It’s really not too hard. Just prune out all the suckers and it will naturally tend towards a tree form. Nothing to stop it from suckering in the future, though. Also, it’s not like suckering is all or nothing. I would expect a spectrum ranging from high suckering to none at all, and Juliet is lower suckering (but will still sucker some). Disturbing the roots will increase suckering tendency all else being equal.
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My juliets are sucker monsters!!!
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I would love to grow bush cherries…
I see where at least some of them say zone 3-8…
But I tried red currants and jostaberries here in my TN zone 7a and they could not take our heat/humidity.
Most of you folks that seem very interested in these, seem to be north of me.
Anyone successfully growing any of these bush cherry varieties in the South East …
Tennessee, Northern Alabama, North Carolina ?
Know if any of the varieties are better for the hot/humid south east ?
Thanks
TNHunter
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I’m growing some sort of successfully in central Georgia. I’ve got Carmine Jewel and Romeo. Both have grown vigorously and fruited moderately. Both have sent out suckers. One of the main carmine jewels died for reasons unknown. They both got a bad case of cherry leaf spot late in the summer (it was the wettest year in 30 years here) and by the end of the summer were almost completely defoliated. Birds the biggest problem-they eat the cherries about 2 or 3 days before they are ripe.
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@haldog… thanks for the report form central GA on the bush cherries…
My problem with Josta and Red Currants… was they just did not do well here… I tried them in a full sun location first and had 2 of each… 3 died… one the entire top died, but some shoots came up from the roots the next sprig (red currant).
I moved it to a morning sun only location, and bought another to go with it, and a couple more josta’s…
In a morning sun only location they lived, 3 years… but never really grew much at all… and early/mid summer they got some awful foliage issues, and would lose leaves, and be near naked by early fall. Obviously not happy here. Sounds like you had similar foliage issues with the bush cherries.
But they have “grown vigorously and fruited moderately”. My Josta and Red currents did not do that. In the time I had them I got like 6 individual fruits off them… Not really enough for a good taste test.
Steveb4 - has encouraged me to try Crandall Clove Currants, he thinks they will do better here. If I do try currants again, I will try those.
I got a new Gurneys catalog this week and that new Bush Cherry… Wowza - sure looks and sounds good. Self Pollinating, Zone 2-7. Looks like it is 3x size of Carmine Jewel in their picture.
I may have to buy one and try it for a few years to see how they do here…
They say that Juliet is the sweetest of the bunch (our sweetest, tastiest bush cherry yet).
My wife prefers “SWEET”… perhaps I will try a pair, Wowza and Juliet.
Central GA looks to be around 200 miles or more south of my location… perhaps they might be a little happier here.
@haldog - question are you growing your bush cherries in a full sun location ?
I don’t see any recommendation on that in the Gurneys catalog. OGW says this…
Site and Soil : 1/2 day to full sun and well-drained soil.
Starks says Full Sun.
Indiana Berry… full sun to partial shade, in moderate to well drained soil
Thanks
TNHunter
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Both are in about 1/2 sun, shaded in the morning and getting blasted in the afternoon. I know that’s the exact opposite of what would be ideal from a disease perspective, and probably also from a climate perspective for these plants, but because they are so experimental they don’t get a prime location.
The soil for the Carmine Jewel is mostly clay, the typical for around here red stuff that’s left over after the topsoil is gone. Of course I’ve been trying to improve it with organic matter topdressings, but that’s a slow process. The Carmine Jewels’ vigor is excellent in that clay. My original 3 inch plant grew over three seasons to three and a half feet, and also put out some very vigorous suckers. Then the main plant died, though the suckers live on and transplanted well last year. Perhaps it was the soil was too wet after all of our rains, perhaps the leaf spot defoliation, perhaps the soil borne disease that killed my Nanking cherries, probably a combination. The Romeo is in a much lighter soil, on a slope, so it has good drainage. It had one sucker that I transplanted a few weeks ago to be beside the Carmine Jewels, hoping for better fruit set with some cross pollination.
Thanks @haldog …
I will try them in a location that gets lots of morning sun but some shade from 2 or 3 pm on. Sounds like they are known to do well in 4 5 6… so protecting them from our HOT evening sun might be best.
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The barn door has opened. Look what I just purchased.
Cherry Muskateer Aramis $30.00 $30.00
| Cherry Muskateer Athos | $30.00 | $30.00 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cherry Muskateer D’Artagnan | $30.00 | $30.00 | ||
| Cherry Muskateer Porthos | $30.00 | $30.00 | ||
| Cherry New Big Red Not Wowza | $30.00 | $30.00 | ||
| Cherry New Cutie Pie | $30.00 | $30.00 | ||
| Cherry New Sweet Things | $30.00 | $30.00 |
Yes, they will just be tiny things not available for pick up till late may.
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haha “big red not wowza” - big red is the patented name of wowza in the us. that’s got to be a joke, meaning “wowza isn’t our trademark, but this is the same thing as wowza”, right?
who is that list from?
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Yes, I chuckled as well. I have no idea whether it is different or just honouring some sales/patent agreement. These are being sold in Canada. I have purchased them from DNA gardens in Elnora, Alberta.
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I already have five of the romance series cherries growing but I’m quite tempted to add some of these new ones to my garden.
I’m the most interested in Sweet Thing which has a solid description and it sounds like a winner. D’Artagnan is described as having a Juliet/Valentine flavor but from the little snippets I’ve read about it, Valentine wasn’t well received for fresh eating? Has anyone here grown/eaten Valentine and what did you think of it?
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Does anyone know if any of these prairie cherries are resistant to brown rot? Granted these hybrids were developed for a totally different climate than where I am in western Washington, I ripped out three ‘Carmine Jewels’ (back when they were still really expensive) after discovering they were only healthy here as long as they didn’t flower. Once they grew to flowering age every single branch with flowers would experience partial or full die back from brown rot. That put me off trialling any others from this breeding program.
For context some ornamental cherries also get hit hard by brown rot here, but pure P. cerasus sour cherries generally get only very minor brown rot damage.
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From that list the Big Red not Wowza is the only cherry that is not holding a plant breeders rights certificate in Canada and so is not listed on the govt. website. So who knows what it is.
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Where did you buy from? I have friends in Canada that were wondering.
Please view my post 4 entries above yours
Roger thanks!
If I’m reading right, it looks like Alaska Fruit Trees has Valentine Cherry for sale and will ship to the lower 48: Alaska Fruit Trees - Trees and Shrubs for Sale
Has anyone tried ordering from them? Or found another US source?
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I believe someone from Maine was able to buy both Cupid and Valentine from one of the big box stores. Can’t remember where I read that on here but it was just the other day.
Here’s the link to the guy who found them for sale in Maine