Nanking Cherry vs Robert Chokecherry - TreeTime.ca

Nanking Cherry vs Robert Chokecherry

Prunus tomentosa

Prunus virginiana Robert

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2025)

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Nanking Cherry
Robert Chokecherry

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.

Developed in Barrhead, Alberta, the Robert Chokecherry produces very large berries (comparable to the size of grapes) with good yield.

The berries can be used for wine, jams, jellies and fresh picking, making it one of the sweeter chokecherries. Rich, red foliage make it a striking landscape addition.

Nanking Cherry Quick Facts

Robert Chokecherry Quick Facts

Zone: 2a
Zone: 2b
Height: 2.4 m (8 ft)
Height: 3 m (10 ft)
Spread: 2.1 m (7 ft)
Spread: 2.1 m (7 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: medium
Suckering: low
Suckering: medium
Maintenance: medium


Toxicity: Toxic to animals with segmented stomachs (horses, cattle, deer moose, etc.)
Foliage: red leaves
Flowers: white, early spring
Fruit: scarlet sweet but slightly tart cherries, 8-12 mm diameter
Fruit: large, black, grape sized
Berries: scarlet sweet but slightly tart cherries, 8-12 mm 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