California growers rave about the early coloring Royal Rainier cherry, but nurseries and researchers warn that varieties may not perform the same in different areas. The Royal Rainier cherry has failed to live up to expectations for Washington State orchardist Frank Lyall. It may be big, and it may ripen earlier than the original Rainier cherry, but at his Mattawa orchard, it tastes like oxidized wine and has a sulfurous aftertaste, he says. “It’s totally inedible. We’re looking at either having to graft those trees over or bulldoze them out. We paid a tremendous premium for those trees. I don’t […]