The Crafty Cultivator

Since I’m trying to write here again, and a lot of really cool progress happened last year, I wanted to talk to you about my ‘Crimson Passion’ Cherry Tree.

The poor little thing was a rescue. It got knocked over in a storm, and had another larger tree fall on it, so was quite bent over (but not damaged). And I say little thing, because it is. It also had big scab of sap, as a response to drought because we were having watering issues during the hot summer at work. Before I went on a week long vacation, we had put it on sale for 75% off. I really wanted it, but I figured I would wait til I got back if nobody else rescued it first. When I got back, it was still there, like a sad little puppy, so I bought it, and brought it to my parents house and my dad and I planted it there.

It flourished in the awesome soil and we used a large bamboo cane to help support it until it can grow stronger . That is the only photo I have of the tree, right after we planted it. Look at that gorgeous soil.

I can’t wait to see how it grows this year. The trick will really be to keep the animals off it to be able to get the cherries.  If I can’t get photos of it myself, I’ll share some that my mom sends me 😉 I’m REALLY looking forward to seeing the blooms in the spring.

‘Crimson Passion’, along with ‘Romeo’ is the sweetest of the sour cherries available. Sweet Cherries, like the ones you can buy in the store that come from the Okanagan and other parts of BC (Or other warmer parts of the world), don’t grow here (there may be some special cases, but generally, they don’t handle the cold, and particularly the chinook winds and weather fluctuations we get in this area).

The Romance Series of cherries were developed at the U of S. There is tons of info out there on them, so if you want to learn more about this, and the other types, a quick google search will help return a ton of info. I’ll share whatever I can about this particular one.  One last note, these come in either tree or shrub form. The shrub form will be the more cost-effective choice, as less work has gone into the plant… but they are the same plant, one has just been pruned to have one main trunk.

Some quick info on this ‘Crimson Passion’ Cherry Tree:

• Cold Hardiness: Zone 3
• Self-Fertile (this means I don’t need a pollinator to get fruit, Although we have also planted a handful of Nanking Cherries, and have native Choke Cherries and a Brookgold Plum nearby.)
• Mature height of this tree will be around 8 feet. So it is a great option if you want something edible, but don’t have a ton of space.
• Fruit should mature in August… This is key, as we can start getting frost in August.
• Latin: Prunus x kerrasis ‘Crimson Passion’

I’ll update later in the year on how this one is doing. I am going to try and do some more tree related content rather than just tomatoes and general gardening.

One last plug… Check out my Etsy shop – Back 40 Woodcraft.