Lapins (also marketed as Cherokee) is a

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

cherry A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet '' Prunus avium'' and the sour '' Prunus cerasus''. The na ...

. It is a hybrid of the

Van A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. There is some variation in the scope of the word across the different English-speaking countries. The smallest vans, microvans, are used for transporting either goods or ...

and

Stella Stella or STELLA may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media Films * ''Stella'' (1921 film), directed by Edwin J. Collins * ''Stella'' (1943 film), with Zully Moreno * ''Stella'' (1950 film), with Ann Sheridan and Victor Mature * ''Stella'' (1955 ...

cultivars. It has been awarded the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ...

.Award of Garden Merit Plants - Fruits and Vegetables
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Cultivar history

The Lapins cultivar was developed in Summerland,

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

at the Summerland Research Station. It was one of the varieties developed by the agronomist Karlis O. Lapins (Lapiņš), a native of

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

who did pioneering work in the development of

self-fertile Self-incompatibility (SI) is a general name for several genetic mechanisms that prevent self-fertilization in sexual reproduction, sexually reproducing organisms, and thus encourage outcrossing and allogamy. It is contrasted with separation of sexe ...

cherry cultivars. Though the cultivar was not released until 1983, years after his retirement, it was named in his honor.

Tree characteristics

The Lapins cherry tree grows to 2.5 to 4 meters tall, with a 2.5 to 4 meters spread. It has dense, green foliage and a branch structure conducive to heavy yields."Lapins and Sunburst Sweet Cherry"
Canadian Journal of Plant Science 64:211-216 (Jan. 1984) Like its parent variety Stella, the Lapins cherry is self-fertile and an excellent

pollinator A pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female carpel, stigma of a flower. This helps to bring about fertilization of the ovules in the flower by the male gametes from the pollen grains. Insects are ...

for other cherry varieties.

Fruit characteristics

The fruit of the Lapins cultivar is regarded as very high quality. It turns deep red well before it is ready to pick, and unlike some varieties it is sweet while still red. Lapins is a late-season cherry, ripening about 2 weeks later than the

Bing cherry Bing is a highly popular cultivar of the wild or sweet cherry (''Prunus avium''), that originated in the Pacific Northwest. The Bing is the most popular sweet cherry in the United States, making up 50% of Washington's nation-leading cherry crop. ...

. They are noted for having good split resistance.

References

{{Cherries Cherry cultivars Crops originating from Canada