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Carmine Jewel Cherry vs Opata Cherry Plum
Prunus besseyi x salicina Opata
Prunus x kerrasis Carmine Jewel
NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON
(new stock expected: fall of 2026)
Opata Cherry Plum is considered to be one of the best tasting Cherry Plum varieties. It has a pleasant, sweet flavour and a hint of acidity. They ripen in mid to late August and are well suited to fresh eating, baking, and preserves.
The fruit is closer to a plum than a cherry but is smaller than most plums.The Opata Cherry Plum’s skin is red/green whereas the flesh is yellow-green. The flesh is freestone with a juicy, firm texture. Similar to other stone fruits, it does not store for very long.
The Opata Cherry Plum is a hybrid between a Western Sand Cherry and a Japanese (Chinese) Plum. For fruit production, it needs to be planted with another variety for cross-pollination. Canada Plum and American Plum are considered universal pollinizers.
Carmine Jewel Cherry is a hardy deciduous shrub and hybrid variety of the University of Saskatchewan Sour Cherry. It produces dark, black cherries with small pits that are good for pies and wine making. The hardiest of the dwarf sour cherry varieties, Carmine Jewel Cherry is a beautiful accent or landscape/orchard tree.
Carmine Jewel is often the first cherry ready in the summer.