Oak Summit Nursery
Compare seeds and plants
Explore the differences between our plums, cherries, berries and perennial flowers through photographs and details from our listings.
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Plum seeds
American vs Canada Wild Plum seeds
Compare the seed parents, fruit and growth habits of these two wild plums.
Pembina vs Seedling plum seeds
Two locally collected seed sources with different parent histories. Neither produces copies of the seed parent.
Canada Wild Plum vs Pembina seeds
A wild plum species and seed from a named hybrid parent, for growing varied plum seedlings.
Cherry seeds
Chokecherry seeds
Currant seeds
European vs American black currant seeds
Compare cultivated black currant seed parents with a locally collected native species.
Clove vs American black currant seeds
Two distinct currants, with their fruit descriptions, seed treatments and growing sizes side by side.
Black currants vs red currants
Compare the fruit, seed sources and growing details from our current listings.
Black currants vs clove currants
Both have dark fruit. Look closer at the seed parents, flavour and size described in our listings.
Wildflower seeds
Gooseberry plants
Plum seedlings
American vs Canada Wild Plum trees
Compare the actual seedling plant listings, including their source and growth habits. These are trees, not seed packs.
Pembina vs wild hybrid plum seedlings
Two groups of variable plum seedlings: one from Pembina seed, the other from a mixed wild plum orchard.
Canada Wild Plum vs Pembina seedling trees
Compare species seedlings with seedlings from the Pembina hybrid. Individual fruit and growth traits will vary.
Currant plants
More comparisons
Red currant vs clove currant seeds
Red currants offer bright acidity in a smaller shrub. Clove currants grow taller and produce sweet black fruit with a milder flavour than European black currants.
Red currant vs American black currant seeds
Red currants have bright, tart fruit suited to the kitchen. American black currants are native here, with a musky flavour and berries that can ripen unevenly on the same cluster.
Crandall seedlings vs American black currant plants
These are two kinds of currant plants grown from seed. Crandall seedlings offer the prospect of larger, milder fruit, while American black currants bring a native background and...
Aurora vs Berry Blue haskaps
Aurora is a good place to start for larger berries with lower acidity. Berry Blue is an earlier Russian haskap with smaller fruit and a long history as a pollination companion.
Aurora vs Boreal Blizzard haskaps
Boreal Blizzard stands out for its very large berries and more pronounced tang. Aurora also has large fruit, with lower acidity that gives a sweeter impression.
Aurora vs Boreal Beast haskaps
Aurora starts the harvest earlier; Boreal Beast follows later with fruit noted for its aroma and lingering flavour. This is a useful comparison when choosing haskaps for more th...
Choosing among the three Boreal haskaps
The Boreal names do not describe three interchangeable bushes. Their harvests follow a sequence, and Boreal Beast is especially useful when selecting a companion for either Bliz...
Toka vs Black Ice plum trees
Toka has smaller plums with a distinctive bubblegum flavour and fruit that stays firm longer after picking. Black Ice has larger plums with deep beet red flesh and a flavour rem...
Northern vs Canadian gooseberry plants
Both gooseberries are native to Manitoba and have berries up to about 1/2 inch across. Northern Gooseberry is more upright with very few branch prickles. Canadian Gooseberry sta...
American vs European mountain ash seeds
Both mountain ashes carry clusters of small fruit. American Mountain Ash has coral red fruit and is native to North America; European Mountain Ash has orange to red fruit and ca...
Downy Arrowwood vs Wild Raisin seeds
Downy Arrowwood is the stronger candidate for a drier woodland edge. Wild Raisin is more closely associated with moist ground and offers red to purple fall foliage.
Redosier vs Pagoda Dogwood seeds
Redosier Dogwood is grown for its red winter stems and its ability to form a thicket. Pagoda Dogwood is a small tree with tiered branches and a distinctly different outline.
Dogwoods at three different scales
These dogwoods share a family connection but occupy very different spaces. Bunchberry spreads close to the ground, Redosier forms a shrub, and Pagoda develops a layered tree can...
Ninebark vs Redosier Dogwood seeds
Ninebark offers peeling bark and clusters of flowers and seed capsules. Redosier Dogwood is especially noticeable after leaf fall, when its red stems stand out.
Woods' Rose vs Ninebark seeds
Woods' Rose suits a naturalistic patch where its spreading habit is welcome. Ninebark offers a broader shrub outline, lobed leaves and peeling bark.
