Evans Bali Cherry

This fall I'm going to be planting a large area between the street and the fence for the vegetable garden. The planting will be part edible and part native - with some of the edibles being natives, too.

One of the things I want to plant is a sour cherry tree (sweet cherries aren't hardy here). A few years ago I had read about a cherry from Bailey Nurseries - a wholesaler based in Minnesota - but couldn't find the name. Well, I finally did - it's Prunus "Evans Bali."

According to various websites, this is a sour cherry that becomes almost sweet as it stays on the tree. It's very productive, self-fertile and hardy to zone 3. The only issue is that it grows to be 10-15 feet tall. If it's 10 feet, I'm okay, but if it's 15 feet, it might shade part of the vegetable garden on the other side of the fence. I'll have to keep thinking about it. I may end up getting "Meteor" - a very popular choice in these parts, introduced by the University of Minnesota in 1952 - because it's only supposed to 8-10 feet tall.

Comments

[cricketann]

I didn't know you liked cherries. I thought no one likes cherries in our family. Maybe it's your husband that likes them. Are you growing it for the blossoms too? What about plums? Is there a dwarf crabapple?

[Ali]

Check carefully into the cherry tree -- I have a so-called dwarf stella cherry that sure is not behaving in a dwarfish way! At this point, I can only believe the tree was mislabeled.

Are you looking for a barrier? A thicket of native plums might work if so. But cherries.... YUM!

[Tracy]

Cricketann: No, I actually don't like sweet cherries, but these are sour cherries, which are used for preserves, pies, etc. They also have a very high wildlife value, so even if I don't use them, the birds can enjoy them. What I like out sour cherry trees is that the fruit doesn't typically fall, so you don't have that rotten, fermenting fruit smell with bees and wasps (which I'm sure you remember from our childhood!) For the past few years I've been watching a cherry tree on our dog walk, and I've found that the fruit doesn't fall, and by now - as of our walk last night - there are no more fruits on the trees. Crabapples - the kind you can use for preserves - all fall off the tree and make a mess. I don't like plums all that much, and besides, Spouse's brother has a great plum tree with enough fruit to give me for jam.

Ali: I know, this is the only problem. There are tons of Meteor cherries here in the Twin Cities, so I know how big they get. It's just about the right size, actually, for the space. However, the Evans Bali supposedly has bigger fruit and higher yields. Plus, I read that if the fruit is left on the tree you can eat the cherries out of hand - they become close to sweet cherries. I'm not a fan of cherries, but my Spouse is. However, it's probably about 5' taller than the Meteor. I found a nursery that carries both, so I'll have to talk to them before I make my final decision.

I'm not so much creating a barrier as planting a hedge along a 50' fence. The area I'm planting is about 50' by 20' (20' from the fence to the road). I'll have the cherry at one end of the 50' span, and I'm planning a serviceberry tree - Amelanchier Grandiflora 'Autumn Brilliance' - for the other end. The hedge along the fence between the trees will have hazelnut, perhaps American cranberry, chokecherry, maybe either currents or elderberries - a mix of edibles that may or may not be edible. In front of the hedges will be about an 8' length of native long grass prairie flowers in massive, eye-catching clumps. Or at least this is the plan . . . .

I actually plant for a thicket of chokecherries in another part of the yard, and perhaps some plums, which look so beautiful in the spring. The main thing is that I don't want really messy fruits.

[Tracy]

Whoops! I said in response to Ali, ". . . a mix of edibles which may or may not be edible." I really meant to say, "which may or may not be native." I should hope the edibles are edible!

[Kim]

I might be the only one, but I like to eat sour cherries out of hand, too. :)

I think that you could go with either, as long as you are okay with pruning the Evans Bali if it should start to get out of hand. After all, if you can fan-train cherry trees you should be able to keep one fairly contained through pruning, no?

[Tracy]

Kim: I'm still thinking about getting the Evans Bali and keeping it pruned, but - for me - I start out with the best intentions and then . . . . Well, I could see it not being pruned after awhile!

[Larry]

The Evans was the first in a series of tart cherries produced at the UofS, (sold in the USA as the Bali) for info on the newest and sweetest, check out the new releases. The so called romance series. All are 6-8 ft max, except Crimson Passion which is 4-5 ft tall.Bailey works with Jeffries Nursery in Mamitoba. Bailey handles the Canadian Plants in USA,and Jeffries the American Plants in Canada.
http://sherwoodgreenhouses.squarespace.com/journal/2006/11/9/cherries-for-prairies.html

[Tracy]

Larry - Thanks so much for the info! I will have to check it out. That 6-8 foot tree would be perfect - I wouldn't have to worry about potentially shading part of my vegetable garden.

[My Northern Garden]

I got my cherry tree at Knecht’s nursery in Northfield. It’s located right on highway 19 as you come into town from I-35. (But if you are making a trip, continue on into our great downtown and make a day of it!) Knecht’s has a web site (www.knechts.net) where you can get their phone number. You may want to call to make sure they still have Balis available–although I think I saw some when I was at the nursery buying plants last week. They are great little trees.