Cornelian cherry – Cornus mas

Description

Description

Cornelian cherry is a deciduous fruit tree from the Cornaceae (dogwood) family, native to Southern Europe and Southwestern Asia. It produces juicy, red fruit with a nice acid flavour (a bit like plum) that are 2cm long and 1.5cm wide – that look a bit like cherries (hence the name). Cornelian cherries have been bred since ancient times in Eastern Europe, where there are many named varieties. They are slightly unusual in flowering during late Winter, with beautiful bright yellow flowers which are very welcome by bees at this time. The fruit are usually ripe at the end of Summer, and must be fully ripened to be edible (otherwise they are astringent).

Cornelian cherries can handle deep frosts down to -25°C once mature, so are suitable for basically the entire country. They are not too fussy with soil and will grow in most soils including heavy clay, although moist soils are preferred. Plants are hermaphrodite, but a few trees with cross-pollination gives better fruit set. They are quite tolerant of pests as well unlike real cherries. They are not rapid growers in New Zealand conditions from what I’ve seen.

These seeds were freshly imported from Europe, from a mixture of named varieties selected for larger and sweeter fruit.

Cornelian cherries are relatively rare in New Zealand, and as far as I’m aware there are no selected varieties in NZ either. I have seen a few trees fruiting in Nelson however.

Seeds per packet: 4

Growing Instructions

These seeds are already cold-stratified and only need to be hydrated (soak in water for 1-2 days), and then can either be planted, or kept in a bag of sphagnum moss until ready to sprout. Sometimes they will require a second season to sprout so don’t throw them out if they have not sprouted after some time – give them a second cold-stratification period. I have heard that acid treatment helps greatly as well (simulates passage through a bird 🙂 ).

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