My back yard has three varieties of Cherries. The big one is the Lambert by the back door. Similar to the Bing, it’s similar to what you would consider the “Typical Cherry.” Next to it is a Black Republic that’s more of a pie cherry. Tart, but not terribly tart. I think you’d like it, although the cherries are quite small. Then we have the Royal Anne by the wood shed on the other end of the property. The Royal Anne has the red-to-yellow look like the picture you feature in your article. When you eat one, you can tell it’s a cherry, but… I’m trying to describe it… it’s very muted in taste. It doesn’t blast your taste buds. Not bad, anyone can eat one, but it’s not something an afficionado would be terribly interested in. But the Lambert and the Royal Anne were purchased from a nursery and the Black Republic was brought in from a relative’s neighbor’s house.
I also have a slew of “volunteer” cherry trees. Perhaps one or two dozen. Trees that started themselves from dropped cherries. And they’re not really clones of those three varieties. More like “Mutts.” The ones by the Lambert are close to the Lambert, but the cherries are the size of the Black Republic. They grow well, and they can impinge on structures, and so… yes, I’m going to say it!... I cannot tell a lie, I cut down a Cherry Tree with a chain saw back in February because it was starting to hang out over one of the cars and it was a hazard. That’s okay, there are many more around it.
Back in 2000, I dug a volunteer up that was dragging on that woodshed, and I brought it to my Grandparents’ house. I told my Grandfather the root went down 3 feet and off to the right 2 feet. It was a whip of a tree, only about 8-10’ tall. When I brought the tree in the truck, both us looked at each other like we were nuts. My grandfather had dug a hole the shape of a grave, 3 feet deep and 2 foot sides. I asked him who the hell he was burying, and he said “the only place that tree needs to go is into the shredder!” We planted the tree anyway. It took off. Today, the trunk is almost 2 feet in diameter, and the tree itself is over 50 feet tall. The birds love it.
Tart? One of the Grandparents’ neighbors by the Jefferson-Lincoln school had a red cherry tree in their back yard. Those damn cherries were inedible. Tart was an understatement. C Jay said it’s strictly a pie cherry. Yeah, tart like approaching battery acid. Yuck! But the cool thing about C Jay? He was a Freemason and one of the reasons why I joined. He was a Pearl Harbor survivor and received his EA degree at the same time as Chiang Kai-shek’s oldest son. Liberty Lodge No. 7, Grand Lodge of China. C Jay was later on my Investigating Committee and was my conductor for all three degrees. Now THAT was an honor.
Don't let the anti-genetic modification folks find out you're messing with DNA!
Seriously, I find the entire concept of cross pollination pretty cool, and seeing it in action through blending of strains of fruits is really neat.
AI in action:
Fruits That Need Two Trees (Cross-Pollination)
These trees typically require a second compatible variety of the same fruit (e.g., two different apple varieties) that bloom at the same time in order to set fruit:
Apples: Almost all varieties require a different apple variety nearby.
Pears: Most require cross-pollination.
Sweet Cherries: Most varieties (like Bing) need a different sweet cherry variety to pollinate them.
Japanese Plums: These require a different Japanese plum tree to produce fruit.
Fruits That Only Need One Tree (Self-Fertile)
These trees can produce fruit using their own pollen and do not require a companion tree:
Peaches & Nectarines: Nearly all varieties are self-fertile.
Apricots: Most are self-fertile, though planting a second variety often increases your overall yield.
Sour (Tart) Cherries: Varieties like Montmorency are self-fertile.
European Plums: Many varieties (like Italian prunes) are self-fertile.
Citrus (Lemons, Oranges, etc.): Most common citrus trees are self-fertile.
The whole subject is pretty interesting to me ever since Penn & Teller did a segment on Norman Borlaug in their show "Bullshit!". The man's work in Genetic Engineering has literally saved millions of lives. You can read about him here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Borlaug
We have a Yellow Transparent dwarf apple tree. It's the only one on the property, although a neighbor has a handful of apple trees that might be close enough to qualify as pollinators? They're a ways off, though. I don't know the distances required.
We also have a Satsuma Plum, which is a Japanese plum. We had a Shiro that also produced plums as we were told we needed a pollinator, but when the Shiro died when we logged the property (it didn't withstand the change in sun/shade), the Satsuma still bears fruit, and it is now the ONLY Japanese plum in the area.
For apples, they can be pollinated if there is another apple tree within a certain distance and bees. Google said with bees it can be anywhere from several hundred feet to miles, if you're neighbors.
For the Satsuma Plum, it could also be pollinated by bees over distance, or from an ornamental cherry tree.
It's interesting, as I always thought the cross pollination had to be between two of the same variety, but from further reading, it's not the case, it's usually two comparable varieties, but not the same.
I also forgot to list Raspberries as among my favorites. When I go to a diner for breakfast, digging though the cradle of jelly packets can be maddening. Sometimes all that is left is grape (ugh).
