Prunus avium Bigarreau Lapins - Cherry Tree

The Organic Lapins is a variety of Canadian origin that offers a beautiful, quite late harvest spanning from July to early August. This cherry is large, 2.5 to 3 cm (1in) in diameter, and weighs 8 to 10 grams. It has a heart-shaped (cordiform) form. Its skin is thin, shiny, and orangish-red, becoming bright red when ripe. Its flesh is juicy, firm, melting, crisp, sweet, subtly tangy and fragrant. The Lapins variety can be eaten when barely ripe. This cherry tree has remarkable spring flowering and its upright silhouette allows it to be planted in smaller spaces. It is resistant to cold and adapts well to all types of soils, except overly clayey ones, making it easy to plant in all regions. We recommend planting in autumn. This bacterial-tolerant, disease-resistant cherry tree is easy to grow and requires almost no maintenance.

Plant from Organic Agriculture.

Prunus avium belongs to the Rosaceae family, like the Griottier Cherry (Prunus cerasus). Also known as Wild Cherry or Bird Cherry, it is native to Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa, and has been present in Europe since the Neolithic period (Polished Stone Age). 

The Lapins variety is the result of a cross between the 'Stella' and 'Van' varieties, obtained by Karl Lapins in 1965, in Canada, at the Summerland Station in British Columbia. This Bigarreau cherry tree forms a moderately vigorous tree, with little branching and an upright habit, reaching approximately 5 to 6 metres (16 to 20 feet) high and 3 to 4 metres (10 to 13 feet) spread at maturity. The reddish wood characterises it well as a member of the cherry family. Its habit is suitable for free forms on high or half-stem and low goblet forms. The deciduous foliage is composed of large, 6 to 8 cm (2 to 3in) long, alternate, obovate, irregularly toothed, shiny green leaves which take on autumnal shades of brownish-orange. The semi-late flowering occurs around mid-April, before the appearance of leaves, which can expose it to late spring frosts. The pure white, 2 to 3 cm (1in) in diameter flowers, are simple and grouped in clusters. They can be destroyed by frost from -2 to -3°C, so it is best to plant cherry trees in sheltered, west-facing positions, protected from cold winds in regions that experience late frosts. The abundant flowering often leads to satisfactory fruiting even so. It has remarkably decorative blossom in spring, particularly attractive to bees and butterflies. It is a hardy tree that can withstand temperatures around -20°C, it is suitable for cultivation in all regions including at high altitudes. This cherry tree is self-fertile, the flowers can self-pollinate, so it does not require a companion to bear fruit, but the presence of another variety of cherry tree nearby will increase production. Moreover, the pollen of the Lapins Bigarreau can pollinate several other varieties, making it a universal pollinator.

Prunus avium Lapins offers a harvest that can be more or less abundant depending on the year and can exhibit alternate bearing, allowing the tree to replenish its reserves. To optimize production, this compact and upright variety requires training pruning in the early years to thin out the centre of the tree and better distribute the floral clusters. With a fairly quick start to fruiting, around 3 to 4 years, fruit production becomes optimal after 6 to 7 years. A mature cherry tree (between 10 and 20 years old) produces an average of 25 to 50 kilograms of fruit per year. The fruit is attached to the branch by a fairly short petiole, 3 to 4 cm (1 to 2in) long. Harvesting begins in early July and extends until August. It is important only to pick the fruits when they are ripe, as they do not ripen further, and with their stems to ensure good preservation. Cherries are quite fragile, so they should be harvested carefully with a picking pole or by hand using a ladder.

This very juicy and very sweet cherry is delicious when eaten raw. In cooking, it reveals all its flavours in clafoutis, cakes, crumbles or pies, fruit salads, and as an accompaniment to savoury dishes with white meats (turkey, chicken, veal, duck, etc.). The cherries are also perfect for making jams, preserved fruits in syrup, and preserves. It contains vitamins A, C, and E, phenolic antioxidants, calcium, and copper, with a significant contribution of iron, and is rich in trace elements and fibres, making cherries a healthy choice. The fruits only keep for a few days in a cool place or in the refrigerator. They can also be frozen once washed, dried, stemmed, and pitted.

Cherry trees are very popular and fit well in the garden, planted on a lawn, in an orchard or an edible hedge. Everyone loves cherries and there is a wide range of cherry trees available so it is easy to find a variety to suit.