Nanking Cherry vs Loving Pear - TreeTime.ca

Nanking Cherry vs Loving Pear

Pyrus Loving

Prunus tomentosa

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2025)

Loving Pear
Nanking Cherry

Loving Pear is a Russian pear variety with a mild sweet flavor and a hint of sour. It is known for being cold hardy and disease resistant. They are green in colour but will transition to have a slightly golden red blush when ripe. With a minimal neck, they have a more rounded appearance.

They ripen in early September. It is recommended that they are harvested as the seeds begin to brown. They can finish ripening after picking. They keep well in cold storage and are suited for fresh eating, juicing, and dehydrating.

The Loving Pear requires a second variety for cross pollination. Some compatible varieties include Krazulya, Golden Spice, and others.

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.

Loving Pear Quick Facts

Nanking Cherry Quick Facts

Zone: 3a
Zone: 2a
Height: 6 m (20 ft)
Height: 2.4 m (8 ft)
Spread: 5 m (15 ft)
Spread: 2.1 m (7 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: full sun
Moisture: normal
Moisture: normal
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: medium
Life span: medium
Life span: short
Suckering: none
Suckering: low
Maintenance: medium


Flowers: white, early spring
Fruit: green, rounded pear shape
Fruit: scarlet sweet but slightly tart cherries, 8-12 mm diameter
Berries: scarlet sweet but slightly tart cherries, 8-12 mm diameter
Firmness: firm
Flavor: mild, sweet flavor with a hint of sour
Harvest: early September
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