Hi Jon.
In another fruit genus, such as the apricot, for example, I would agree with you absolutely, since the new varieties of apricots are visually very beautiful, with a large size, but they have no sweetness, flavor or aromas.
I explain it perfectly in this post:
But this is not the case with cherries, since the programs for obtaining new cherry varieties seek in their achievements the improvement of these parameters:
- Self-fertility
- Cracking resistance
- High firmness, which gives two advantages:
Crispy texture in the mouth
High resistance to manipulation, much longer post-harvest life
- High calibers
- High brix levels, with balanced acidity, and powerful flavor
- Some breeders, especially Californians such as IFG, Marvin Niess or Bradford Genetics, are very interested in obtaining good low chill varieties.
- Resistance to fungal diseases such as Monilia
It is absolutely true that in the United States, hobbyists are at a disadvantage, since it is not easy to buy , the new varieties that appear year after year, and it’s not easy either to buy the good rootstocks for cherry trees.
In my case (I am Spanish), I have a very good relationship with European nurseries specialized in cherry trees, and many friends who are professional cherry growers, so I have access to many of the recent varieties.
Another very different thing is for me to say that all traditional cherry varieties are of poor quality, that would be totally wrong and in fact I like many traditional varieties.
Some quick examples:
Some traditional varieties.
Canadian Varieties:
-Canada Giant
-Summit
American Varieties:
-Selah
-Tieton
European varieties:
- Ambrunes (Spain)
- Grace Star (Italy)
On the other hand, and this is extremely important to be successful, not all cherries adapt well to different types of climates, and I am going to give you a very clear example.
- Utah Giant, is a magnificent variety for dry climates (large caliber, does not overload, has good texture, very sweet, and a powerful cherry flavor), but if you recommend this variety to fellow forum members who live in humid climates, you will lack space to run in the United States hahahaha, since of all the existing varieties of cherries, it is the most susceptible of all to cracking, and Utah Giant cherry crack with the piss of a sparrow.
I have tested all the varieties you mention in my garden, and some have remained, while others have been replaced by better varieties at the same ripening dates, for example the Sweetheart variety I would not recommend even to my worst enemy hahahahaha.
The idea of this post is to expose the varieties that I am testing in my orchard, and to be objective with the evaluations, that is, to expose both their virtues and their defects, what happens is that the new cherry varieties are usually very perfect
Surely tomorrow I will attach a list of varieties tested in my orchard, so you may be surprised by the number of varieties tested.
For an amateur, I consider that the most important thing in a cherry variety is the flavor and crunchy texture (and varieties that do not overload the harvest), and of all the varieties I have tried, this variety from the Czech Republic has no rival.
-Justyna
But there will be time to talk about the Central European and Eastern European varieties (some really good Ukrainian ones)
Best regards
Jose