20 Interesting Facts about the Lapins Cherry Tree
There are many varieties of cherry trees, with different types of tree found across the globe. In North America, one popular variety is the Lapins cherry tree.
What makes the Lapins cherry tree special?
This tree is notable in a number of ways. Below, you’ll find some of the most interesting facts about the Lapins cherry tree.
1. It’s a Hybrid Tree
The Lapins cherry tree is a hybrid tree that was created at the Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre in British Columbia, Canada. The goal of researchers was to create a better version of the Bing cherry.
To do this, they used two types of trees: the Stella cherry tree and the Van cherry tree. The Lapins cherry tree has some of the most desirable traits of both trees!
2. It’s Named After Dr. Charles Lapins, a Famous Cherry Breeder!
This tree gets its name from Dr. Charles Lapins, a legendary horticulturist. Born in Lativia, Lapins created many new cherry varieties at the Summerland Research Center. He’s considered to be a pioneer in the world of hybrid cherry trees.
While Lapins played an important role in the cultivation of the Lapins cherry tree, he retired before the tree was officially released. Researchers chose to honor the work he had done by naming the tree after him!
3. It Produces Large, Sweet Cherries
Lapins cherries are known for their size and their flavor! The cherries are quite large, typically measuring around an inch in diameter. While the skin of the cherries is bright glossy red, the inside of the fruit is dark red or even purple in color.
The cherries are juicy, plump, and very sweet. They’re delicious when eaten on their own, but they’re also used to make pastries, sauces, jams, and juices. The Lapins cherry tree produces fruit in the summer, and cherries are usually ready to harvest in July.
4. It’s a Flowering Tree
Although this tree is best known for its fruit, it’s also a flowering tree! During the spring, it produces beautiful ornamental blossoms. These flowers are usually white, but they can also be a pale shade of pink.
The tree looks stunning when these blossoms are in full bloom, but unfortunately, they don’t last for long. In many cases, the clusters of blossoms on the tree’s branches won’t stick around for more than a few weeks.
5. It Has Colorful Leaves In the Fall
The Lapins cherry tree is truly a tree for all seasons. Not only does it produce flowers in the spring and fruit in the summer, but its leaves change colors in autumn. These leaves can be red, yellow, and orange.
While the leaves are stunning to look at, it’s actually something that the Lapins tree does to prepare for the winter! The tree uses sunlight to produce a green pigment called chlorophyll, which it feeds on during warmer months. It stops making food in the fall, and because of that, the colors of the leaves start to change.
6. It Can Grow Up to 25 Feet!
A fully grown Lapins tree can be quite large! Trees can reach heights of up to 25 feet, with a diameter of 18 to 25 feet. In comparison, the average two-story house is 20 feet tall.
In order for this tree to reach its full size, it needs enough space to thrive. It’s generally recommended to leave between 18 and 25 feet of space around the tree so that it has room to grow.
7. It Comes In Different Sizes
Even though a Lapins tree can grow to be very large, there are also smaller varieties. These varieties are very popular and are often seen in home gardens. Two popular varieties are the semi-dwarf and dwarf tree.
The semi-dwarf tree is smaller than a standard tree, but it can still grow to be fairly tall, with an average height between 15 and 18 feet. In contrast, the dwarf tree is much smaller, with typical heights between 8 and 14 feet. All three varieties of the tree produce flowers and fruit.
8. It’s Toxic to Certain Animals
The cherries of the Lapins tree can be very tempting, but unfortunately, this tree can be toxic to some creatures. Its pits and its stems contain very small amounts of cyanide. Although it’s harmless to humans, it can be toxic to dogs, cats, and horses, which is why it’s best to keep these animals away from the tree.
In addition to the toxins found in its fruit, the other parts of the tree contain cyanogenic glycosides. This is a naturally defense mechanism that the plant produces when it’s attacked. This substance helps to keep some animals from boring into the bark of the tree.
9. It’s Self-Pollinating
Cherry trees often have to be planted in pairs so that they can be pollinated, but that’s not the case for the Lapins cherry tree! It’s one of only a few sweet cherry tree varieties that’s self-pollinating. A single Lapins tree can pollinate itself and produce both flowers and cherries!
Not only can this tree pollinate itself, but it can also pollinate other types of cherry trees. In fact, it’s the leading pollinator for Bing cherry trees. It gets this trait from the Stella cherry tree, which is also self-pollinating.
10. It Needs Cold Weather
Even though this tree goes dormant in the winter, it still needs cold temperatures in order to thrive. It uses the cold weather to regulate its growth. After around 800 to 900 hours of temperatures between 34 and 45 degrees, the tree assumes that spring has started, and its flowers start to grow.
If the tree doesn’t get enough time in the cold, it may not bloom in the spring. On the other hand, if it’s exposed to too much cold weather, it may bloom too early. Thankfully, the Lapins cherry tree is a cold hardy plant.
