NUTBERRY BLACK A variety which was originally from Bapchild Court, near Sittingbourne, in Kent, but was later widely planted and is now recognised as a Universal Pollinator. It was so-named because the fruit was thought to have a nutty flavour. The fruit is produced early to mid-season; medium-sized or large; roundish and slightly asymmetric. It ripens to black, with a shiny skin, rather firm but with juicy flesh and a good flavour. The tree is quite vigorous, becoming wide-spreading, with good crops. Early-middle flowering.
  
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

PRESTWOOD BLACK It has also been called Little Black, the cherries being known locally as Chuggies. As with Black Eagle, it was brought to our attention by George Lewis of Prestwood, Buckinghamshire and new trees were grafted by us, just in time. The only old tree left had reached the end of its life in the garden of the late Mr Maurice Randall, formerly part of a large commercial cherry orchard in Prestwood, owned by his forebears. It was probably over 100 years old. The name is not recorded in any historic literature, though it has been well known locally. A small, black, sweet dessert cherry, with a little sharpness, ripe mid-season, long also used for pies, bottling and as a strong dye. Middle-flowering.

  
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

  

PRESTWOOD WHITE HEART Another of the survivors of Prestwood, in the garden of the home of Mrs Jones. Her house was built in the 1930s on the site of an orchard formerly owned by a Mr Peddle. The tree is over a century old and was probably planted by him. The name came down through the years, intact, to Mrs Jones. There are different White Hearts that have been known around the country and it is a generic term, but this cherry is different from the White Heart ‘A’ we also list. A sweet and juicy pale-fleshed, midseason cherry, of medium size and with a cream skin that is blushed amber in the sun. Middle-flowering.

    
 

RONALDS' HEART It has also been called Reynold's Heart and is a variety local to Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire. It does not appear in the early literature, but the name alone suggests it must be 18th or very early 19th century, the famous nursery of Hugh Ronalds being well established in the early 19th century. Hogg refers to a Ronald’s Black Heart, in 1884, which he says is the same as Black Tartarian, and therefore different from this. The fruit is large or very large and heart-shaped. It is nearly black, but with paler stripes, and very shiny skin. The flesh is dark red, soft, juicy, and of good quality. The full sweetness only develops when the cherries turn very dark, being a bit watery when red. It fruits mid season. Incompatible with Early Rivers and Bedford Prolific. Middle-late flowering.

    
   
RUTH TOLMAN In 2006 we kept some pips from cherries we had been sampling. Unfortunately we did not keep a record of the variety, to give one parent, though they were open pollinated. The pips were sown and one grew. New seedlings are often more vigorous than grafted trees and so it proved, the tree growing strongly but not fruiting until 2015. Though many interesting potential crosses of fruit have occurred to us, this has been the only new tree we have raised so far. The dark cherries are quite large, juicy and richly sweet, with red flesh, in the latter part of the mid season. Named after Derek’s mum, who loved cherries. Early to middle flowering.
    
 
SMOKY DUN Middle-season fruit, becoming black, with flesh of soft dark red and moderately juicy. Grubb, in 1949, obtained it from Herefordshire but it has also long been local to the West Midlands. Trees are vigorous and good croppers. One of the universal pollinators. Middle-late flowering.
   
 
STRANG LOGGIE We obtained scions of this cherry, many years ago now, from the National Collection at Brogdale. Their listing of cherries in the 1990s had this variety down as an early season sweet cherry. However, Grubb, in his book ‘Cherries’ in 1949, described Strang Loggie as having been obtained from a cherry grower in Buckinghamshire, who had it from the Channel Islands, and as being a late to middle season fruit. Some of the cherries at the National Collection had been subject to errors in re-grafting the collection and it might be that the cherry we have as Strang Loggie is something else, the original being lost and the error discovered later. Meanwhile the National Collection no longer has this variety in its collection and it does not appear to be in any other collection or private hands as far as we can discover. Whatever it is, it is a good and probably old cherry that deserves preservation. It is an early flowering, early season cherry with dark red skin and juice, which is sweet with a slight tang.
    
   
STRAWBERRY HEART Once often grown around King’s Langley, in Hertfordshire. The fruit ripens mid to late season; it is slightly small on young trees, but large on older ones. Heart-shaped, with a shiny red skin which darkens as the fruit ripens, and with yellow flesh, which is quite juicy. Trees are erect and vigorous. One of the universal pollinators. Middle-late flowering.
    
   
WATERLOO A dessert cherry grown in Thomas Andrew Knight's orchard and introduced in 1815 after the battle of Waterloo. It is also known in Herefordshire as Strawberry Amber. It is one of the oldest known varieties still available. The exceptionally high quality fruit has dark red flesh, soft and juicy, with dark red skin. The cherries are medium sized and ripen mid season. Its compact habit makes it a popular garden tree. Incompatible with Frogmore Early. Early-middle flowering.
    
   
WHITE HEART ‘A’ There is more than one cherry with the name White Heart. The one we have as White Heart ‘A’ is from the National Collection and was locally grown in Buckinghamshire. Hogg (1884) wrote about only one White Heart, with synonyms Amber Heart, Dredge’s Early White, Kentish White, and White Transparent. Bunyard wrote of two, with differing flowering and fruiting characteristics. Trees of White Heart A are vigorous and densely spreading, and can be slow to come into fruit. The fruit is ripe midseason or later, and closely matches the description given by Hogg. It is medium sized, heart-shaped, creamy-white on the shaded side, and mottled dull red on the side exposed to the sun. The flesh is pale yellow, juicy, sweet and with a good flavour. Middle flowering.
    
   
YELLOW BIGARREAU This unnamed variety was simply known as Yellow Bigarreau by the late Martin Stevens of Holmer Green, Buckinghamshire. He provided us with several important old cherries. Then in his 90s, he was associated with a local orchard, managed for Haslemere Estate, since 1928. The orchards were planted around 1820-1850 and his family, back to his great grandfather, worked with the fruit. The orchards have now almost all gone but many of the best old varieties, some now important rediscoveries, were regrafted and relocated by his family to their home orchard. Yellow skin with occasional red patches and described as a White Heart (white flesh) by Martin Stevens. A medium sized, sweet and juicy dessert cherry which is ripe mid-season. Middle to late flowering.
   
   
YELLOW SPANISH A very old cherry which is probably the White Spanish of Parkinson (1629), since the latter disappears from the writings at the same time as Yellow Spanish appears. Old works talk of a white and a black ‘Spanish’, ‘white’ usually meaning ‘pale yellow’. Parkinson said it “is an indifferent good bearer, the leafe and blossome somewhat large, and like the Luke Wardes cherrie; the cherries are reasonable faire berries, with long stalkes and great stones, white on the outside, with some rednesse, on the one side of a firme substance, and reasonable sweet, but with a little aciditie, and is one of the late ripe ones.” Yellow Spanish was considered by Hogg (1884) to be a synonym of Bigarreau, there being a multitude of bigarreau cherries but just ‘Bigarreau’ has been said to go back to Pliny the Elder, in the 1st century, under the name Duracina. Forsyth (1810) described Yellow Spanish briefly - “is of an oval shape and amber colour, and is a sweet pleasant fruit. It is ripe in August and September.” This is the fruit we have brought back from America. We find it fruits a little earlier than Forsyth suggests. It is pale yellow with a warm blush, the flesh is pale, almost freestone, juicy, sweet and with a tangy lemon flavour. A good cherry. Middle flowering.