Oak Summit Nursery choices

Nanking cherry or chokecherry

Both are hardy fruiting shrubs for prairie gardens, but they fill different spaces and ripen at different times.

Choose Nanking cherry for

An early, compact fruiting hedge

  • Bright red fruit that ripens in July
  • A broad shrub suited to hedges and smaller yards
  • Early flowers and fresh eating fruit

Choose chokecherry for

A taller native fruit and wildlife planting

  • Dark fruit in late summer
  • Shelterbelts, naturalized rows, and wildlife value
  • Jelly, juice, syrup, and wine

At a glance

Trait Nanking cherry Chokecherry
Species Prunus tomentosa Prunus virginiana
Cold hardiness Zone 2 to 3 Zone 2 to 3
Habit Wide fruiting shrub Large shrub or small tree
Fruit season here July August into early fall
Pollination Plant more than one seedling More than one seedling improves genetic diversity and fruit set
Seed treatment About three months cold stratification About three to four months cold stratification
Seed grown means variation. Seedlings are not clones. Fruit size, flavour, shape, ripening time, and plant habit can vary between plants.

Current seed choices

Nanking Cherry Seeds (Prunus tomentosa) - Cold Hardy Cherry Tree - (Zone 3) - 18 SeedsNanking Cherry Seeds (Prunus tomentosa) - Cold Hardy Cherry Tree - (Zone 3) - 18 SeedsAvailable nowGarrington Chokecherry Seeds - (Prunus virginiana) - Zone 2 - 75+ SeedsGarrington Chokecherry Seeds - (Prunus virginiana) - Zone 2 - 75+ SeedsAvailable now

For more nursery photos and observations, browse plum and cherry Field Notes.