The cherries from Bors’s program resulted from crosses of European varieties, which are sweeter amd have dark red skin and flesh, and varieties from central Asia, chosen because they are winter hardy. That variety has clear flesh and a light red skin and is quite tart. Amy Iezzoni.īut the prairie cherries face some hurdles if they are to capture the hearts of commercial tart cherry growers.įirst, the cherries aren’t like Montmorency, the dominant tart cherry variety commercially grown in Michigan and a few other states-Washington, New York, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Utah, and Oregon-and also in Ontario.
The six named Romance-series varieties and some yet to be released have been planted in Michigan at the Clarksville Experiment Station, joining a collection of varieties being observed by Michigan State University cherry breeder Dr. But he’d really like to bring his unique cherries into the larger world of commercial production, in North America and in Europe. Part of his mission is to supply locally grown fruit in an area that is much too cold for commercial orchards and vineyards. “Local growers are getting good money for the cherries-$5 and even $10 for a liter box,” he said.
MONTMORENCY CHERRIES CRACKED
Bob Bors’s fruit breeding program at University of Saskatchewan haven’t yet cracked into the really big production areas, but are having a significant local effect.īors said the dark red sour cherries sell like hotcakes in farmers’ markets in Canada’s prairie province. The fruit is deep red, sweet-cherry-like in color, much darker than the industry standard Montmorency. These are the six Romance sour cherry varieties that are available now for planting.
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