Nanking Cherry vs Common Snowberry - TreeTime.ca

Nanking Cherry vs Common Snowberry

Prunus tomentosa

Symphoricarpos albus

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Nanking Cherry
Common Snowberry

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.

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

Common Snowberry is a small deciduous shrub with characteristic white to pink flowers and clusters of white fruit.

This North American native species is very adaptable, and can be used for erosion control in riparian and restoration areas. Snowberry's fruit attracts wildlife, and livestock can consume the berries without issue.

Nanking Cherry Quick Facts

Common Snowberry Quick Facts

Zone: 2a
Zone: 1a
Height: 2.4 m (8 ft)
Height: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Spread: 2.1 m (7 ft)
Moisture: normal
Moisture: dry, normal
Light: full sun
Light: full sun
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no
Berries: scarlet sweet but slightly tart cherries, 8-12 mm diameter
Berries: white waxy berries
Flowers: white, early spring
Flowers: pink to white flowers in spring
Bark: red-brown shredded bark
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: fast
Life span: short
Life span: short
Suckering: low
Suckering: none




Toxicity: berries toxic to humans
Other Names: ando cherry, chinese bush cherry, chinese dwarf cherry, downy cherry, hansens bush cherry, korean cherry, manchu cherry, mountain cherry, shanghai cherry
Other Names: common snowberry