Ranking of varieties of cherries, only "high quality" varieties

[Jose-Albacete]

Hi guys.
I’m going to open this post, so that we can all contribute our knowledge about this type of variety.
They can only be included in this post the cherry varieties that meet these requirements:

• Fruit size 30 millimeters or higher
• Good firmness
• High level of sugar
• Good taste qualities
• High resistance to cracking

If they are varieties that we have in our orchards , much better

I start with a variety that I have in my orchard

- Sweet Lorenz PA2Unibo

It is a variety of the “Sweet del Alma Mater” cherry program, of the Italian University of Bologna

His caracteristics :

Fruit
Shape: round
Fruit size: 30/32 mm
Color: dark red
Firmness: good (67 mesured with the Durofel machine)
Sugar level: 18 ° Brix
Eating qualities: excellent, very sweet, good flavor
Susceptibility to cracking: low susceptibility

SWEET LORENZ® - DALIVAL

let’s go , I encourage us to add high quality cherries

Regards
Jose

[elivings1]

Not sure on the crack resistance but Bing and Rainier are staples to cherries. Everything is referred to as compared to Bing and Rainier is very high Brix.

[Jose-Albacete]

Hi elivings1

Bing Cherry

The Bing variety does not meet these three parameters
Caliber: 26mm
Firmness: Medium
Cracking resistance: Little

The Rainier variety does not meet these three parameters

Caliber: 28 mm
Firmness: Medium
Cracking resistance: Medium

Regards
Jose

[Jose-Albacete]

Hi guys.
It is impossible that in the United States do not have good varieties of cherries in theirs orchards (I cannot believe it).
Come on, I will continue to put good cherries from my orchard, which meet the parameters of this ranking.

• SMS 291 Pacific Red

https://www.cot-international.eu/en/products-overview/7/cherries/24/pacific-red-cov

Size : big for the season (28 - 30 - 32 mm)
Firmness : very firm ; 85 Durofel
Eating quality : great flavour with 18° Brix
Cracking tolerance : good

Regards
Jose

[Jose-Albacete]

Another of the good varieties from my orchard.
This variety is not very productive, but it is a cherry delight

• SMS 22 Rocket

https://www.cot-international.eu/en/products-overview/7/cherries/19/rocket-cov

Size : very big (30-32-34 mm)
Firmness : very firm ; 78 Durofel
Taste quality : outstanding taste ; very sweet : 17° Brix
Cracking tolerance : good

Regards
Jose

[Boizeau]

I actually prefer the Pie Cherry
It never cracks
Smaller tree
Largely self fruitful
and
I like the tart flavor.
Also
Sweet Cherries are vexed with many problems in the Puget Sound region.

[Drew51]

@Jose-Albacete

(I cannot believe it).

And you should not as those reports on Bing and Rainier are really far off. For one they are rock hard. You guys must have seedlings or something? As to describe them as having medium firmness is not even close.
My favorite firm cherry is Utah Giant.

[Boizeau]

I found a Pie Cherry chance seeding near the Puyallup River over 10 years ago.
The fruits had the soft
Pie Cherry texture
Thin, translucent skin
Yellow color
Notably sweeter and less acidic than a Pie Cherry
and
Very productive.
I believe that the tree is still there.
Fruits are not large
But they are bigger than most wild seedlings
Which have naturalized in the Puget Sound lowlands.

[Jose-Albacete]

Hi Drew, I usually speak with knowledge .

Firmness table expressed in Durofel

The range of firmness for cherry, expressed in Durofel, is as follows.

• High firness : more than 75
• Medium firmess : 67 to 75
• Low firmess : Under 67

I love the Utah Giant variety, I have it for many years bearing fruit in my orchad.
I have to investigate about her, to see if she enters this ranking (it is difficult to enter this ranking)

Regards
Jose

[mroot]

Quality of cherries is going to depend on the climate. They all have poor cracking resistance. Some are poor and some are really really poor. That is why commercially cherries are grown in a narrow climate range… where you don’t have to worry much about getting 3 inches of rain right before harvest.

You seem to care a lot about size. Why? Are you a commercial grower? Size matters if you’re selling a crop but for a backyard grower it means little.

As for firmness Bing is pretty firm but it’s possible it’s not well suited to the Los Antiguos-Chile Chico Valley for whatever reason. Plus if you look at the statistics for firmness in the table you presented you will see that Bing falls in group “b” so the only cherry that is statistically significantly firmer is Sweetheart which is in group “a”.

Fruit characteristics vary with the region in which the fruit is grown. It’s very possible that Sweet Lorenz PA2Unibo would do poorly in the cherry growing regions of the United States. There is a reason that trials and test plots are done in different regions. Many times a successful cultivar in one region does poorly in another.

[fruitgrower]

The best cherries I am growing are Utah Giant, Bing, Royal Helen, Van, Coral Champagne, Lappins, Benton, and Royal Rainer. Of these, Utah Giant, Royal Helen, Coral Champagne, and Lappins should meet
your criteria, although Utah Giant does crack sometimes with rain and Lappins may not be firm enough. Even though I really like large cherries some of the not as large cherries are super good, especially Van. My favorite cherries are Utah Giant, Bing, Coral Champagne, Van, and Royal Rainer. I have not fruited Royal Helen yet, and I hear it is superior along with Royal Eddie. My cherries here range from 24 to 33 brix, and the best are always around 30. The Coral cherries I picked at a u pick close by were around 23 to 25 brix, so still very high. Here are some pics of some top notch cherries here in California.

