Nanking Cherry

Nanking Cherry (Prunus tomentosa) is a cold hardy cherry bush native to Asia. The species name refers to its fuzzy leaves, which distinguish it from other sour cherries.

Heavy crops of half inch red cherries ripen around mid July in Manitoba. The fruit has sweet tart flavour and is good fresh or in jelly, pies, and jam. White flowers can cover the branches in spring.

Nanking Cherry is mostly self sterile. A single bush can sometimes produce fruit, but two or more bushes usually give much better fruit set through cross pollination. Black Nanking Cherry can also serve as a pollinator.