Also, some people have commented cornus kousa taste better than cornus mas.

I've also been thinking about getting some, but when their price tag is higher than the best apple varieties its hard to justify buying them.

Even though the name has "cherry" in it, it is not similar to cherries except for its color. The seed inside is large, so berry doesn't have much flesh. Don't look at photos that nurseries advertise, the berry is really not that attractive in person. The fruit is sour and flavorless. It can be eaten only when it is dead ripe, or when in falls of the bush and lays for a couple of days.

So knowing that cornus mas is not that tasty, I still like having a few bushes in my yard, because I like to have a variety of fruits, and I can always buy regular cherries at a store.

I had a single fruit off of my C. mas 'Yellow' [TM] cv. 'Yantarnii' - it was very good, and tasted very much different from the one at the Lehman Orchard.

I'm considering getting Pioneer (cv. Lykyanovskii) - as it has a very good reputation; 'Red Star' also has a good reputation, but I think it said to an unreliable cropper.

I have room for two, but for another - it might be a waste-of-space...

The variety is known as 'Black Plum' (from John Gordon): Lee Reich told me that it's his favorite, of those he's so far tried.

Anyone else try 'Black Plum' - I can see the yellow being different in taste, but I wonder if there's a difference between the selections of red-fruited and, also, black-plum.

Thanks,
Steve