As my cherries have now been in the ground for almost 2 years, I can now comment about the effect lack of chill has. The effect appears to be much more pronounced on all the cherries that receive full sun exposure. It is now July, and the leaf size of most of the cherries is small to undersized, and not all sections of the tree have leaves. The leaves are primarily on the tips of the branches, or on some of the trees near the base, closer to the ground. I suspect this is due to lack of vigor, but it seems even after several months the leaf growth has not been able to catch up. It is as if the growth just sort of stalled, and now the growth is very slow. I suspect there may be a feedback cycle, and because of the inadequate chill the plant has not been able to come totally out of dormancy, in terms of circulating hormone levels in the plant. Interestingly the Bing cherry seems to be growing much more vigorously than the others. It is full of leaves, and the leaves are big and full-sized. All this is in the lower part of the tree though; the top branch is a little sparse of leaves, and there are only a few little leaves coming out of the top tip. I am thinking this may be because the top gets more sun exposure. Interesting that the Bing appears to be growing more vigorously than the Royal Lee cherries. But one possible factor, it is one year older than the Royal Lee trees, so that may have given it a little more time to become established. The cherries with partial shade appear to be doing better than the ones in full sun, and also flowered and leafed out earlier. The full-sized kwanzan (flowering) cherry that I planted in January last year appears to have very sparse leaf coverage, and very small leaves. It is obvious it did not get adequate chill (despite this past winter being colder than usual). I would have thought that by July its leaf growth might have been able to catch up, but that is not the case. Both the kwanzan seedlings have survived. One has 2 medium sized leaves on it and 2 tiny leaves; the other has many small leaves on it now, and has sent up a tiny little new branch (more like just a stem) from the top. I have been making sure they receive water and that the soil does not get too dry. The little Yoshino seedling appears to be doing about as well as the kwanzan. Growth on all the cherries appears to be very slow (though the Bing has put out some new branches). The Blenheim apricot has done well; there were even 11 fruits on the tree this year, though they were a little small and a few of them were undersized or fell off the tree before halfway before ripening. Pretty good considering that Blenheim is not really a "low chill" variety (supposedly requires 400 chill hours). Some fruits may be more "adaptable" than other fruits, though.

Thanks to all who responded; since it is too hot here to mail order anything I can only look at my little Belle de Crecy and plan for next year and talk. Thanks for giving me the chance to learn. Ann- I forgot to say how much I liked your comment "none of this screaming magenta that sellers want to call purple." There is a lot of wishful thinking out there when it comes to colors - almost as much as with fragrance. Lynn- I hope they do well for you, but please let us know regardless. This is "zone pushing" from the other side. Melva- Thanks for the information. What is "Rush Family?" I couldn't find it on HMF - is it a found rose? Olga- I see now why Michael made the comment he did. Wow! (Perhaps it is best that I can't order right now after seeing that list.) I hope some of you will post full bush shots when your roses are in bloom. Elizabeth

Sure, will look into, probably next week when it is hopefully cooler! It was 104 here today.:( Anything shipped now might turn into steamed lettuce. Also, I will see about removing the soil, just in case it has something you don't! Maybe I can bareroot it as soon as temps dip???? No, it is unlikely that I'll attend because my four-legged menagerie makes arrangements complicated. The day with the presentations is kind of pricey too, and I'm retired so cost is a consideration. I wonder if they could webcast it? Local colleges/universities are sometimes sources of webcast capabilities at very moderate costs (especially if it is part of a student project where they can earn credit for supporting an event) or even free (if you know who and how to ask). Many online webcasts that I view on horses are free (but an organization that doesn't have the budget to do that might be able to charge a small fee). As to President Dutailly, his is the picture featured on the hybrid perpetual page at Vintage. Gorgeous!!!! I don't know about the heat requirement however, as I've only seen him in my garden and Eurodesert's. Maybe you could ask Gregg Lowery? But as to the shade, well I have 2 PD's (it's that suckering habit dontcha know!), and one gets early morning sun, then dappled shade/sun the rest of the day. It looks perfectly happy. Whether it would like that amount of shade in a cooler location I don't know. Melissa

Cherries Minnie Royal Southwestern fruit gardeners can finally celebrate the introductions of two new very-low-chill sweet cherries. Minnie Royal and its companion Royal Lee have proven themselves to be low chill adaptable. In fact, they may not require any chill at all. Minnie Royal is a medium to large size red cherry with a firm texture and superior flavor. Fruit begins to ripen in early May and holds well on the tree into June. The tree is very productive and sets heavy crops in southern California. We estimate the chill requirement at 200 to 300 hours, but some have produced with less than 100 hours. A Zaiger introduction, pollenized by Royal Lee. Royal Lee Pollenizing companion to Minnie Royal, the Royal Lee ripens about one week later and holds well on the tree until mid-June. Royal Lee is a medium sized red-to-dark-red sweet cherry with a very firm, crunchy texture. Flavor is rated as excellent. As with Minnie Royal, the estimated chill requirement is 200 to 300 hours, but my Royal Lee tree has proven fruitful with even less. Zaiger introduction, pollenized by Minnie Royal.