My back yard has three varieties of Cherries. The big one is the Lambert by the back door. Similar to the Bing, it’s similar to what you would consider the “Typical Cherry.” Next to it is a Black Republic that’s more of a pie cherry. Tart, but not terribly tart. I think you’d like it, although the cherries are quite small. Then we have the Royal Anne by the wood shed on the other end of the property. The Royal Anne has the red-to-yellow look like the picture you feature in your article. When you eat one, you can tell it’s a cherry, but… I’m trying to describe it… it’s very muted in taste. It doesn’t blast your taste buds. Not bad, anyone can eat one, but it’s not something an afficionado would be terribly interested in. But the Lambert and the Royal Anne were purchased from a nursery and the Black Republic was brought in from a relative’s neighbor’s house.
I also have a slew of “volunteer” cherry trees. Perhaps one or two dozen. Trees that started themselves from dropped cherries. And they’re not really clones of those three varieties. More like “Mutts.” The ones by the Lambert are close to the Lambert, but the cherries are the size of the Black Republic. They grow well, and they can impinge on structures, and so… yes, I’m going to say it!... I cannot tell a lie, I cut down a Cherry Tree with a chain saw back in February because it was starting to hang out over one of the cars and it was a hazard. That’s okay, there are many more around it.
Back in 2000, I dug a volunteer up that was dragging on that woodshed, and I brought it to my Grandparents’ house. I told my Grandfather the root went down 3 feet and off to the right 2 feet. It was a whip of a tree, only about 8-10’ tall. When I brought the tree in the truck, both us looked at each other like we were nuts. My grandfather had dug a hole the shape of a grave, 3 feet deep and 2 foot sides. I asked him who the hell he was burying, and he said “the only place that tree needs to go is into the shredder!” We planted the tree anyway. It took off. Today, the trunk is almost 2 feet in diameter, and the tree itself is over 50 feet tall. The birds love it.
Tart? One of the Grandparents’ neighbors by the Jefferson-Lincoln school had a red cherry tree in their back yard. Those damn cherries were inedible. Tart was an understatement. C Jay said it’s strictly a pie cherry. Yeah, tart like approaching battery acid. Yuck! But the cool thing about C Jay? He was a Freemason and one of the reasons why I joined. He was a Pearl Harbor survivor and received his EA degree at the same time as Chiang Kai-shek’s oldest son. Liberty Lodge No. 7, Grand Lodge of China. C Jay was later on my Investigating Committee and was my conductor for all three degrees. Now THAT was an honor.
Don't let the anti-genetic modification folks find out you're messing with DNA!
Seriously, I find the entire concept of cross pollination pretty cool, and seeing it in action through blending of strains of fruits is really neat.
AI in action:
Fruits That Need Two Trees (Cross-Pollination)
These trees typically require a second compatible variety of the same fruit (e.g., two different apple varieties) that bloom at the same time in order to set fruit:
Apples: Almost all varieties require a different apple variety nearby.
Pears: Most require cross-pollination.
Sweet Cherries: Most varieties (like Bing) need a different sweet cherry variety to pollinate them.
Japanese Plums: These require a different Japanese plum tree to produce fruit.
Fruits That Only Need One Tree (Self-Fertile)
These trees can produce fruit using their own pollen and do not require a companion tree:
Peaches & Nectarines: Nearly all varieties are self-fertile.
Apricots: Most are self-fertile, though planting a second variety often increases your overall yield.
Sour (Tart) Cherries: Varieties like Montmorency are self-fertile.
European Plums: Many varieties (like Italian prunes) are self-fertile.
Citrus (Lemons, Oranges, etc.): Most common citrus trees are self-fertile.
The whole subject is pretty interesting to me ever since Penn & Teller did a segment on Norman Borlaug in their show "Bullshit!". The man's work in Genetic Engineering has literally saved millions of lives. You can read about him here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Borlaug
Almost true.
We have a Yellow Transparent dwarf apple tree. It's the only one on the property, although a neighbor has a handful of apple trees that might be close enough to qualify as pollinators? They're a ways off, though. I don't know the distances required.
We also have a Satsuma Plum, which is a Japanese plum. We had a Shiro that also produced plums as we were told we needed a pollinator, but when the Shiro died when we logged the property (it didn't withstand the change in sun/shade), the Satsuma still bears fruit, and it is now the ONLY Japanese plum in the area.
For apples, they can be pollinated if there is another apple tree within a certain distance and bees. Google said with bees it can be anywhere from several hundred feet to miles, if you're neighbors.
For the Satsuma Plum, it could also be pollinated by bees over distance, or from an ornamental cherry tree.
It's interesting, as I always thought the cross pollination had to be between two of the same variety, but from further reading, it's not the case, it's usually two comparable varieties, but not the same.
Aha! Ornamental Cherry tree. There you go! Just learned something. Thanks!
I also forgot to list Raspberries as among my favorites. When I go to a diner for breakfast, digging though the cradle of jelly packets can be maddening. Sometimes all that is left is grape (ugh).