Himalayan cherry

Photo: Patcharapapats — CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Survives zone 7 through 9

Harvest calendar

Best planted in early spring after your last frost, or in fall before the ground freezes, depending on your climate.

The small yellow-to-red fruit is sour and astringent, occasionally eaten raw but more often cooked or preserved — the tree is prized far more for its early pink blossom and its glossy, peeling reddish bark. ⚠ Kernels/pits cyanogenic.

Hardiness

Zone 7–9

Habit

Tree

Edible part

Fruit

Ripens

Summer–autumn

Mature size

Tree 8–15 m

Light

Full sun

Soil pH

6.0–7.0 (near-neutral)

Environment

Subtropical

Native range

Himalayan temperate forests from Himachal Pradesh in north-central India east to southwestern China, Myanmar, and Thailand, at 1,200–2,400 m elevation.

Status

Ornamental

Years to fruit

2–4 yrs

Growth speed

Moderate

Spacing

500 cm (197 in) apart — about 25 m² (269 sq ft) per plant

Leaf shape

Alternate, lance-shaped to obovate, finely and sharply toothed, with a pair of small glands (extrafloral nectaries) on the leaf stalk near the blade — a Prunus signature worth learning, since it separates the genus from most look-alikes.

Root system

Worth knowing that in cultivation this is usually the rootstock's root system, not the species' — most Prunus are sold grafted, and vigour, suckering and soil tolerance follow the stock rather than the top. On its own roots the species is shallow-rooted, with the bulk in the top 40–60 cm spreading well beyond the canopy, so it dislikes cultivation underneath and competes badly with grass.

Fruit description

Ovoid drupe about 1–2 cm across, yellow ripening to red, with sour, astringent, single-seeded flesh.

Propagation

Grown from seed sown as soon as it is ripe, needing 2–3 months of cold stratification and often a year or more to germinate and establish; also grafted onto related Prunus rootstock.

Pollination

Hermaphrodite, insect-pollinated flowers — self-fertility isn't specifically documented for this species

The edible parts listed above are a starting point, not a field guide. Identify a plant with certainty — ideally against a local authority — before eating any part of it, and read the full disclaimer. Spotted something wrong? Report it.