I have 'Jan' and 'Joy' here in Michigan. They are small bushes, only about 3 feet tall x 3 feet wide. The fruits are also small, about the size of a sour cherry, with fairly large pits. NEITHER of them tastes like a cherry per se, to me, they taste almost exactly like cranberries, although a bit sweeter, and they make a very, very good cranberry type sauce/jam. Neither one is them is particularly productive, giving between a pint and a quart per bush each year. The fruits of both are prone to brown rot as they approach ripeness.

One of them ripens for me about mid-August, the other about 2-3 weeks later in late August, early September, although I didn't label them, and I no longer remember which is which.

Overall, they're OK, but no substitute for real cherry trees.

Hmmm, well, I won't try Jan or Joy then. I suppose that their real advantage must be cold tolerance, and in California that is not an issue for me. Thanks for letting me know, Denninmi.

I'm still curious about Carmine Jewel and Crimson Passion, though.

Rosefolly

I ordered one each Carmine Jewel and Crimson Passion this spring and planted them in identical conditions. The Carmine Jewel is taking off. The Crimson Passion fizzled and died. Most of the literature on these suggest that the Carmine Jewel is the mor vigorous and robust of the two, growing to about 6 1/2 feet in height and is more productive than the Crimson Passion. The Crimson Passion is supposed to be sweeter, but slightly smaller and less productive. I can vouch for it being less robust.

There are several more varieties in the "Romance" series of bush cherries developed by the University of Saskatchewan, but only these two have been released for export to the US.

I ordered mine from www.honeyberryusa.com which seems to be a small family run nursery business. No complaints about the service, but the guarantee only gets them to your door healthy. If they die after you plant them, you're out of luck.

They are propagated from cuttings, so you'll get a twig that has been rooted, and runs about 8 to 10 inches tall. If you live in an area where deer might come, you'll need to protect them. A bar of Irish Spring soap seems to do the trick.

I just found this old thread, and I wanted to respond to it, because it simply is not true. I have ordered several times from honeyberry.com, and have had the pleasure of speaking directly to Bernis. I managed to kill one of my "Crimson Passion" cherries, and she shipped me off a replacement no questions asked. They are a family-run business, and strive to provide really excellent customer service. I am trialing the Romance cherries here in my warmer climate, to see if I can get them to produce. Bernis has been very helpful. They may ship a little later, but it's due to their rather chilly climate and later winters, so patience is in line if you're waiting for a shipment. They must allow for their ground to thaw before they can dig up plants for shipment.

Patty S.

Unfortunately I live in an area that has recently been invaded by the spotted wing drosophyla, so I will not be planting any cherries. I already have a number of highly vulnerable fruits (blueberries, mulberries, plums, grapes) so I am not going to plant yet another to entice them to my garden.

Rosefolly,
SWD is a nightmare, anywhere you go. They are attracted to overripe/spoiled fruit. You can keep an eye out for them with vinegar traps, etc, but I've basically given up on all brambles. I will be using surround on smooth fruit.
I've moved to a new place with few fruit and transplanted bare root, so hopefully my pressure will be less. My 2 yr. CJ's are 4' and have blossoms on the ends of the branches. They also came from HBUSA and of the CJ's and CP's from them have all made it. I hit them with kelp/mulched wood chips/mycorhizals/urea early and they loved it. I also watered them 2x a week. Romeo is next.

Hello -- My three CJs , two CPs, two BEs and two Ms came from St Lawrence about five weeks ago. They seem to be doing well, leafing out and growing new branches. Amazingly, no pest problems, and no bug corpses in the Tanglefoot. I'm sure I'll see some later. Right now, the CPs and CJs have five to fifteen of these tiny yellow leaves per plant.

Does anyone know what they mean? ( I think they give an impression of being bigger than they are because of the magnification of the picture.)

I also planted Bali Evans and Meteor nearby. In order of vigor, they are CP, CJ, BE, with Meteor lagging behind everyone else. The leaves are smaller, and there are no new branches showing yet. It doesn't look sickly, it's just going slow.

Does anyone know if Meteor typically gets established more slowly than the others?

So that's two questions: What's with the yellow leaves and has anyone else noticed that Meteor takes longer to get established?

Thanks !

Bernard

I planted Carmine jewel several years ago. It started flowering a year or two after planting. Last year at 5 feet tall I put bird betting on it and did manage to get some cherries. They seemed a good size. They were rather sour though. Later I read they are sweetest when picked nearly black, and mine I ate a pomegranate red. The sister plants from that breeding program are suppose to be sweeter, Romeo and Juliet. I bought my Carmine cherry from gurnies the first year they offered it and they just started selling Romeo. I plan on getting one of those to give my cherry a friend. I am zone 5.

Carmine Jewel is supposed to be packed with flavor and tart like a Sour Cherry, but with much more sweetness. Do a search in this forum for "Carmine Jewel", there are plenty of members who have given descriptions of how they taste.

Unlike many other "bush cherry" species, Carmine Jewel is a real cherry.

Great success with Carmine zone 6. They are sweet/sour. I love the flavor...and so do the birds.