Nanking Cherry vs Diablo Ninebark - TreeTime.ca

Nanking Cherry vs Diablo Ninebark

Prunus tomentosa

Physocarpus opulifolius Diablo

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2025)

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2025)

Nanking Cherry
Diablo Ninebark

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.

Diablo Ninebark is a small, low maintenance, multi-stemmed shrub, that is used to add texture or color to any yard. This plant grows dark purple leaves in the spring and grows slightly faster than Common Ninebark. It features flaky red to brown bark, clusters of white flowers, and long, maple-like leaves. Diablo Ninebark can make a dense and colorful hedge, or it can be an attractive ornamental by itself.

Nanking Cherry Quick Facts

Diablo Ninebark Quick Facts

Zone: 2a
Zone: 3a
Height: 2.4 m (8 ft)
Height: 2.4 m (8 ft)
Spread: 2.1 m (7 ft)
Spread: 1.8 m (6 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: normal
Moisture: dry, normal
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: fast
Life span: short
Life span: short
Suckering: low
Suckering: low
Maintenance: medium


Foliage: reddish-purple
Fall colour: yellow
Bark: brown to red, exfoliating
Flowers: white, early spring
Flowers: white
Fruit: scarlet sweet but slightly tart cherries, 8-12 mm diameter
Berries: scarlet sweet but slightly tart cherries, 8-12 mm diameter
Berries: red
Seeds: inflated seed capsules
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
Other Names: eastern ninebark, purple ninebark