Cherries: for the Prairies!
When you hear the word, "cherries", you probably think of BC and not Manitoba, for good reason; up until recently only sour cherries (prunus cerasus) grew here. But the University of Saskatchewan has been developing new cherry cultivars for several years and have successfully bred varieties that are hardy to zone 2 and taste good. The cherries I am growing are:
Crimson Passion - the sweetest cherry grown in Manitoba, and the largest
Juliet - almost as sweet as C.P., but with a crisper texture
Valentine - a vigorous producer for canning and processing
Evans - an older cultivar that is questionably hardy in my immediate area, but can produce large crops for processing (unless you like sour for fresh eating!)
I recently added a new Juliet and Crimson Passion orchard. The real benefit over BC cherries is the "local" aspect - which I think is worth it, but many don't. They taste amazing in pies and preserves, and if you can pick them before the birds do, they are good fresh off the tree as well.
Crimson Passion - the sweetest cherry grown in Manitoba, and the largest
Juliet - almost as sweet as C.P., but with a crisper texture
Valentine - a vigorous producer for canning and processing
Evans - an older cultivar that is questionably hardy in my immediate area, but can produce large crops for processing (unless you like sour for fresh eating!)
I recently added a new Juliet and Crimson Passion orchard. The real benefit over BC cherries is the "local" aspect - which I think is worth it, but many don't. They taste amazing in pies and preserves, and if you can pick them before the birds do, they are good fresh off the tree as well.
