Regina Production Experience: Over the last few years Regina has been widely planted in northern Europe and is rapidly replacing old standard varieties. Pacific Northwest scientists and growers have, on several occasions, observed high quality Regina fruit in European orchards. The oldest trees in the Pacific Northwest have just come into production so local evaluation of the fruit is limited.
Fruit: Ripens between Lapins and Sweetheart. Fruit quality is high, with firm, dark red cherries averaging 10 row and larger. The flavor is pleasant but rather mild. Reports out of Germany indicate that Regina has consistently produced quality crops even in years of heavy rain. Bloom: Possible pollinizers include Attika (avoid frost pockets), Symphony, Sandra Rose, Schneiders, Sam and Gold. Regina tends towards low productivity, therefore multiple pollinizers are recommended. In addition to the typical pollinizer pattern growers should consider planting a second or third pollinizer in the row. Sam or Gold could be planted with minimal space, pruned hard each year and grown only for their pollen.
Rootstock: Due to low productivity, precocious, productive rootstocks such as Gisela 5, 6 or 12 should be considered.