| Cultivar Name: |
Napoleon (Royal Ann)
|
| Type |
Cherry |
| Synonyms |
'Royal Ann', 'Royal Anne', 'Napoleon Wax', 'Emperor Francis Cultivar', Ox Heart', 'Oxheart' 'Queen Ann', 'Napoleon Bigarreau', 'Wellington'
|
| Patent |
Not Patented
|
| Species |
Prunus avium
|
| Usage |
Scion
|
| Products |
Canning
Culinary
Fresh Market
Preserves
|
| Taste |
Sweet
|
| Chill Requirement |
700 chill hours required
|
| Bloom Time |
Zero
days relative to Bing
|
| S Genotype |
S3S4 |
| CIG |
III |
| Yield |
High
|
| Flesh Color |
cream
|
| Pit |
Semi-freestone
|
| Ripening time |
Zero
weeks relative to
Bing
|
| Self Compatible |
No - Not Self Compatible
|
| Pollinators |
Black Tartarian, Stella, Van, Lapins, Craig's Crimson. NOT Bing or Lambert.
|
| Description |
HISTORY: The Napoleon cherry, a light, yellow-skinned cultivar, has been called different names through the centuries, several of them relating to royalty. In the West, it’s commonly called Royal Ann, but it’s also gone by the names of Queen Ann, Napoleon Bigarreau, Wellington (used in England when Napoleon was not in favor), and Oxheart. For many years, it was one of the most profitable cherry cultivars grown in the Pacific Northwest.
The origin of Napoleon is unknown. However, as early as 1667, the cherry cultivar was mentioned, according to U.P. Hedrick. Hedrick wrote in his 1915 Cherries in New York report that a Belgian by the name of Parmentier named the cherry after the famous emperor in 1820.
In 1847, Henderson Lewelling brought 700 fruit trees from Iowa to Oregon’s Willamette Valley and established a cherry orchard and the first nursery in the Pacific Northwest. One of the trees was Napoleon Bigarreau. Bigarreau is the French term for firm fleshed. Seth Lewelling joined his brother Henderson in 1850. Seth, who later became famous for developing the Bing cherry, renamed the Napoleon tree Royal Ann, for reasons now long forgotten; one explanation being:
On the Pacific Coast it is grown and sold by nurserymen and fruit-growers alike as Royal Ann, a name given it by its introducer, Seth Lewelling, of Milwaukee, Oregon, who lost the label bearing the old name in taking it across the Continent in early days and gave it a new name. With incomprehensible persistency Western horticulturists maintain this synonym to the confusion of horticultural nomenclature. The American Pomological Society placed Napoleon on its fruit list in 1862, it having been grown in America for at least 40 years before receiving this honor.
Recommended for home and commercial planting.
Commercially used to make Marachino Cherries.
White Oxheart type. Pale yellow fruit with bright red cheeks. Firm, juicy flesh. Fine, very sweet flavor. One of the best for brining. Vigorous, well-shaped tree.
Large fruit. Cream skin with red cheeks. Sweet, tart. Ripens: Early to Mid Season/mid-June to early July depending on location.. Cold Hardy to USDA Zone 5-7. |
| References |
- Fruit, Berry and Nut Inventory. Third Edition. 2001. Seed Savers Exchange, Inc.
- L.E. Cooke Co. Fruit and Nut Tree Variety Descriptions. Link
- Dave Wilson Nursery. Link
- J. AMER. SOC. HORT. SCI., Molecular Typing of S-alleles through Identification,
Characterization and cDNA Cloning for S-RNases in
Sweet Cherry; Link
- Genetic Diversity and Relatedness of Sweet Cherry (Prunus Avium L.) Cultivars Based on Single Nucleotide Polymorphic Markers, Table 1 shows presumed parentage, origin and CIG status, Frontiers in Plant Science 2012; 3:116; Link
- Cherry Harvest Calendar for California, PickYourOwn.org; Link
- Sweet Cherry Pollen Compatability Chart, James Nugent, updated 2013; Link
- FLOWERING TIME AND INCOMPATIBILITY GROUPS – CULTIVAR
COMBINATION IN COMMERCIAL SWEET CHERRY
(Prunus avium L.) ORCHARDS, Fruit Research Institute, Cacak, Serbia; Link
- Cherry Cultivars - Sweet and Tart FACTSHEET, Ontario, Ministry of Ag, Food, and Rural Affairs;
Link
- The Cherries of New York; Link
- Growing Cherries in Virginia, Virginia Tech; Link
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No photos for this cultivar.
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