Nanking Cherry vs Falsebox - TreeTime.ca

Nanking Cherry vs Falsebox

Prunus tomentosa

Paxistima myrsinites

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2025)

CUSTOM GROW

Nanking Cherry
Falsebox

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.

Falsebox is a native evergreen shrub found in forests, slopes, and rocky sites. Its greenery adds winter interest and provides cover to wildlife. It is used to provide ground cover, especially under established trees.

It provides shelter for small animals and birds and its inconspicuous flowers support pollinators. It is long-lived and tolerant of a range of conditions, including drought once established.

Falsebox is well suited for naturalisation projects, erosion control, wildlife gardens, and low-maintenance landscapes. It is a practical addition to restoration plantings and mixed shrub communities.

Nanking Cherry Quick Facts

Falsebox Quick Facts

Zone: 2a
Zone: 5a
Height: 2.4 m (8 ft)
Height: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Spread: 2.1 m (7 ft)
Spread: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: any
Moisture: normal
Moisture: dry, normal
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: slow
Life span: short
Life span: medium
Growth form: prostrate to spreading
Spreading: layering - medium
Suckering: low


Foliage: evergreen, leathery leaves
Bark: reddish-brown
Flowers: white, early spring
Flowers: small, maroon-purple, fragrant
Bloom time: summer
Fruit: scarlet sweet but slightly tart cherries, 8-12 mm diameter
Berries: scarlet sweet but slightly tart cherries, 8-12 mm diameter
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC
Other Names: ando cherry, chinese bush cherry, chinese dwarf cherry, downy cherry, hansens bush cherry, korean cherry, manchu cherry, mountain cherry, shanghai cherry
Other Names: false box, mountain boxwood, mountain lover, myrtle boxwood, oregon boxleaf, oregon boxwood