Gray Dogwood vs Porthos Cherry - TreeTime.ca

Gray Dogwood vs Porthos Cherry

Prunus cerasus Porthos

Cornus racemosa

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2026)

CUSTOM GROW

Porthos Cherry
Gray Dogwood

Porthos Cherry is a cold-hardy dwarf sour cherry that features white spring flowers followed by large, dark red fruit in mid-to-late summer. Among sour cherries, Porthos is exceptionally sweet with well-balanced acidity. These cherries are ideal for fresh eating, freezing, baking, winemaking, and preserves.

Porthos Cherry was developed by the University of Saskatchewan Fruit Program as part of the Musketeer series and released in 2022. They recommended growing dwarf sour cherries as a shrub rather than a small tree. The shrub form tends to bear fruit earlier and is less susceptible to winterkill.

Sour cherries are self-fertile; however, planting with additional varieties for cross-pollination can increase yields.

Gray dogwood is a thicket-forming, deciduous shrub with greenish-white blossoms in open, terminal clusters. Young twigs are red and the fruit pedicels remain conspicuously red into late fall and early winter.

Fruit itself is a white, 1/4 in. drupe that usually does not remain on the shrub for long.

Great for naturalizing wild areas, this shrub attracts birds and other wildlife.

Porthos Cherry Quick Facts

Gray Dogwood Quick Facts

Zone: 2a
Zone: 4a
Height: 1.8 m (6 ft)
Height: 3 m (10 ft)
Spread: 1.8 m (6 ft)
Spread: 3 m (10 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: any
Moisture: normal
Moisture: any
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: slow
Life span: medium
Life span: medium
Growth form: semi upright, compact
Spreading: suckering - low
Suckering: medium
Maintenance: medium


Fall colour: deep, reddish puple
Flowers: white
Bloom time: mid to late spring
Fruit: deep red
Flavor: sweet with balanced acidity
Harvest: mid to late summer
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: MB, ON, QC
Other Names: porthos sour cherry