Nanking Cherry vs Staghorn Sumac - TreeTime.ca

Nanking Cherry vs Staghorn Sumac

Prunus tomentosa

Rhus typhina

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2025)

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Nanking Cherry
Staghorn Sumac

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.

Staghorn Sumac is a popular ornamental shrub with red velvet like antlers that produce seeds that provide nice winter interest for landscapers and gardeners.

This low-maintenance plant is a great addition to any garden it is also used in shelterbelts.

Nanking Cherry Quick Facts

Staghorn Sumac Quick Facts

Zone: 2a
Zone: 4a
Height: 2.4 m (8 ft)
Height: 3 m (10 ft)
Spread: 2.1 m (7 ft)
Spread: 3 m (10 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: normal
Moisture: dry, normal
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: medium
Life span: short
Life span: short
Suckering: low
Suckering: low


Flowers: white, early spring
Flowers: small, green-yellow
Fruit: scarlet sweet but slightly tart cherries, 8-12 mm diameter
Fruit: small, red
Berries: scarlet sweet but slightly tart cherries, 8-12 mm diameter
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: ON, QC, NS, NB, PE
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: stags horn sumach, velvet sumac