Nanking Cherry vs Round Leaf Hawthorn - TreeTime.ca

Nanking Cherry vs Round Leaf Hawthorn

Prunus tomentosa

Crataegus rotundifolia (Crataegus cyclophylla)

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2025)

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2025)

Nanking Cherry
Round Leaf 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.

Getting its name from rounded, toothed leaves, the Round Leaf Hawthorn is a winter hardy shrub that grows small, red, berry-like fruits.

Commonly used for landscaping, this shrub can also be found along stream banks and in wooded areas. Caution is advised when handling the Round Leaf Hawthorn, as it can have sharp thorns approximately 1" long.

Nanking Cherry Quick Facts

Round Leaf Hawthorn Quick Facts

Zone: 2a
Zone: 2a
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: normal, wet
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: slow
Life span: short
Life span: long
Suckering: low
Suckering: none


Foliage: round, serrated
Flowers: white, early spring
Flowers: showy white
Fruit: scarlet sweet but slightly tart cherries, 8-12 mm diameter
Fruit: small red berries
Berries: scarlet sweet but slightly tart cherries, 8-12 mm diameter
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: ON
Other Names: ando cherry, chinese bush cherry, chinese dwarf cherry, downy cherry, hansens bush cherry, korean cherry, manchu cherry, mountain cherry, shanghai cherry