Cornelian Cherry won't Cherry
lizann
21 years ago
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Rodknee
21 years agogardeningangel_z6
20 years agoRelated Discussions
Cornelian Cherries
Comments (9)Yup, I've got a couple of mature ones and a couple more on the way. The fruit ripens here in early to mid August. It's about the size of a small tart cherry, but is more of a football or teardrop shape than round. It has a single, small pit in the middle, which is it's only drawback -- tedious to pit them. The flavor is excellent cooked, IMO -- it tastes like a mix of tart cherry and cranberry. It makes a wonderful cranberry type sauce if cooked the same way. It also makes a very nice jam, syrup, or preserves. I also like to put them in with apples to make pie or crisp. They also can be dried into a product that is virtually indistinguishable in flavor from the "Craisins" sold in the grocery store, although mine are not as soft, since the commercial ones are treated with something (I think vegetable oil and glycerine) to keep them soft. The bush is hardy, attractive, and easy to grow. It is one of the very first things to bloom, actually before the forsythia blooms by a few days. The foliage is somewhat glossy, and it does get a little bit of fall color, although not the most brilliant fall show by any means. The flower buds that form in the late summer add interest in the winter. Mine are too astringent to eat raw unless they are dead ripe and very soft. Birds don't seem to eat them. I think that there may be some named clones that have fruit that is more palatable out of hand. Mine are just from seed -- I started with one, and the rest are it's progeny. I think this is another fruit with a lot of potential. The only down side is the somewhat tedious pit. The method I found to do this easily is to pick over and wash the fruit, then put it in a large kettle with just a little bit of water, and boil/steam for about 10 minutes. This makes the fruit mushy-soft. I then put the fruit into a colander with small holes, and mush the pulp through the holes with the back of a spoon, leaving the pits behind. This yields a pretty large volume of bright burgundy-red pulp and a relatively small volume of pit -- at least they're not virtually all pit or seed like some wild types of true Prunus cherries....See Morewanted cornelian cherries
Comments (0)i would like to trade for some seeds or plants. if you have a crop of them in iowa i would love to harvest it to share the fruit with you. also looking for a crop of tiny wild sour black grapes to pick. check out my trade list now and again in a few weeks when i update Here is a link that might be useful: ricjo22's exchange list...See MoreHas anyone actually tasted an Elegant Cornelian Cherry?
Comments (3)I've got a small Elegant in the ground, but it won't fruit for a few years. Elegant is described by Lee Reich as "good for fresh eating" in Uncommon Fruits for Every Garden (a great book if you don't have it). It is listed as one of the Ukrainian varieties specifically selected for fresh consumption so I would assume that it tastes better than most seedlings....See MoreCornelian cherry dogwoods from seeds, proper stratification times
Comments (3)I have sown white-flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) directly into the ground and lost all to chipmunks and squirrels (rats with bushy tails). The few that sprouted were eaten immediately after sprouting in the spring. This year I have winter sown into milk jugs and hope for better results. See Winter Sowing Forum: http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/wtrsow/ and the winter sowing FAQ: http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/wtrsow/ I previously stratified, but the instructions I read said nothing about warm stratification. I pulled off all of the pulp from the berries and soaked the seed in warm water for about 4 hours. Mix some warm water with some sifted sphagnum peat. (Shaking the peat and water in a jar is a quick way to moisten the peat. All excess moisture should be squeezed out of the peat. Too much water will rot the seed.) Mix the seed with the damp peat. I put the seed/peat mixture in a zip lock bag. (Punch a few air holes in the bag.) Place bag in refrigerator for 100 days. Check occasionally to be sure the peat is still moist. A few of the seeds were already sprouting after 100 days. I planted the seeds/seedlings in an outside transplanting area. The squirrels and chipmunks soon ate those, also. I may try to winter sow these directly into the ground, and put a quarter-inch-hardware-mesh wire cage over the top. (Something similar to a bottomless bird cage.) A few bricks on top to keep the critters from pushing/pulling it off will hopefully aid in survival of the seedlings. Here is a link that might be useful: http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/wtrsow/...See Moregreengodess
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