[Jose-Albacete]

mroot,
Not so, not all cherry varieties have low cracking resistance.
I give you an example of a variety with very high resistance to cracking .

The Black Star variety is totally resistant to cracking, withstands all the rain in the world, and is also very resistant to monilia (Monilinia laxa and Monilinia fructigena), but unfortunately this variety does not enter the ranking due to lack of size ( bad luck for her hahahaha)

As for the caliber.
Of course, caliber is important, both professionally and amateurishly.
Or the amateurs can only have, a predilection for small-caliber fruit varieties? .

You are indeed right, as to the fact that depending on the geographical area where the cherry variety is cultivated, it can have different agronomic values.
For this same reason it is very important before introducing a variety in our orchard , to know its origin, and its characteristics in its geographical area of ​​origin.

But for these two varieties, if we forget the firmness ( which is insufficient for the two varieties ) , they do not comply with the caliber, nor with the resistance to cracking, therefore they are not suitable to be included in the ranking , ranking that demands the best agronomic values for cherries.

This is not a post to criticize the goodness or badness of some varieties of cherries .
It is about making a selection of the varieties with the best possible agronomic characteristics, to be successfully cultivated in any region suitable for growing cherries, and can be used as a guide for all members.

I don’t have any kind of “fruit racism” hahahahaha, I just try to make a good selection with the best varieties of cherries.

Regards
Jose

[Jose-Albacete]

Yeahhhhhhhhh.
Hi fruitgrower, this is something else.
Now we are on the same wave.
I do not have in my orchard all the varieties of cherry that you mention, but I do have the most relevant ones.
And I think that at least one or two varieties, you have to look at them very carefully, because it is possible that they can enter the ranking.

This is the agronomic behavior of the Royal Helen variety in Italy.
Watch this video from minute 3:24

Geoplant Vivai presenta Royal Helen*

I have this variety in my orchard , and it is a marvel, I would be tremendously annoyed, if I have to discard this variety due to susceptibility to cracking, but if it does not meet the established parameters, there is no exception.
fruitgrower, Royal Helen is a wonder cherry in California, in Spain, in Italy, and in Fernado Poo hahahahahahahaha
Is a very good candidate.
I have to study the Royal Helen variety (and many more from the Royal series), and the Utah Giant variety
I really appreciate your contribution to the post.

Regards
Jose

[fruitgrower]

Thanks @Jose-Albacete, I think that along with the Utah Giant and Royal Helen these Coral Champagne should meet your criteria. They are very large, firm, and somewhat crack resistant. Here in California crack resistance is not super important most years, just the really wet springs. It is very nice having your input here on this forum, you are very knowledgeable, thank you.

[Jose-Albacete]

fruitgrower, if you are from the interior of the state of California, our climates must be quite similar.
The same thing happens here in my region, whit very hot summers and very cold winters , the rainy precipitations are very scarce and there is very little environmental humidity.
This has a favorable effect on good conditions for growing fruit trees.
It is very interesting to make this type of selection, since the varieties that we choose, and the most approximate to the ranking, will serve as a reference for many members when choosing varieties for their orchards.
The Californian varieties are very good, the Royal series is wonderful and from breeder Glen Bradfor (Bradford Genetics), the GlenRed-Sequoia variety is delicious.
I have to study them very in depth to choose only the best candidates (and in a small sub-ranking the most approximate varieties).
You will be surprised by the new varieties developed in the countries of Eastern Europe.

A little snack

The Czech variety Tamara

Big hopes for a big cherry

Regards
Jose

[fruitnut]

My sweet cherries are about like those of fruitgrower. To be good they should have 24-32 brix and high acid. Firmness and size are nice but without sugar and acid they don’t make the cut. The last Bings that I had would blow your socks off.

[Jose-Albacete]

Please fruitgrower (or any member), it’s amazing, but I can’t find what unit of measure belongs to " 1 Row " .
It has to be a unit of weight or length, but I can’t find it on the internet (I’m a bit clumsy tonight).
Please tell me the equivalence of 1 Row, in grams or millimeters

Regards
Jose

[Jose-Albacete]

fruitnut, that’s indisputable.
Of there are the two parameters brix and flavor (in the flavor is the balance of high sugar level, and the acidity that is essential in the cherry).

Regards
Jose

[scottfsmith]

You would not be too interested in my favorites, Jose. For my climate the #1 priority is canker resistance and #2 is crack resistance. Then #3 is rot resistance. Finally I get to flavor at #4. Size, forget thinking about that, there will be no cherries to grow if it is included… My favorite overall now is White Gold, it doesn’t set enough but other than that it is excellent on all four counts above. The size is normal cherry size.

I was hoping Sandra Rose would be my new favorite, it is awesome for #2-#4 but cankers horribly. I recently added Attika to see how it does. I also like some of the antique varieties, but they are small and soft and don’t set much so I removed most of them. I still have Early Purple Gean and Black Tartarian.

[Jose-Albacete]

Hi Scott.
Welcome to the post about good cherries.
Pufffffff, Maryland is not exactly a paradise for growing cherry trees.
State located very north and high humidity.
We will soon reach new varieties of cherries recently obtained in Eastern Europe, since it is very likely that these varieties (due to climatic similarity) adapt very well to your conditions

Regards
Jose