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Nanking Cherry

Prunus tomentosa

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(new stock expected: fall of 2018)

Nanking Cherry is a small deciduous shrub known for its attractive white blossoms and edible fruit. Nanking Cherry is a winter hardy, moderately fast-growing plant. Its dark red fruit is excellent for pies and jellies.

It is also highly regarded as a shade tolerant fruit. Many times we see a hedge on the north side of a house where few other things survive, let alone thrive.

Nanking Cherry does flower early and, as such, is susceptible to hard late frosts which may wipe out the cherry crop. Many people plant them right up against their house or behind their shelterbelt to avoid this possibility.

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 it is more closely related to plums. In fact, it is sometimes used as a very dwarfing rootstock for plums.