So I know that Cornelian Cherries in general aren’t sweet and to get them at their sweetest they have to be falling off the tree, but with that said…
Can anyone tell me what the sweetest Cornus Mas Cornelian Cherry varieties are? Per the Carya Nursery in Poland, Koralovyj Marka (what I assume is Coral Blaze from one green world) has ~12% sugar and would likely be one of the sweetest varieties available state side.
I figure I’ll get a yellow one for the novelty and then try to find the sweetest other variety so they pollinate each other.
@Bigmike1116 Have you ever tasted any cornelian cherry fruit? The flavor varies- one I have has a almost tropical fruit flavor but the other is sweeter but the flavor is hard to describe. If you haven’t tasted the fruit I don’t think you can pick the best one by sugar content. It would be difficult too if you had tasted the fruit. Also many of them you harvest by shaking the tree and collecting the fruit on a tarp but some never drop their fruit and you pick them off the tree.
so what factors do you consider in purchasing a C. Mas tree for fruit? are there any varieties you can recommend and can you tell me why you would recommend them?
I can’t grow every variety so I need some differentiating factors to help me pick and sweetness seems to be pretty universal when considering fruit in general, even tart or astringent varieties, but maybe not as some seem to be frustrated that I’m even asking this question.
I don’t expect them to be “eat out of hand” sweet but if they have more natural sweetness then I would need to add less additional sugar when processing, no?
I have the cornus mas cultivars Elegant (elehantnyi) and Yellow (yantarnyi). I like both of them. So far Yellow has higher yields, smaller fruit and a bit more of a tropical fruit flavor. Yellow can also be harvested by shaking the tree and having the fruit fall on a sheet or tarp which is typically how cornus mas is harvested. Elegant is a larger and sweeter fruit and normally doesn’t drop when ripe. I think both would be good choices for you. So far I have seen little in the way of disease issues or insect attack on the leaves but both do occur.
You’re where I was in 2015 when I was searching for cultivars. I would read all you can and try to make the best choices you can with the information available. Unfortunately, there isn’t really a scientific way to make a choice. I read all the descriptions and ended up with these two. There is a cornus mas facebook group that is worth checking out. You will get a fair amount of opinions there. I chatted with one of the guys that had a collection of cornus mas and he felt my selections were good. You could also buy some canned or dried cornelian cherries which would give you a general idea about what the fruit tastes like.
Of the different ones I’m growing I really like Aloysha. It’s a yellow fruited one so, very different from the reds. Speaking of reds ones, I like Elegant a lot. Pioneer is good. There’s a seedling at an arboretum near me that I’ve dubbed Yugo Sweet, it’s the sweetest I’ve tasted. I grow Shafer but maybe it needs to get a little bit older to really get sweet fruit. My full list is at cornus-mas.com
is Aloysha available as a grafted tree commercially? if not, how does it compare to the yellow cultivar Yantarnyi (Yellow™)? is Yantarnyi (Yellow™) worth it?
The only source of Aloysha in the states besides me would be from Dan at Cricket Hill Garden in CT. I sent him some wood last winter and he had some good takes. If it’s not on his website send him a message to inquire. As for how it compares to Yellow/Yantarny… Aloysha is earlier and sweeter. If you have the space, grow both. Yellow fruited C. mas is not as common as the red ones.
*To your comment “is it worth it” … I like all Cornelian Cherries but small fruited seedlings are really the only ones I wouldn’t make space for. Well that’s not totally true, I have a seedling that was originally a rootstock from a supplier and it has really small fruit. The smallest I’ve seen. Like pea sized fruit. I’m growing that as a novelty. Haha. I’m calling it Microcarpa.
How do Koralovyi Marka (Coral Blaze) and Ekzotychnyi (Exotic) compare to Elegant and Yugo Sweet? Do you consider any of these varieties good for fresh eating?
I think both of those varieties are good for fresh eating. But I like all Cornelian Cherries and will eat any of them fresh. The key is to make sure that they’re dark and soft. Then they’re the sweetest.
