Skeena Cherry
The Skeena is a late-season sweet cherry cultivar developed in British Columbia. It produces large, dark red to nearly black fruit with firm flesh and excellent sweetness.
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The Skeena variety originated as a hybrid of two unnamed cherry hybrids. One of the parent varieties, 2N-60-7, was a hybrid of Van and Stella, while the other parent, 2N-38-32,[1] was a hybrid of Bing and Stella.[2] It was developed in Summerland, British Columbia at the Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre, for the purpose of providing a high-quality late-season cherry that matures about 14-16 days after Van. The cross was made in 1976 and selected in 1984.[3]
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Trees of the Skeena cherry are vigorous and spreading, with a medium flower density.[3] It is considered significantly easier to manage its habit compared to the Lapins cultivar.[4] Like its Stella ancestor, it is self-fertile.[5] It blooms about 4-5 days later than Bing.[2]
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Skeena is considered a late-season cherry, ripening 12-15 days after Bing.[2] Its fruits are large and very firm, with dark red flesh and dark red to black skin.[4] It has a higher cracking resistance than the standard cultivars.[3] However, very high temperatures for several days can cause the fruit to become too soft, leading to post-harvest problems.[6]
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Kappel, Frank, et al. "'Skeena'sweet cherry." HortScience 35.2 (2000): 306-307.
'Skeena' Sweet Cherry HortScience 35(2):306–307. April 2000
"Five Most Important Attributes of Sweet Cherries and the Varieties that Fill These Needs" Oregon State University Extension Service
(Photo: Flathead Skeena Cherry, August 2023) — our Skeena cherries were so large they maxed out the 9 Row on the size chart, measuring 8–8.5 Row with a Brix sugar content of 25–27, showcasing their exceptional size and sweetness.