Kleparower Sussweichsel?

Kleparower Sussweichsel is a German phrase meaning “sweet cherry of Klepariv.” It is a dark red morello type of sweet cherry that originated in Poland. It became a popular variety in Germany and was described by German growers Lippold and Boumann in 1824 as “A very appreciable cherry with dark brown colored juice, maturing in August, and just as good for preserving, as it is for cherry juice. The tree becomes very large, and is very commendable, since it fruits annually and plentifully and never suffers from frost.”  Could our new cherry trees be descended from such noble stock?

We recently were gifted three young cherry trees by our neighbor, who had procured them from a man in a nearby town.  This man, with a German heritage, informed our friend that the parent trees had been brought to the United States by his great-grandmother from Germany many years ago. They are a good strong tree, producing numerous tasty, sweet cherries. He had kept the line going and was sharing sproutlings with others in the area.  We gladly seized the opportunity to grow an old heritage breed from Europe.

Our orchard is beginning to mature and is filled with apples, peaches, pears, grapes, and blackberries, but was missing sweet cherries.  Last year, we planted two sour cherries with only one surviving.  The addition of three heritage sweet cherries is a perfect fit. Older breeds tend to resist disease, drought, and frost better than other cultivated varieties of commercial breeds, and we hope that will be the case with the new trees.

With the trees planted and spring in the air, we will patiently wait for the foliage to burst forth in the coming weeks.  While it may be years before we see the fruit of our labor, it is exciting to aid in extending the life of a heritage fruit dating back several centuries. The German sweet cherries are now planted next to our old German blackberries as we await the blooms and blossoms of spring.