Hungarian Cornelian Cherry Seeds-Scions

Currently unavailable Edible Cherry Dogwood - Fruits in the Shade

Cultivated for use in sauces, conserves, and marmalades. Fruits are eaten fresh, dried, preserved in syrup, wine, sauces and unripe fruits pickled and made into olives. Similar in flavor to a very tart cherry. High in vitamin  C and pectin. Fruits start ripening in August. No insect or disease problems associated with the fruit or tree. Bright yellow flowers in March. Always has a good crop of fruit. Our seed tree is originally from Hungary. It is a darker fruited type with excellent flavor and not as ascorbic when fully ripe. Seeds are doubly dormant and require two seasons to germinate. Even in the third year some seeds will sprout as the seeds themselves contain up to 3 seeds within the boney shell. 

"Hungary"  Ripens to almost to a black color which is ideal flavor-wise removing the somewhat ascorbic acid effect on your tongue when eating fresh off the tree. Processed this is an ideal plant to do this with as the fruits hang on late with little degradation. "Hungary" has a huge yield and is easy to harvest. Very reliable in production even with successive late frosts. Could be used for drinks or sauces where you cannot grow sour cherry due to early flowering or disease. This is a good substitute in some ways but lets face it, it will not replace the Montmorency sour cherry. 

To germinate the seed:  This is a tricky one. Seed remains viable for 4 years in the soil and usually takes two seasons to complete. Each seed has multiple embryos so in case one embryo fails there is at least one back up.  Fall plant the seed outside 1/2 inch deep. Mulch if you can as this will help with the breakdown of the outer seed coat. Once the seed coat slowly breaks down the seeds will emerge in 1-2 years and some in the 3rd year. Always a few sprout the first year too. 

For indoor germination-one by one: For small batches try lightly sanding the seed and then put in the fridge for 60-120 days in lightly moist Canadian peat moss before removing. Some seeds will sprout very quickly in the fridge or out and you have to get them planted and potted right away. Otherwise you will have to do the double dormancy dance a few times to get full germination. Usually the vast majority of seeds will sprout in the second dormancy.

1000 seeds plus 3 scions