Stemilt Growers LLC, a longtime grower-shipper headquartered in Wenatchee, WA, whose roots can be traced to the early 1900s, has had a California cherry deal since the beginning of this century.

Communications Manager Brianna Shales said the California deal began around 2000 when the Washington firm bought an established Stockton, CA, company and opened its subsidiary Chinchiolo Stemilt California LLC. This year, the California operation is expected to deliver its first cherry to the packing shed in the April 18-22 time frame. Shales said volume will ramp up quickly with Stemilt selling the vast majority of its approximately 750,000-carton California crop during the first three weeks of May. Shales said that should represent about 10 percent of the total California crop, if all goes well.

“We will have a lot of fruit available for Mother’s Day promotions,” she said.

Shales added that the early fruit is coming from California’s most southern cherry producing districts. The more northern areas, which are around the company’s headquarters in Stockton, do not have as heavy a set and so the Stemilt spokesperson said her firm’s California cherries probably won’t last to Memorial Day in late May.

In fact, the company might have a short gap in supplies between California and the Northwest production. While California is as much as two weeks ahead of schedule, Northwest cherry trees are running one week behind normal timing. She added that except for the possibility of this short, late May/early June gap, Stemilt will be marketing domestic cherries from the last week of April until early September.

Shales said all of the firm’s cherries will be packed in the “world famous Stemilt cherry label.” The company utilizes both clamshells and a random-weight pouch bag for retail display. She said the clamshell is growing in popularity so Stemilt has enhanced its clamshell capabilities in California this year.

The company offers many different varieties of cherries including several in the “Royal” family. In addition, she called the Champagne Coral “an emerging variety” that should only trail the Bing in total volume this year from California.