Nanking cherry

Nanking cherry: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Dense, broad, many-stemmed shrub 1.5–2 m tall and as wide.

Leaves

Oval, 4–7 cm, toothed and wrinkled; dark green above, felted beneath.

Flowers

Small, white to pale pink, 1.5–2 cm, with five petals, crowded along the branches in March–April.

Fruit

Small, round cherries about 1 cm across, glossy red, on very short stalks; ripe in June–July.

Twigs

Young twigs downy; older branches with reddish-brown, slightly peeling bark.

Flowering: March–April · Harvest and fruit: June–July · Plants: March–April and October–December · Pruning: July–August

Why grow it?

• One of the earliest shrubs to flower: in March–April a cloud of small white flowers for the first bees.
• Fruits heavily from a young age, often within a few years of planting.
• Small, sweet cherries to eat fresh or turn into jam and juice.
• Birds feast on any fruit you leave on the bush.
• Small and compact: fits a small garden, as a specimen shrub or in an edible hedge.
• Extremely hardy and, once established, tolerant of drought.

Nanking cherry: where does it grow best?

• Full sun: that is where it flowers best and the cherries are sweetest.
• Sand, loam or clay, acid to chalky, but well drained; it dislikes wet feet.
• Dry to moderately moist; once established it tolerates drought well.
• Allow 1.5–2 m per shrub; in a fruiting hedge, plant 1–1.2 m apart.
• Ideally plant two or more: with a second bush nearby you will usually get far more fruit.

Light

Sun

Soil type

Sand, loam or clay

Acidity

Not fussy

Moisture

Dry or normal

Size

2 m tall, 2 m wide

Hardiness

Hardy (to -35 °C)

Goes well with

• Redcurrant: Ripens at the same time and goes well with it in an edible hedge.
• Chokeberry: White spring flowers, black berries and red autumn colour, and just as hardy.
• Gooseberry: Another compact fruit bush for the sunny edge of the vegetable plot.
• Crocus: Flowers beneath the shrub in March, together with the first cherry blossom.

Nanking cherry: when and how to plant it?

Plant in March–April and October–December.

1. Plant from October to December or in March–April, when the soil is neither frozen nor waterlogged.
2. Dig a hole twice as wide as the root ball and mix in some compost.
3. Set the shrub at the same depth as it was in the pot or nursery and firm the soil well.
4. Plant 1.5–2 m apart, or 1–1.2 m apart for a hedge.
5. Water in well straight away, even if it is raining.
6. Mulch around the base with compost or wood chips.

Care

Watering

Regularly during dry spells in the first year; after that only in long droughts, especially while the fruit swells in May–June.

Feeding

A layer of compost or a little organic fruit fertiliser in March.

Mulching

A layer of wood chips or compost keeps the soil moist and weed-free.

Birds

If you want the harvest yourself, put a net over the bush in June as soon as the cherries colour.

Harvesting

Pick in June–July when the cherries are dark red and soft. Eat them fresh or make jam, jelly or juice; the stone is not eaten.

Tip: Plant at least two Nanking cherries together: they pollinate each other and then crop far more heavily. Prune out the oldest branches after harvesting to keep the shrub young.

Nanking cherry: when to prune it?

Pruning months: July–August.

When: After harvesting, in July–August. Avoid winter pruning: fungal diseases then enter the wounds more easily.

How:

• Each year, saw out a few of the oldest, least productive branches at the base.
• Keep young, vigorous shoots: they will carry most of the fruit in the following years.
• Remove dead, diseased and crossing branches and keep the centre of the shrub open.
• A hedge can be lightly trimmed into shape after harvesting.

Caution: Prune in dry weather: stone fruits such as cherries are prone to silver leaf and canker, which enter through pruning wounds.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Seed

Sow fresh stones in a pot or seedbed outdoors in autumn; they need a cold spell and germinate in spring. Seedlings usually resemble the parent plant closely.

Softwood cuttings

In June, take cuttings 10–15 cm long from young shoots and insert them in moist cutting compost under plastic.

Layering

In spring, peg a low branch into the soil; after a year, sever it and transplant it.

Nanking cherry: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −35 °C.

• Extremely hardy, to about −35 °C: it never needs protection in Belgium.
• The early flowers can be damaged by hard night frosts in March–April; fleece over a small bush helps on a frosty night.
• In a large pot: stand it against a wall and keep the compost moderately moist in winter.

Diseases and pests

• Brown rot: Flowers and young twigs wither, or fruit rots with grey fungal pustules. Cut out affected parts and clear up fallen fruit.
• Birds: Blackbirds take the cherries as soon as they turn red. A net over the bush helps.
• Aphids: Curled leaves at the shoot tips in spring. Ladybirds and birds usually deal with them; otherwise hose them off.
• Night frost: Brown, dried-up flowers after a frosty night. Do not plant in a cold hollow where frost lingers.
• Little fruit: There is no second bush nearby, or the blossom was frosted. Plant a second Nanking cherry.

Through the year

• March: Flowering begins. Spread compost. Plant.
• April: Flowering. Plant. Cover small bushes with fleece on frosty nights.
• May: Fruit swells. Water in dry weather.
• June: Net against birds. First cherries. Take cuttings.
• July: Harvest. After harvesting, prune out the oldest branches.
• August: Prune in dry weather. Water in droughts.
• October: Plant. Sow stones outdoors.
• November: Plant.
• December: Rest. Plant in mild weather.

Edible and useful

Fruit (June–July)

In June and July the shrub carries masses of small, glossy red cherries close against the branches. Pick them when they are deep red and soft. They taste sweet and sour, like a sour cherry, and are lovely fresh, in jam, syrup or on a tart; the stone is fairly large.

Storing

Fresh, a few days in the fridge. Stoned, they can be frozen; as syrup or jam they keep a long time.

Caution: The flesh is safe. Do not crack or eat the stones: the kernel contains amygdalin, which can release cyanide. Birds love them: a net over the shrub helps.

Eating and using is at your own risk: see the terms of use.

Recipes

• Nanking cherry syrup (Syrup · ± 750 ml · 40 min)

Good for wildlife

Bees

Nectar and pollen for honeybees and wild bees.

Birds

Berries, seeds or insects as food, or a place to nest.

Did you know?

• Tomentosa means ‘covered in felted hairs’, after the downy twigs and the felted undersides of the leaves.
• On the cold Canadian prairies it is widely planted as a fruiting hedge and windbreak, because it copes well with severe frost.
• Because the cherries sit on very short stalks, they seem to grow straight from the branches.