European dwarf / steppe cherry

Photo: Franz Xaver — CC BY-SA 3.0 · source

Survives zone 3 through 7

Harvest calendar

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

Fruit is harshly tart and acidic — rarely eaten out of hand, but valued cooked or sweetened for jams, jellies, pies, and cherry liqueurs. ⚠ Kernels/pits cyanogenic.

Hardiness

Zone 3–7

Habit

Shrub

Edible part

Fruit

Ripens

Summer–autumn

Mature size

Low suckering shrub 0.5–1.5 m — the ground cherry, also used as a dwarfing rootstock

Light

Full sun

Soil pH

6.0–7.0 (near-neutral)

Environment

Steppe

Native range

Native to central and southeastern Europe, Ukraine, European Russia, the northern Caucasus, Kazakhstan, and the Altai region.

Status

Both wild and cultivated

Years to fruit

2–4 yrs

Growth speed

slow to moderate; typically reaches 1–2 m mature height

Spacing

125 cm (49 in) apart — about 1.6 m² (17 sq ft) per plant

Leaf shape

Ovate-elliptical with crenate-serrulate margins, glossy and smooth, 2–5 cm long.

Root system

Suckering and spreading.

Fruit description

Globose, dark red cherry about 1.5 cm across with a single large stone.

Propagation

Spreads readily by suckers and division; seed needs cold stratification; also increased by softwood cuttings, and used as a cherry rootstock.

Pollination

Self-fertility isn't well documented for the wild species itself; its bred hybrids with sour cherry (P. cerasus), such as 'Carmine Jewel', are self-fertile

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.