From today...Gypsy

Thanks for trying out new varieties Konrad. I'm sure you'll find something to your liking at some point.

I'll be giving out some scion wood next spring at the scion wood exchange.

Last three on the same branch, grafted last year.

First time ever, got good fruit set on the Manor,..but only right
there where I had a bucket of some water with a bunch of cut flowering western sandcherry in it, [Prunus besseyi] for cross pollination.

Mainly for my own record..this years hot summer pushed ripening ahead by about 2 weeks, Gypsy cherry plum getting ready, don't think I had plums in July.

Epsilon ripening...

Epsilon picked today...a bit of a tough skin but flesh is reather nice, pit was seperated very easily, ..I'd call it a semi free stone.

This is a new plum from a local breeder I'm testing, Sapalta 07 - 01, think it's a very good plum, it gets soft easily, might not be of commercial value but for home growers who cares when it's good!

Could be a complex hybrid,..not sure if it's a cherry plum, a open pollinated Sapalta seedling, breeder thinks it's parent might be Capilano Apricot..from the long slim pit and taste, very aromatic and freestone! Leaves are very healthy and clean!

The only drawback so far is the lack of pollination, similar to other cherry plums we grow here, might need hand pollination.

Good looking leaves, picture taken late in season, [yesterday]...a hint of Apricot I think.

Sweet/spicy/aromatic..would make it ideal for dehydrating if one could have a good crop, for now we need to work out the pollination issue.

With a lack of pollen at the flower it may not look attractive to pollinators as per the foot notes. Anybody know who in Edmonton it was that deserves the credit to these excellent notes?

I see all others of our hardy cherry plums like Manor, Epsilon, New Oka etc..absolutely doesn't attract bees.

Have you checked with Thean Pheh...the owner/ grower of this plum?

Had good pollination the first time, think it helps to have more wild plums near by...have prunus nigra and american, also some other seedlings, also hung some sand cherry branches into the tree in bottle with water and a potted up plant which was in flower. Sandcherry attracts bees..the idea here was...getting bees on the Sandcherry and accidentally land on the cherry plum flowers. Perhaps wind pollination from the wild plums also...still a little mystery in what did the pollination. Thean Pheh was pretty surprised in what he seen when showing these pictures.

Konrad: Thean is who gave me an emailer recently with the sapa hybrid description. He stated he did not do the cross. So I again read his email and see that he means the bees did the cross (ie. open pollinated). So, my mistake, indeed he (Thean) is the originator. Unfortunately he states he is not recognizing any commercial potential to promote it. I find it of value to tinker around with as far as why or what sometimes makes hybrids producing. -can what it"s grafted to be an influence?, or, -is it only the lack of bees activity on it?

I find that most amazing the amount of hybrid plums you managed that way, Thankyou!