Photo: Ruslan V.Albitsky aka pauk — CC BY-SA 2.5 · source
Survives zone 2 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 ranges from sweet to tart depending on the seedling and ripens earlier than most cherries, often by June; eaten fresh or made into pies, jellies, and wine — pits are cyanogenic like other Prunus stones.
- Hardiness
- Zone 2–7
- Habit
- Shrub
- Edible part
- Fruit
- Ripens
- Summer–autumn
- Mature size
- Shrub 2–3 m tall and as much across; containerable
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil pH
- 6.0–7.0 (near-neutral)
- Environment
- Temperate
- Native range
- Native to northern and western China, Mongolia, Korea, and the Himalaya (Tibet).
- Status
- Cultivated
- Years to fruit
- 2–4 yrs
- Growth speed
- Medium — roughly 30–45 cm/year
- Spacing
- 400 cm (157 in) apart — about 16 m² (172 sq ft) per plant
- Leaf shape
- Oval to obovate leaves 5–7.6 cm long with unequally serrated margins and a rugose, veined texture — dark green and pubescent above, densely tomentose (woolly-white) beneath, which gives the species its name.
- Root system
- Shallow-rooted like most members of the genus, and will produce suckers if the roots are damaged.
- Fruit description
- Small, nearly round cherries 1–2 cm across, bright to dark red with tender skin and a small stone.
- Propagation
- Grown from seed after 2–3 months of cold stratification (germination can take up to 18 months), or from half-ripe summer cuttings or spring layering; needs cross-pollination from a genetically different Nanking cherry for good fruit set.
- Pollination
- Self-incompatible — needs cross-pollination from a genetically distinct Nanking cherry for good fruit set
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.
Growing guide
Fertilizing. Prefers well-drained, moisture-retentive loam and tolerates some lime, though excess lime can trigger chlorosis; moderate water and moderate feeding are generally sufficient.
Growing tips. Exceptionally cold-hardy (to USDA zone 2) and more tolerant of black knot than most cherries, though branch cankers and borers are its most serious problems. Rabbits, mice, and deer browse it heavily enough in winter to cause serious injury without protection.
Grow journal
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