Schubert Chokecherry vs Nanking Cherry - TreeTime.ca

Schubert Chokecherry vs Nanking Cherry

Prunus tomentosa

Prunus virginiana Schubert

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2025)

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Nanking Cherry
Schubert Chokecherry

Nanking Cherry is a small deciduous shrub known for its attractive white blossoms and edible fruit. Its dark red berries are excellent for pies, jellies, and even fresh eating.

Nanking Cherry is highly regarded as a shade tolerant fruit. We often see it planted as a hedge on the north side of a house where few other plants will survive, let alone thrive.

Expect fruit mid to late July. The fruit can vary in sweetness and size considerably. We often hear that people prefer it to sour cherries. Perhaps this is because Nanking Cherry is more closely related to plums. In fact, it is sometimes used as a dwarfing rootstock for plums.

Schubert Chokecherry is similar to a western chokecherry but features beautiful purple-red leaves throughout the summer.

This small, flowering tree is perfectly suited as an ornamental for city yards.

The fruit from this tree is a staff favourite for jams, jellies, and wines.

Nanking Cherry Quick Facts

Schubert Chokecherry Quick Facts

Zone: 2a
Zone: 2a
Height: 2.4 m (8 ft)
Height: 7 m (23 ft)
Spread: 2.1 m (7 ft)
Spread: 4 m (12 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: full sun
Moisture: normal
Moisture: normal
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: fast
Life span: short
Life span: short
Suckering: low
Suckering: high
Maintenance: medium


Toxicity: Toxic to animals with segmented stomachs (horses, cattle, deer moose, etc.)
Fall colour: dark red
Flowers: white, early spring
Flowers: white
Fruit: scarlet sweet but slightly tart cherries, 8-12 mm diameter
Fruit: edible dark red berries, 10mm diameter, pitted, tart, good
Berries: scarlet sweet but slightly tart cherries, 8-12 mm diameter
Berries: edible dark red berries, 10mm diameter, pitted, tart, good
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Other Names: ando cherry, chinese bush cherry, chinese dwarf cherry, downy cherry, hansens bush cherry, korean cherry, manchu cherry, mountain cherry, shanghai cherry