>La Grande Observer | Union and Wallowa Counties' News Leader

The innovative legacy La Grande’s Don Calder left as a cherry grower will soon be blossoming again in the Grande Ronde Valley.

Blossoming perhaps like never before.

A cherry tree developed and patented by Calder is available for the first time in several years. Eastern Oregon Nursery and Landscaping in La Grande and Enterprise received 100 of the trees Wednesday.

Somewhere, Calder, who died in 1997, is beaming.

“Don always wanted the tree developed here. He felt that if it could be developed here it could be grown anywhere,’’ said Calder’s wife, Mary.

Don Calder, who lived in La Grande about 25 years, died three years after he received a patent for the Redlac cherry he developed.

The Calder Redlac is a cherry that horticulturists can argue is superior to many standard varieties.

The cherry is generally larger than other cherries, has small pits and long stems, has a higher fruit count per cluster than standard cherry varieties and is resistant to cold weather.

Calder also notes that a Redlac cherry tree is able to self-pollinate, a major plus.

“You only need one,’’ Calder said.

The self-pollinating quality also means a Redlac in an orchard will increase the production of other cherry trees.

The cherry was developed by Calder in the 1980s with help from a “rare twist of horticulture fortune.’’

Calder grafted a sport from a Ranier tree into a Lambert sport to increase pollination. Three years later he discovered that the Lambert branch was developing buds that produced a type of cherry he had not seen before. John Ryan, a late La Grande orchardist who had worked with Calder, looked at the fruit and told him:

“You’ve got a new cherry.’’

Thus the Redlac (Calder spelled backwards) cherry was born.

Redlac cherry trees have not been available for sale anywhere until Mary Calder contracted with C&O Nursery in Wenatchee, Wash., in 2006 to have it produce them. The nursery has since grown 800 Redlacs, including the 100 it shipped to Eastern Oregon Nursery and Landscaping.

All the Redlacs are now a year old and will be producing cherries at age three. Calder said it is important to spray and prune them and place nets over them. The nets are needed to protect the trees from birds that eat their cherries.

A can of white paint is also important to have. The paint should be sprayed on a Redlac’s trunk every couple of years to prevent its bark from splitting in the summer. Calder explained that Redlac bark tends to expand and split when it gets hot. White paint prevents this from happening.

Mary Calder said that her husband always wanted his tree to be developed here to help the local economy and “preserve the cold hardiness of the variety.’’

Don Calder developed his tree on an acre of land he bought in 1983. The land was an old abandoned cherry orchard. Don had no idea then how much promise the land had, his wife said.

Today that promise is still being realized.