Cultivar 1404: Older

Older is ambiguous in the available sources. A South Dakota recommendation bulletin lists Older as a black-cap raspberry for several agricultural districts, with winter protection for raspberry plantings [S1]. A University of Minnesota bulletin uses the same name for a hybrid plum. It identifies Older as a P. salicina hybrid in plum pollination tables [S2].

For the raspberry, the evidence is limited to recommendation lists. Older appears with Palmer and Nemaha under black caps for Districts 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, and 12. It also appears with Gregg, Palmer, Nemaha, Kansas, and Columbia for District 7 [S1]. The source does not describe fruit size, flavor, season, cane habit, or origin. The bulletin shows only that Older was recommended in multiple South Dakota districts when winter protection was used [S1].

For the plum, the University of Minnesota lists Older as a hybrid plum with P. salicina background [S2]. In the main hybrid and native plum pollinizer table, it is rated a good pollinizer, has medium bloom season, and is credited with pollinating 18 tested varieties [S2]. In the cherry-plum section, Older plum is rated only fair as a pollinizer in tests on three cherry-plum varieties. Its bloom was considered too early, although pollen abundance was good [S2].

Hardiness evidence is indirect. The raspberry source is a cold-region South Dakota district list and mentions winter protection for black-cap raspberries [S1]. The plum source is based on Minnesota pollination trials. The same bulletin says pure P. salicina was not tested as a pollinizer because it lacked winter hardiness; Older is listed instead as a P. salicina hybrid [S2]. No source in this packet gives a zone rating for either Older entry.

These records should not be merged without more evidence. Older appears in two fruit groups: a black-cap raspberry recommended in South Dakota and a hybrid plum pollinizer tested in Minnesota [S1] [S2]. The packet does not show whether the shared name is coincidental, a spelling issue, or two separate cultivars.

Summary source basis

• S1: A Study of Northwestern Apples
• S2: Pollination Studies with Stone Fruits

This summary currently draws chiefly from Raspberries, Blackberries and Dewberries, with 3 additional supporting sources linked below.

Featured source descriptions

“All should be laid down in autumn and covered with earth for winter protection for best results.”
— ^[4]

“This has proven to be the hardiest of the black-caps as tested at this Station and has borne some fruit but has killed to the ground so that it has demonstrated its sufficient lack of hardiness for profit.”
— ^[3]

“Has borne some fruit.”
— ^[3]

“With winter protection, listed among black-cap raspberries for Districts 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12 and also in District 7.”
— ^[2]

Direct parent cultivars

• No direct linked parent cultivars promoted yet.

Parentage claim text

• No direct breeding_cross claim text yet.

Derived or downstream cultivar links

• No derived or downstream lineage links yet.

Source-story quotations

• Older plum 3 F Too early Good Hybrid plumPollination Studies with Stone Fruits, p7
• Older plum 3 F Too early Good Hybrid plumPollination Studies with Stone Fruits, p7
• Older plum 3 F Too early Good Hybrid plumPollination Studies with Stone Fruits, p7
• Older 18 Medium P. salicina hybridPollination Studies with Stone Fruits, p4

Taxonomy context: No family-tree context surfaced yet.

Related cultivars mentioned in source context