In southern orchards the sour Dyehouse established itself as a dark red pie cherry at the beginning of the twentieth century. W. T. Hood, one of the South’s most energetic nurserymen, listed the variety’s virtues in his 1907 catalogue: “It produces very regular annual crops; fruit medium; skin bright red, darkened in the sun; flesh soft, juicy, tender, sprightly subacid, rather rich; partakes of both the Morello and Duke in growth, wood, and fruit. We consider it superior to Early Richmond.” A seedling discovered in 1860 by a man named Dyehouse in Lincoln County, Kentucky, it quickly became a fixture in the orchards of central Kentucky. Nurseryman Henry T. Harris popularized it nationally in the 1890s. Some thought it “the most valuable of all Cherries for the South” shortly after the turn of the twentieth century. There was one liability with the variety that proved troublesome in the long term: the Dyehouse did not take to grafting well. It would not attach to the stock wood. This hindered propagation[Kansas State Horticultural Society, The Cherry in Kansas 1900, 75.] It may have been rediscovered in Somerset KY in late 2015.  Dr. Douglas Archbold is monitoring the trees to see if the Dyehouse has indeed returned.  

"In hardiness and general appearance resembles Early Richmond, but is of finer quality and several days earlier; it produces very regular annual crops; fruit medium; skin bright red, darkened by the sun; flesh soft, juicy, tender, sprightly, sub-acid, rather rich partakes of botht he Morello and Duke in growth, wood and fruit; it is very productive.  We consider it superior to Early Richmond." Richmond Commercial Nursery Catalog, Richmond, VA 1897. 

Nurseries that carried Dyehouse Cherries prior to 1920:

Clingman Nusery, Kiethville, LA 1908. Colmant Nursery, West End, AL 1904. Eastern Shore Nursery, Denton, MD 1900. Huntsville Nursery, Huntsville, AL 1892.  Old Dominion Nursery, Richmond, VA 1893-1907. W. T. Hood & Company. Richmond Commercial Nurseries, Richmond, VA 1897. Van Lindley Pomona, NC 1899. Kentucky Nursery, 1907 Louisville, KY. 

Image:  Cherries of New York (1913).

David S. Shields