Lapins Cherry

Lapins cherry trees perform best in full sun with well-drained, deep loamy soil at pH 6.0-7.0. Plant bare-root trees in late winter, spacing standard trees 20-25 feet apart or 10-14 feet on semi-dwarfing rootstocks like Gisela 6. As a self-fertile variety, Lapins does not require a pollinizer, though cross-pollination with another sweet cherry can increase yields.

Provide consistent deep watering weekly during the growing season, tapering off as fruit colors to reduce cracking. Lapins needs 700-800 chill hours and is slightly more crack-resistant than Bing. Train to an open-center form with 3-4 well-spaced scaffold branches. Prune in late winter to remove crossing branches and maintain an open canopy for light penetration.

Apply a balanced fertilizer in early spring before bud break. Net trees before fruit begins coloring to protect from birds. Lapins benefits from thinning heavy fruit clusters to improve size and reduce biennial bearing. Monitor for brown rot during humid weather and apply preventive fungicides at bloom.

Lapins cherry was developed at the Agriculture Canada Research Station in Summerland, British Columbia, released to the public in 1983 after years of careful selection within the programme's fruit breeding work. It is a deliberate cross between two landmark varieties: Van, a firm, rich, mid-season sweet cherry from Washington State that became one of the most widely planted commercial varieties of the 20th century, and Stella, the variety that made history as the first confirmed self-fertile sweet cherry ever developed — also bred at Summerland and released in 1968.

The significance of that parentage cannot be overstated. Sweet cherries (Prunus avium) are almost universally self-infertile in their wild and traditional cultivated forms, requiring cross-pollination from a compatible second variety to set fruit. This limitation had constrained cherry growing for centuries, forcing growers to plant multiple trees and manage compatible variety combinations. Stella broke this barrier for the first time, and Lapins inherited and consolidated this self-fertility while combining it with the larger fruit size and firm flesh quality of Van — producing a variety that offered everything commercial and home growers wanted in a single tree.

The broader story of cherry cultivation from which Lapins emerged stretches back thousands of years. The wild sweet cherry, Prunus avium, is native to the temperate forests between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea — in the region of modern Turkey, Georgia, and Armenia — and wild specimens still grow throughout Europe and western Asia. Archaeological evidence places human consumption of wild cherries at least 8,000 years ago. The Romans formalized cherry cultivation in Europe, and by the medieval period monasteries across northern and central Europe maintained extensive cherry orchards, selecting and preserving superior fruiting types.

European settlers carried cherry cultivation to North America in the 17th century, and by the 19th century the Pacific Northwest — Washington State, Oregon, and British Columbia — had been identified as climatically ideal for sweet cherry production. The dry summers, fertile soils, and cold winters of this region provided exactly what cherries needed, and a substantial commercial industry developed there. It was within this Pacific Northwest tradition that the Summerland Research Station was established and that the sequence of breeding work leading to Stella and then Lapins took place.

Following its release, Lapins spread rapidly across the cherry-growing world. It is now planted commercially and in home orchards across the United Kingdom, continental Europe, New Zealand, Australia, Chile, and throughout North America, valued universally for the same three qualities: confirmed self-fertility, large and very firm fruit, and late-season harvest timing that extends the fresh cherry season further than almost any other widely available variety.

Lapins prefers deep, well-drained sandy loam soil with pH 6.0-7.0. Avoid heavy clay soils that retain water around roots. Fertilize in early spring with a balanced 10-10-10 formula, about one pound per inch of trunk diameter. Supplement with calcium to strengthen fruit cell walls and reduce cracking. Apply boron at bloom if deficiency is suspected. Maintain a 3-4 inch mulch ring of wood chips around the tree, keeping mulch away from the trunk.

Lapins cherries ripen in mid-July, about two weeks after Bing. Fruit turns deep dark red to near-black when fully ripe and should be firm with a sweet flavor. Pick with stems attached by gently lifting and twisting. Harvest in morning when temperatures are cool for best keeping quality. A mature dwarf tree yields 30-50 pounds, while standard trees produce 80-120 pounds. Refrigerate immediately after picking.

Lapins cherries keep 10-14 days refrigerated at 32-34°F due to their crack-resistant, firm flesh. Their excellent firmness makes them ideal for freezing whole or pitted. They can be dried, canned in light syrup, or made into preserves and cherry butter. Lapins is well-suited for making cherry liqueur, kirsch, and cherry juice concentrate due to its high sugar content and intense color.

Lapins cherries are superb for fresh eating, with their large size and firm, sweet flesh. They work beautifully in cherry tarts, cobblers, and pies, holding their shape well when baked. Their firm texture makes them ideal for chocolate-dipped cherries and fruit salads. They also produce deeply colored cherry juice and make outstanding cherry jam.