White Spruce vs Norway Spruce seeds
White Spruce is native across much of boreal Canada, including Manitoba. Norway Spruce is European and has much larger cones, reaching about 6 inches long.
Winterberry vs Wild Raisin seeds
Winterberry is chosen for red fruit that remains visible on bare branches. Wild Raisin offers changing fruit colours and red to purple autumn leaves.
American black vs Blue Elderberry seeds
American Black Elderberry and Blue Elderberry are different species, not two colours of the same cultivar. Blue Elderberry is a western species that can develop into a large shr...
American black vs Red Elderberry seeds
Red Elderberry is the hardier choice for a cold site, rated zone 2 here versus zone 3/4 for American Black Elderberry. Black elderberry is the usual choice for preserves; red el...
Bunchberry vs Woodland Strawberry seeds
Bunchberry makes a low woodland carpet. Woodland Strawberry offers small aromatic fruit and can be a better fit when the aim is an edible groundcover rather than a dogwood display.
Nanking vs Evans cherry seeds
Nanking has smaller cherries carried close along the branches. Evans has larger, oval to elongated fruit that keeps its stems when picked, and can be trained as either a tree or...
Wild raspberry vs woodland strawberry seeds
Wild raspberry forms a patch of tall canes. Woodland strawberry stays close to the ground, with small aromatic berries that suit the edge of a path or bed.
Haskap vs Saskatoon seeds
Haskaps have elongated blue berries on a bush. Saskatoons have round purple fruit and can grow as a large shrub or small tree. These packets grow two different kinds of fruit, n...
White spruce vs Engelmann spruce seeds
White spruce is native across Manitoba and much of the boreal forest. Engelmann spruce comes from western mountain forests and is especially associated with cool, moist conditions.
Black, red and blue elderberry seeds
Red elderberry is the hardiest of these three. American black elderberry is the more familiar choice for preserves, while blue elderberry needs a milder climate.
Nanking cherry vs pin cherry seeds
Nanking is usually grown as a fruiting bush, with cherries close along its branches. Pin cherry is a native tree with smaller red fruit on longer stalks.
Manchurian apricot and the two wild plums
Manchurian apricot offers yellow orange fruit on a hardy Asian species. The two wild plums are native to Manitoba: American plum has smaller round fruit, while Canada plum has l...
Two native gooseberries and Hinnomaki Red
The two native gooseberries differ noticeably in their thorns. Northern gooseberry has mostly smooth stems, while Canadian gooseberry is much more prickly. Hinnomaki Red is a Fi...
Redosier dogwood vs downy hawthorn seeds
Redosier dogwood forms a spreading shrub with bright red winter stems. Downy hawthorn grows into a tree with broad leaves and red fruit.
Black walnut vs butternut
Black walnut has round green husks surrounding the nuts. Butternut has sweet, oily kernels in deeply ridged shells and a spreading crown. We grow both from Manitoba seed.
Western sandcherry vs black chokecherry plants
Western sandcherry is the smaller shrub. Black chokecherry grows taller and suckers into dense stands, making it a different choice for a hedge or a naturalized planting.
Western sandcherry vs Manor cherry plum
Western sandcherry is one of the species behind hardy cherry plum breeding. Manor descends from Sapa and was introduced at Morden in 1945. Its tender, juicy fruit is useful both...
Three Jerusalem artichokes
These are three selections of Jerusalem artichoke, grown for edible tubers. White has rounder, thicker tubers. Beaver Valley Golden is smoother and more elongated. Purple Skoros...
Caragana vs Amur Maackia seeds
Caragana is the familiar shelterbelt shrub for sunny, relatively dry conditions. Amur Maackia grows into a small tree, with silvery emerging leaves and a preference for more mod...
White Spruce vs Dahurian Larch seeds
White Spruce keeps its needles through winter. Dahurian Larch turns yellow to orange and sheds them, opening the view and letting winter light through.
Pin cherry vs wild chokecherry seeds
Pin cherries are bright red and ripen earlier at the nursery. Wild chokecherries ripen later, with darker fruit along long clusters.
Beach plum vs western sandcherry
Beach plum comes from sandy coastal habitats in eastern North America. Western sandcherry is a prairie native, including here in Manitoba. Both fit a much smaller space than a t...
Three Echinacea species
These are three Echinacea species, not three colours of the same cultivar. Purple coneflower has broader leaves, pale purple coneflower has slender drooping petals, and narrow l...