How to Grow and Care for Nanking Cherry Bush

People usually recognize different cherry species by their beautiful delicate flowers and bright red fruits on a medium-sized tree. A lesser-known member of the genus is the Nanking cherry, a very useful and just as attractive plant that grows as a bushrather than a tree and reaches a small size of 6 to 10 feet tall. The Nanking cherry fruits, called drupes, are much smaller than a regular cherry and are more reminiscent of a plum than a cherry.

The Nanking cherry is especially attractive because it can be used as an ornamental bush that can function as a decorative hedge and serve as a windbreak.

How to Plant a Nanking Cherry Bush

If you have decided to plant Prunus tomentosa in your landscape, the first thing to consider is your cold hardiness zone. The Nanking cherry is native to a cold region and will not tolerate heat or humidity. The Nanking cherry will struggle if you are not in USDA zones 2 through 7. The next thing to know is that you will need to plant at least two bushes (or more) to produce fruit; the Nanking cherry is not self-pollinating. The Nanking cherry bush is not as widespread in the United States as it is in other countries. Thus, the species is not as readily available at local garden centers and nurseries as are the more common cherry species (you might need to look for them and order online).

Selecting a Planting Site

Nanking cherry bushes are notoriously easy to maintain and can live for fifty years if planted in ideal conditions. The checklist for an Ideal location includes only three items that guarantee your plant thrives with little maintenance: an area with a neutral soil pH of 7.0, six to eight hours of full sun daily, and enough room for it grow upwards and outwards.

Spacing, Depth, and Support

The function of your Nanking cherry will determine the spacing between plants. If you use them as hedge or a windbreak, you will want to plant them much closer and have their growth overlap. If you are growing individual specimen bushes, space the plants at least 15 feet apart.

As usual, you will want to plant the bush in a hole or pot twice as wide as the root ball is deep. Planting time is the best time to add any soil amendments to increase or decrease its acidity to bring it as close as possible to a 7.0 neutral pH. Adding compost at this point is also a great idea as well. Your newly planted bushes should not need any support unless planted in a very windy location, in which case you would only need a simple bamboo stake attached with some yard twine.

Nanking Cherry Bush Care

The Nanking cherry bush might be one of the easiest deciduous plants, one that sheds its leaves in the fall, to care for. If you follow these few simple steps to provide the initial care it needs, your Nanking cherry bushes will be happy and healthy for a long time:

• Plant Nanking cherry bushes in full sun, six to eight hours daily.
• Provide the plants with well-draining, neutral pH soil full of organic matter.
• Keep in mind that the Nanking cherry bush does not like heat and humidity.
• Plant two or more bushes in the same vicinity if you hope to harvest fruit.

Light

Plant Nanking cherry bush in an area that receives full sun to ensure that the bushes remain vigorous and produce ample blooms and abundant fruit. Nanking cherry bushes grown in shady areas won’t flower as vigorously or produce as much fruit.

Soil

Nanking cherry is adaptable to a wide range of soil conditions if the soil pH is at or close to neutral. It prefers soil to be loamy and well draining. Test the soil pH before planting and every year or so after planting so you can raise or lower the acidity or alkalinity as needed. Testing your soil’s pH is easy and can be done in a few minutes.

Water

Water a Nanking cherry weekly for the first few seasons, ensuring it establishes a strong root structure. After its first two seasons, monitor the average rainfall in your area. The native habitat of the species is a cold, dry area averaging about 12 inches of rain a year. If your area receives more than 12 inches of rain annually, additional watering is unnecessary. This same standard applies during drought conditions because the Nanking cherry is very drought tolerant.

Temperature and Humidity

The local climate is the most important condition for the success of your Nanking cherry. This bush is not hardy to USDA cold hardiness zones higher than Zone 7. Being native to a cold climate means that the species has not adapted to hot and humid weather, and it will suffer in those conditions.

Fertilizer

Fertilizer is not needed for the Nanking cherry. Even without fertilizer, the plant will produce abundant blooms and fruit.

Pollination

A Nanking cherry bush is not self-pollinating. For the Nanking cherry to be pollinated and produce fruit, at least two plants must be in close proximity to each other. Providing more than two plants will increase the yield and health of the harvest. If you are planting from cuttings, you will need cuttings from two different plants.

Types of Nanking Cherries

Prunus tomentosa is itself hard to find, but its cultivars are even harder to find; they exist, and a few are stunning if you can locate them. While not widely known, some notable cultivars are:

• Prunus tomentosa ‘Natali’: An upright-growing cultivar with fruit that grows much larger than the wild type at over 3/4 of an inch in diameter.
• Prunus tomentosa ‘Wostocznaja’: A slow-growing Russian variety with a wide form and large fruit.
• Prunus tomentosa ‘Efimka’: A Ukrainian variety with tasty fruit that lasts longer on the bush.
• Prunus tomentosa ‘White Ninja’: A white variety that presents creamy white fruit. Birds are deceived into thinking the light color means the fruit is unripe and do not eat them.

Harvesting Nanking Cherries

Harvest the Nanking cherry fruits when they ripen in July and August. The timing is important as the berries are short-lived on the plant and have a short shelf life. The fruit is very soft compared to other cherries and is incredibly delicate. Each mature bush will produce a harvest of 10 to 15 pounds when grown under ideal conditions. The pit can be removed to prolong its shelf life, and the fruit can be dried or frozen.

Pruning the Nanking Cherry Bush

Pruning is the only regular chore required to get your bush looking its best and maximizing bloom and fruit production. Prune dead, damaged, and broken branches yearly.

Pruning out old growth refreshes the bush and allows it to revitalize and produce new, young growth. Perform this task yearly in the late fall or early winter.

Propagating Nanking Cherry Bush

While you can grow a Nanking cherry bush from seed, it will not be breed true, meaning it will not be exactly like the mother plant. It might produce few flowers and bitter fruit. For this reason, growing the Nanking cherry from seed is not advisable.

The best way to propagate the Nanking cherry bush is by using the cutting method, which takes some effort and time but cuttings enable you to propagate as many clones of the mother bush that you want. Remember that if you want to give away cuttings to allow someone to grow fruiting bushes, take cuttings from two distinct plants.

Common Pests & Plant Diseases

The pests that bother the Nanking cherry will not do serious harm. The insects you are most likely to see are spider mites, cherry aphids, and western cherry fruit fly. Look for leaf stippling as a sign of spider mites and treat with insecticidal soap daily to alleviate the issue. Cherry aphids can usually be washed off with a strong blast of water. To control western cherry fruit fly, discreetly hang fly tape to attract the flies for easy disposal.

The two largest disease concerns are coryneum blight and root rot. Blight can be treated by removing infected branches and leaves and spraying with a copper-based fungicide. While there is not much to do once a tree is infected with root rot, you can prevent it by not overwatering.