Mostly I just pit them and freeze them and then I can make jam at any time, and the wife makes pies. I’ve also made Cherry Bread (Like apple bread) but I find the need to drain the majority of the juice for that. I have also cooked some down to make a concentrate that I kept in the refrigerator, then I could take like two tablespoons in a glass of ice water and it was pretty money. There’s been times when I didn’t get the proper set on the jam and we’d use that over ice cream or pancakes.
I would like to get a handle on dehydrating them. I tried that one year on some and found a way to screw that up pretty good, I think I left them on too long. Some were good, most were not - just too hard/chewy.
But it’s nice to have options, and once pitted and froze there’s quite a few.
Carmine Jewel finally ripe in zone 3. I just picked 31.0 pounds from a single 6 foot tall bush. I have 3 other Romance Series bushes that are almost ripe – I think I planted way too many bushes for a home gardener. One probably would have done.
It’s about time to start a new row of carmine jewel. Anyone else planning to pull suckers pretty soon? I have some I need to get out of there and I have a spot that I picked out for growing them. Not sure if I have enough cherry bushes suckering yet for the new row I’m going to make but I need to start sometime. Think I will leave 7 feet between them in the row and 12’ between rows but I’m still rolling around the numbers. If I go 20’ between rows I might get a mechanical picker someday and it might be worth giving up the extra ground! Think for the same reason I will plant them north to south instead of east to west because the location I’m planting them is a rectangle. I’m going to start the row about 8-10 feet from a neighbors fence as a hedge and for efficiency. The dirt is the same stuff these are growing in which is not the best but it works good with a little TLC. My biggest concern is canker which is ever present and increases the more stone fruits we grow here. There is also my old enemy leaf spot which is ever present and is causing early defoliation this year Sour Cherry Leaf Spot. These are what the suckers are like I will be pulling. As you can see I left the front side unmowed to get more growth from the suckers so all of them will be 3 - 4 footers. I will likely cut them back depending on what is there for roots. I’ve mowed off many suckers already.
When I dug some one- to two-foot suckers that had been growing in sand ten to fifteen feet from the main bush for a couple years, it turned out there was a large horizontal root connecting them with few side roots. One did not survive the transplanting and the other languished. Next time I think I will chop the root, but leave the sucker growing in place another year before transplanting. I didn’t give the transplants any pruning, so maybe that would have helped. I figured they were tough enough bushes that they would survive in the good soil I moved them to. I did mulch them with wood chips and cardboard, and we had plenty of rain in the spring.
Looks like my chance of finally getting some Crimson Passion cherries next year are going to be destroyed. Several days coming with near -30f temps Im sure will kill the flowers… AGAIN
Probably not, the one I didnt cut back is 10ft tall and probably 3/4 that wide. If they dont do anything eventually Ill probably dig them both out, but they are big an healthy, just hoping that I eventually get something from them, but probably time to call it quits with that variety…
They have got bigger and they are blooming like crazy! That’s a 12’ stick of pipe. I don’t know what the deal is with one of those bushes because it blooms at a slightly different time ( a shade later) and it’s shorter.
It’s nothing for them to have 20-30 acres of them on the Canadian praries! Could you imagine? That’s a lot of cherries! I’m tempted to plant 3 acres of them for the wineries but a year like this makes me realize I’m smart to wait since there has been very little rain.
That’s awesome Clark! It must feel like money growing on the bushes. Every year your getting richer, lol! Do you ever wonder if they could get twenty foot tall? It is weird how when they are small you want to feed them to make them big. Then when they get so big you want them to not get so big. At least that’s how I am with some of my sweet cherries. They have so much vigare that they are out of control.
Absolutely money in the bank! I love these cherries but I’m concerned about disease even with these tough little cherries! Stone fruit are tricky to grow here but these cherries and reliance peaches have done the best for me. The cherries seem to have maxed their height because every year I see them sending more suckers. At least I hope they don’t surpass 12 feet lol! Your dead on with everything you said …spoken like a cherry grower in the know!
they say in warmer than z2 they could get 12’! i planted a juliet and carmine jewel this year and put them 6ft apart. hope thats enough! no more space!
Impressive Clark, I think you better stock up on Ibuprofen - you’re going to be wore out time you get done with the June harvest!
I think I made a big mistake not pruning them before now, but after last summer I decided I needed to get these down to a manageable height. They were 10,11 & 12’ and the pickers weren’t to careful as they tried to get the fruit up high. And we always wind up leaving a lot of the fruit at the top.
No more! I took 3-4’ off in March. They’re all right around 8’ now. I’m sure it’ll lessen the overall total harvest but I’m okay with that.
Mine are a few days away, but it looks like Juliet is going to pop in a day or so, while the CP’s look sickly again this year. I’ll take a picture when everything is in bloom but I just know I’m going to be embarrassed with how unphotogenic the Crimson Passion will be…
@IowaJer,
A haircut is likely in order but I don’t want to give up the cherries I’d be losing! Your bushes look great! I’m curious about Juliet and regretting not having it.
from what I’ve read on honeyberry usa, juliet is the fastest growing of the romance series of cherries, so it may wind up bigger that the others . or just get to full size quicker. according to them ,carmine jewel is the earliest producer of the romance series, not in years but earliest in year.
. Hard to believe in a few more months things will look so different! 
I’m tempted to plant 3 acres of them for the wineries but a year like this makes me realize I’m smart to wait since there has been very little rain.
