Hybrid Rootstocks, Early Cherries Among Fowler Nurseries, Inc. Offerings

BlackPearl® is the best early season cherry, ripening 10 days before Bing and around Chelan. It has exceptional flavor and is extremely firm and crunchy. BlackPearl® is medium-sized with 20% sugar and keeps better than most other cherries. The tree is hardy and canker resistant. Early season bloom, S4 unknown.

Bright’s Hybrid® 5 is an advanced selection of one of the most popular peach-almond hybrid rootstocks. Bright’s Hybrid®5 is moderately vigorous for a peach-almond hybrid, nematode resistant, deep rooting, well anchored, and drought tolerant. Vigor and productivity are superior to Nemaguard. It also has excellent rootknot nematode resistance. This selection was a survivor in an orchard with high pH due to excess calcium.

BurgundyPearl® is a very firm, large, high-quality fruit, ripening three to five days before Bing. Fruit size averages 12 grams with 20.5% sugar. BurgundyPearl® has superior quality, storability, and excellent crack resistance. The tree is vigorous, productive, and canker resistant. Early, mid-season bloom, S3S4.

BB 106® rootstock is a highly vigorous peach-almond hybrid that is deep rooting, well anchored and drought tolerant. Vigor and productivity are similar to Hansen 536 with anchorage similar to other peach-almond hybrids. It also has excellent root-knot nematode resistance. This selection was selected as a survivor in an orchard with wet soil conditions.

EbonyPearl® is a large, very high-quality cherry that ripens three days ahead of Bing. The fruit has exceptional flavor and quality with long, firmly attached stems. EbonyPearl® has also shown excellent crack resistance. The tree is hardy, vigorous, and canker resistant, with early, mid-season bloom, S1S4.

Empyrean® 1 has lower chilling requirement than Hansen 536, bloom timing is similar to Nemaguard, while harvest timing is similar to Hansen 536. The vigor of Empyrean® 1 results in quick space-filling and rapid increases in production – showing the promise of being on the best high yielding almond rootstocks.

Krymsk® 5 and Krymsk® 6 are precocious cherry rootstocks with vigor similar to Gisela® 6 and Gisela® 12, respectively. Flower densities are lower than on Gisela® resulting in more-balanced fruit loads with productive varieties. Both rootstocks offer good anchorage as well as tolerance to bacterial canker, wet soils, cold, and heat, while providing good fruit size. All Krymsk® rootstocks were developed in Russia, near the eastern shores of the Black Sea.

Tamara™ is a mid-season cherry that is full of aromatics and intense cherry flavor. Heart-shaped fruits are a dark red- to black-red in color. Tamara is firm with a crunchy flesh, highly aromatic and full of intense cherry flavor. Regular, moderate yields great for the commercial orchard or a home orchard.