel, don’t know what happened this spring as I thought cold isn’t a problem for these bushes, but the 19 degrees not only killed the flowers, but looks like it killed branches as well. First year I had any major damage on those bushes. I am not as excited about those now anyways as swd can make late fruit like that a disaster. But they do have nice fall color.
I guess I was smart to go with Carmine Jewel, Juliet looks like the best of the Romance series. I may add one. I have SWD here too, so far they seem to only like my blackberries. I will attack them hard this year.
swd has been a problem for a few years now for me, though last year they took a break and late raspberries/blackberries didn’t have maggots, but sap beetles filled in and they were the main pest last year, the epidemic attacking most fruits.
Once again frost was very hard on my nanking cherries, a few did make it though. I thought this one was interesting, the other nankings are bright red but this seedling has cherries that are still white
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Keep us posted. Maybe you have a new variety there!
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Every once and awhile, edible landscaping and raintree have offered a white one, though they didn’t have one when I wanted one, and I ended up with a white one anyways growing seed out.
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