Cultivar 302: Ruby

Ruby is a prairie Prunus name with an unresolved identity. Saskatchewan sources record a Ruby from Rosthern as a seedling of Compass, linked to Seager Wheeler or Dr. S. Wheeler, and one index gives the year 1934.[S1] [S3] A South Dakota source uses the same name for a red fleshed Hansen bush cherry first offered in 1946.[S2] The available evidence does not show that these records describe the same cultivar, so Ruby is best treated as a disputed or duplicated name, not a single settled entry.[S1] [S2] [S3]

If the Rosthern Ruby is the cultivar in question, it belongs to the hardy prairie plum and sand cherry breeding work built around Compass and related bush fruit selections.[S1] [S3] Leslie describes it as a Compass seedling from Rosthern, Saskatchewan, with a spreading bush that is not vigorous but is very hardy, productive, and dependable, though the fruit is rated below Compass in quality.[S3] The prairie index supports the Rosthern connection and Compass seedling origin, but another entry under the same name lists the parentage as unknown while still linking it to Dr. S. Wheeler and Rosthern.[S1]

The South Dakota Ruby has a different profile. Hansen's 1946 novelty circular presents it as a red flesh bushcherry selected from the native sand cherry, Prunus besseyi, after fifty years of selection and seventeen generations.[S2] It is described as having black skin, red sweet flesh, fruit about 7/8 inch across, and good quality for red sauce.[S2] The bush is said to be upright spreading, strong growing, and productive, and also productive when budded on native plum roots.[S2]

Hardiness evidence is strongest for the Rosthern Ruby, which Leslie calls very hardy in a prairie orchard context.[S3] The Hansen circular also places Ruby within a northern hardy breeding program for the northern Great Plains, but it does not give a formal zone rating.[S2] Sources therefore support Ruby as a cold climate Prunus name, but not yet as one clearly defined cultivar.[S2] [S3]

The main historical interest of Ruby is this collision in prairie fruit history. One source trail points to Seager Wheeler's Rosthern material and the Compass line.[S1] [S3] Another points to N. E. Hansen's red fleshed bushcherry work in South Dakota.[S2] Until more records connect or separate them clearly, Ruby remains an important cautionary case in prairie cultivar nomenclature.[S1] [S2] [S3]

Summary source basis

• S1: An index of fruit cultivars tested or developed on the Canadian prairies.
• S2: Northern Plant Novelties for 1946
• S3: TreeFruitsGrownInPrairieOrchards WRLeslie 1946 HQ
• S4: Daniels planting guide, 1950

This summary currently draws chiefly from Northern Plant Novelties for 1946, with 3 additional supporting sources linked below.

Featured source descriptions

“The usual flesh color of the selected native sand cherry, Prunus Besseyi, known as the Hansen Bush cherry, is green.”
— ^[3]

“After 50 years of selection and 17 generations, the red flesh is described as a highly desirable variation.”
— ^[3]

“Named in the numbered list under the heading 'Offered for the First Time.'”
— ^[3]

“Scions only available for early spring at $1.00 per foot.”
— ^[3]

Direct parent cultivars

• No direct linked parent cultivars promoted yet.

Parentage claim text

• Listed with pedigree/background as unknown.

Derived or downstream cultivar links

• No derived or downstream lineage links yet.

Source-story quotations

• RUBY - Aheavy producer with much higher coloring and better quality than McDonald.Daniels planting guide, 1950, p28
• RUBY - Aheavy producer with much higher coloring and better quality than McDonald.Daniels planting guide, 1950, p28
• RUBY - Aheavy producer with much higher coloring and better quality than McDonald.Daniels planting guide, 1950, p28
• RUBY - Aheavy producer with much higher coloring and better quality than McDonald.Daniels planting guide, 1950, p28

Taxonomy context: No family-tree context surfaced yet.

Related cultivars mentioned in source context