Capulin cherries - is Emerich #1 self fertile?

[Reedo]

I had hundreds of flowers on my Emerich #1 tree this year during good weather and had zero fruit set. Does anyone know if they are self fertile? My tree if about 5’ tall, so it should be mature enough to hold some fruit.

[Epiphyte]

i don't know whether it's self-fertile, but a couple days ago i grafted several capulin cherry scions onto a couple catalina cherries.  hopefully the grafts will take and subsequent cross-pollination will eventually produce a hybrid that embodies the best of both worlds.

i've only tasted one catalina cherry.  the fruit was large, and tasted good, but there was barely any flesh.  i haven't tasted a capulin cherry yet.  from what i've read the fruit is smaller but more fleshy with a resin taste.

have you tasted many of either fruit? 

it's crazy that i've only recently learned about prunus ilicifolia... now i see it everywhere.  i also recently learned about prunus salicifolia but so far i've only seen it in a few gardens.

somebody must have already tried grafting and/or crossing them?

when i was grafting the cherries, it was remarkable just how pungent the capulin scions were.  the smell was a bit unpleasant, but there was more than a hint of something nice... like fruity or a berry.  it smelled very familiar but i just couldn't place it.

the 1st time my dendrobium lituiflorum bloomed it smelled very familiar.  after weeks or maybe even months i finally figured out that the smell reminded me exactly of watermelon bubblegum, which i hadn't had in decades.

[Reedo]

I’ve had a few Prunus ilicifolia fruits, and had a similar experience. They were mild, but pleasant, with subtle sugar and very little flesh. So much so, they seemed pointless to grow for fruit, unless you had a passion for breeding, and 30 years to spend on the species. Haha… Maybe a cross could be made to make a more desirable fruit?

In regards to Prunus salicifolia, I have only tasted Emerich #1, which was pretty good. If I’m remembering correctly, even slightly underripe fruit  was pretty astringent and unpleasant. A little funky tasting. Not much margin for error in picking good fruit. However, the perfectly ripe fruit were delicious. They were slightly smaller than sweet cherries, but had a good flesh to seed ratio.

I probably had 200 flowers on my 5’ tree, so I’m suspicious it need a pollinator.

[Galatians522]

That sounds pretty good to me! I have wanted to try Capulin for years.

[boticarioa62]

 Hello to everybody! I remember in my teenage years eating capulin cherries (Prunus Salicifolia), There was a mature capulin tree in my neiborhood over 30 feet tall. Any sugestion to how do I get my hands on a small capulin plant or young tree?

[Reedo]

After several years of flower and no fruit, I’m going to say it’s very likely not self fertile, and requires a pollinator. If anyone has scions of another selection, I’d be interested in scions.

[Epiphyte]

the capulin i picked up last year, originally from la verne, flowered and set fruit.  i don't think that there are any nearby capulins.  no idea if la verne is seedling or grafted variety.  the fruit tasted... sunburned... from being potted up and repositioned.  there's a big street tree i tasted last year that was really good, but i think it was cut back this year.  the seeds from it are just starting to sprout. 

now that i'm more familiar with the tree i spot it more often, especially during winter when it looks kinda like a peach tree that still has all its leaves.  gonna make a nuisance of myself knocking on doors asking if i can taste their capulins.  i'll reciprocate by sharing surinam cherry seedlings.

if you don't get a better offer feel free to pm me to trade scions.   

boticarioa62, i planted the la verne capulin in a public food forest in sylmar that i'm starting.  pm me and i'll let you know if it fruits this year. 

oh yeah, there's also one at the conejo valley botanic garden in 1000 oaks.  never visited before but i plant to.  here are other pics of their rare fruit orchard. 

[Rispa]

I’ve had a few Prunus ilicifolia fruits, and had a similar experience. They were mild, but pleasant, with subtle sugar and very little flesh. So much so, they seemed pointless to grow for fruit, unless you had a passion for breeding, and 30 years to spend on the species. Haha… Maybe a cross could be made to make a more desirable fruit?

In regards to Prunus salicifolia, I have only tasted Emerich #1, which was pretty good. If I’m remembering correctly, even slightly underripe fruit  was pretty astringent and unpleasant. A little funky tasting. Not much margin for error in picking good fruit. However, the perfectly ripe fruit were delicious. They were slightly smaller than sweet cherries, but had a good flesh to seed ratio.

I probably had 200 flowers on my 5’ tree, so I’m suspicious it need a pollinator.

Get me seeds and I'll add it to my dream American persimmon project.  😉

[Jack, Nipomo]

Have several Capulin cherries growing here for over 20 years.  Beautiful tree, sets lots of fruit not worthy of eating, very much liked by the local birds who plant seeds all over resulting in little seedlings growing here and there.  Grafted a selection years ago on a mature tree that has been removed, fruit not better.  Still worth growing for birds and landscape value. 

[Reedo]

I found some scions locally. Thanks!

I’ve eaten Emerich #1 before. I thought it was interesting, and some of the fruit was good, but not great.