Mayday Cherry vs Opata Cherry Plum - TreeTime.ca

Mayday Cherry vs Opata Cherry Plum

Prunus besseyi x salicina Opata

Prunus padus

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

(new stock expected: fall of 2025)

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Opata Cherry Plum
Mayday Cherry

Opata Cherry Plum is considered to be one of the best tasting Cherry Plum varieties. It has a pleasant, sweet flavour and a hint of acidity. They ripen in mid to late August and are well suited to fresh eating, baking, and preserves.

The fruit is closer to a plum than a cherry but is smaller than most plums.The Opata Cherry Plum’s skin is red/green whereas the flesh is yellow-green. The flesh is freestone with a juicy, firm texture. Similar to other stone fruits, it does not store for very long.

The Opata Cherry Plum is a hybrid between a Western Sand Cherry and a Japanese (Chinese) Plum. For fruit production, it needs to be planted with another variety for cross-pollination. Canada Plum and American Plum are considered universal pollinizers.

Mayday Cherry is a small deciduous tree known for its early blooming and fragrant white flowers.

A favourite specimen tree on prairie homesteads, Mayday Cherry produces small black berries that are inedible to people but highly desirable to birds.

Note: This species is currently unavailable. Grow your own using Mayday Cherry seeds at SeedTime.ca.

Opata Cherry Plum Quick Facts

Mayday Cherry Quick Facts

Zone: 2a
Zone: 3a
Height: 2.4 m (8 ft)
Height: 9 m (30 ft)
Spread: 2.1 m (7 ft)
Spread: 8 m (25 ft)
Moisture: normal
Moisture: normal
Light: full sun
Light: full sun
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no
Berries: small black berries
Fruit size: 3 cm in diameter
Flavor: pleasant and sweet, hint of acidity
Harvest: mid to late August
Flowers: early blooming, white
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: medium
Life span: short
Life span: short
Maintenance: medium
Suckering: medium
Suckering: low




Toxicity: seeds and leaves are toxic if ingested
Other Names: opata chum, opata plum cherry
Other Names: common bird cherry, european bird cherry