11. It’s an Award-Winning Tree!
This tree is popular with commercial growers and gardeners, but it’s also received awards! It was presented with the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit in 2014. This award is designed to recognize plants that make excellent additions to ordinary home gardens.
The society generally presents the award to plants after a trial period. That way, horticultural experts have time to see if the plant lives up to their standards. While any type of plant can win this award, the plant must be healthy, readily available, and resistant to pests and diseases,
12. It Starts Bearing Fruit Early
Many fruit trees don’t start bearing fruit until they reach maturity, but thankfully, that isn’t the case for Lapins cherry trees. These trees are precocious, which means they start bearing fruit while the trees are still young. Most trees start to produce fruit after around 3 to 5 years, but some trees bear fruit in their first year!
Even though this tree starts bearing fruit early on, it’s not prone to the problems that many other varieties of cherry trees have. It’s common for cherries to split open as they grow, which keeps them from being harvested. However, Lapins cherries are very resistant to splitting.
13. It’s Low Maintenance
People love Lapins cherries, but one of the major reasons this tree is popular is that it’s easy to care for. It’s highly adaptable and can thrive in many types of soil. The tree can even grow in urban environments.
While the tree prefers to be planted in locations where it receives at least six hours of sun per day, it can tolerate shade and will still produce plenty of cherries if it’s planted in a spot where it only receives a few hours of sunlight. Like most fruit trees, it needs lots of water, but a thin layer of mulch can help the soil retain water. It’s also more resistant to disease than many other varieties of cherry tree.
14. It’s Popular With Birds!
You can expect to see birds flocking to your yard if you plant a Lapins cherry tree. Birds are drawn to the tree when it first starts to blossom, but they’re even more attracted to its fruit. Many birds love to eat Lapins cherries, and some birds, like the hawfinch, will even eat its pit.
While birds can be a problem, you can usually keep them away with bird netting. This netting doesn’t harm the tree in any way, but it does keep birds from reaching cherries before they can be harvested. Alternatively, you can use a liquid repellant to keep birds away.
15. It Can Grow Quickly
As long as a Lapins cherry tree has ideal growing conditions, it tends to grow fairly quickly. A standard sized tree can grow between 12 and 18 inches per year. It will continue to grow at a fast pace until the tree is fully mature, which usually occurs when the tree is around seven to ten years of age.
The tree will see more growth if it’s pruned at the end of the summer, after its cherries have been fully harvested. After pruning, the tree should be watered heavily. Not only can pruning encourage the tree to grow, but it can also increase the number of flowers and cherries that it produces!
16. It’s a Great Source of Nutrients
People love to eat Lapins cherries because they’re delicious, but they’re also packed with nutrients! They contain anthocyanins, a red pigment that’s also a powerful antioxidant. Studies show that anthocyanins offer many health benefits and have anti-inflammatory properties.
These cherries are also packed with vitamin C and potassium. They’re even a great source of healthy fiber! Lapins cherries can definitely be a treat, but there are plenty of great reasons to add this fruit to your diet.
17. Its Wood Can Be Valuable
Most people that plant a Lapins cherry tree in their yard won’t be chopping it down, but its wood can be very valuable. The wood is reddish-brown and very hard. Even though the wood is very strong, it’s also pliable and can be bent into all kinds of shapes.
This wood is used as a material for furniture, instruments, and is also used to make kitchen cabinets. People also like to burn cherry wood because of the flavors and aromas that it produces. It’s sometimes used to smoke meat and other types of food.
18. It’s a Close Relative of Almond Trees!
The Lapins is a part of the prunus genus, which includes more than 430 species. Many of these species are fruit trees, such as plum, nectarine, and apricot tree. However, it also includes almond trees.
This may seem unusual, but it’s not as strange as you think. Even though almonds are usually referred to as nuts, they’re actually a type of fruit called a drupe. Lapins cherries are drupes as well, which means these two types of trees have a lot in common!
19. It’s a Deciduous Tree
Lapins cherry trees are a deciduous tree. While evergreen plants have green foliage throughout the year, deciduous trees shed their leaves before winter. In fact, the meaning of deciduous is “fall off.”
If you do plant a Lapins cherry tree in your yard, you’ll have to be prepared to rake away leaves in the fall. Deciduous trees also have flat leaves and are typically round in shape. Varieties of deciduous trees can be found all over the world, which means that the Lapins tree is in good company.
20. It Has a Limited Lifespan
There are some trees that can live for centuries, but unfortunately, that’s not the case for the Lapins cherry tree. While this tree is hardy and healthy, it generally lives for around 20 to 30 years.
That’s shorter than many types of trees, but surprisingly, it’s not all that short for a cherry tree. There are many varieties of cherry trees that only live for 16 to 20 years. Even though this cherry tree won’t be around forever, it can still be enjoyed for many years.
