Summer field notes
Cold Hardy Plums and Cherry Hybrids: Summer Field Notes
Field note · August 2026
Schubert chokecherry fruit and foliage
schubert chokecherry, or maybe a seedling of schubert. the red/purple leaves contrast with the bright colored unripe fruit through july, and it's just turning red now - this is later than most of the wild chokecherries which are mostly black by now. these yellow red fruit do eventually ripen to a dark red then black and they hang on until late fall and just keep increasing in brix. by contrast the garrington chokecherries are fully ripe by now, they're some of the earliest. the lee red chokecherries, while the leaves are a similar purple have been fully black and ripe for over a week. so while all of the wild plums are just green this week, and the sour cherries are at the end of their season, the chokerherries have this colorful display of fruit all around our place.