Nanking Cherry vs Mustang Cherry Plum

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.

Note: This species is currently unavailable. Grow your own using Nanking Cherry seeds at SeedTime.ca.

Mustang Cherry Plum is a cherry-plum hybrid. They are known for their fragrant white flowers in spring and sweet fruit in late August. Mustang Cherry Plums are about one inch in diameter and they have a strong cherry taste. This plant is small enough to fit in moderately sized yards.

Because of Mustang Cherry Plum's genetics and cold hardiness, it is popular for grafting and as a rootstock.

For fruit production, it needs to be planted with another variety for cross-pollination. Canada Plum and American Plum are considered universal pollinizers.

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