Star

‘Star’ is a Canadian variety selected at the Summerland Research Station in British Columbia and released in 1949.

The medium to fairly large fruit has a slightly elongated heart shape. When fully ripe, its skin becomes dark purple to almost black. The stalk is medium to short, and the medium-sized stone remains slightly attached to the flesh.

The dark flesh is firm, fleshy and moderately juicy. Its flavour is richly sweet, mild and pleasant, with a fairly subtle aroma. The fruit is mainly intended for eating fresh, but is also suitable for tarts, clafoutis, jams and preserves.

Harvest generally takes place during the first half of July, approximately three weeks after ‘Burlat’. The fruit holds well on the tree and has low susceptibility to cracking and rotting under normal growing conditions.

The tree has weak to moderate vigour and develops a naturally spreading habit. It begins cropping relatively quickly and produces abundant, regular crops that are well distributed throughout the crown. Simplification pruning may be useful over time to maintain an open and balanced structure.

‘Star’ is self-sterile and has the incompatibility genotype S3S4. It must be planted with a compatible late-flowering variety such as ‘Sam’, ‘Annabella’, ‘Castor’ or ‘Sainte-Ghislain’.