Nanking Cherry vs Arnold Hawthorn - TreeTime.ca

Nanking Cherry vs Arnold Hawthorn

Prunus tomentosa

Crataegus arnoldiana

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2025)

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Nanking Cherry
Arnold Hawthorn

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.

Arnold Hawthorn is a low-branched tree favored by wildlife and landscapers. This tree's beautiful white flowers and bright red berries make it an attractive ornamental in anyone's yard. Arnold Hawthorn is also used in windbreaks and riparian planting.

Despite its thorns, Arnold Hawthorn is a popular choice of food and shelter for deer and birds. Humans can also eat these berries fresh or preserved, but Arnold Hawthorn will not have high yields until it matures at 5-8 years.

Nanking Cherry Quick Facts

Arnold Hawthorn Quick Facts

Zone: 2a
Zone: 3a
Height: 2.4 m (8 ft)
Height: 5 m (15 ft)
Spread: 2.1 m (7 ft)
Spread: 5 m (15 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: normal
Moisture: normal
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: medium
Life span: short
Life span: medium
Suckering: low
Suckering: none


Foliage: contains thorns
Fall colour: yellow
Bark: gray to brown
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 pomes about 1 cm in diameter
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