Improving on the Cherry

Improving on the Cherry

Susan Allen
Susan Allen
I'm Susan Allen with The Fruit Grower Report . In a cherry article from Sunset Magazine it is stated nd I quote " Most cherry lovers would agree it's hard to improve on a good 'Bing', but that's precisely what the breeders have done at the Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre in Summerland, British Columbia. Breeders crossed 'Van' and 'Stella' cherries and came up with 'Lapins', a self-pollinating variety that produces large crops of delicious dark fruit that often measure almost 1 inch in width. The fruit resists splitting, and its texture is somewhat firmer than 'Bing'. 'Lapins' is a late-maturing cherry, with harvest time around late June and early July.

Phillipa:"These are Lapin cherries and these are the pollinator for the bing cherries which is the other varieties that I have".

As you just heard, Lance Phillips, owner of Crimson Gem Orchard in Gem County, Idaho, has both varieties and is very excited about the 2016 crop.

"This is a tremendous year. Our last frost was on March 26, 26°, I fired up the smudge pots and we were able to protect the little fruit and we haven't had a freeze since. We have been close, down to 36° to 34° but we haven't been hit. As of May 10 we were at our frost free days so it looks like now all we have two dodge is the hail and the rain which is part of farming. We will be harvesting near the end of the month of June. We might be a couple of weeks early. It depends on how the weather goes from here. We are right on schedule to be June 30. The bings that I have harvest first, before the lapins so we have a market of about 3 to 4 weeks where we will be harvesting and taking them down to different vendors. We will let people come in. We are a you-pick or we-pick orchard."

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