Red Star Cornus Mas is a Ukrainian cultivar of cornelian cherry that transforms a modest ornamental shrub into a powerhouse fruit producer. Originally released in 1990 from Kyiv's prestigious Hryshko National Botanical Gardens, this variety bears glossy dark red, oval fruits with remarkable productivity, yielding over 100 pounds from a mature 15-year-old tree. Hardy from zones 4 to 9 and frost-tolerant, Red Star thrives in full sun with moderate water and neutral soil, ripening its pungent, delicious fruit in late August.
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A mature Red Star Cornus Mas can produce over 100 pounds of fruit annually, making it one of the most prolific cornelian cherry cultivars available to home gardeners. Each glossy dark red oval fruit weighs approximately 6.5 grams and contains 7.5% sugar, delivering a distinctive tart-sweet flavor that gardeners describe as pungent and delicious. This Ukrainian heirloom was born from decades of careful breeding work and represents the cutting edge of cornelian cherry improvement at the national level.
Red Star Cornus Mas produces edible fruit that can be harvested fresh or preserved. The high sugar content (7.5%) and tart character of the dark red fruits make them well-suited to fresh eating, processing into jams and preserves, or use in traditional preparations where the distinctive pungent flavor adds complexity.
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Red Star Cornus Mas is typically propagated from cuttings or purchased as a nursery plant rather than grown from seed. If germinating seed, stratify at 40 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
Harvest the dark red, glossy fruits in late August when they reach full color and feel slightly soft to the touch. Individual fruits average 6.5 grams and should be picked at peak ripeness for maximum sweetness and that characteristic pungent flavor. The oval fruits are easy to spot against the foliage once they've developed their rich dark red color.
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“Red Star carries the proud heritage of post-Soviet fruit breeding in Ukraine. Originally known as Vydubetskyi, this cultivar was developed through the breeding work of Svitlana Klymenko at the Hryshko National Botanical Gardens in Kyiv, which operates under the Ukrainian National Academy of Sciences. Released in 1990, it represents a significant achievement in cornelian cherry improvement, selected specifically for its exceptional productivity and superior fruit quality. The variety emerged from institutional horticultural science aimed at creating fruit crops suited to the Ukrainian climate and soil conditions.”