Prunus tomentosa Seeds | Downy Cherry
LATIN NAME: Prunus tomentosa
COMMON NAME: Downy Cherry
Plant Profile
Prunus tomentosa is the Nanking cherry, a dense deciduous shrub two to three metres tall, with downy leaves and pale pink flowers in early spring, before the leaves open. The fruit is a small, bright red cherry, one centimetre across, sour and juicy, ripe in June.
It comes from northern and western China, Korea and Mongolia, and it is one of the hardiest fruiting shrubs in cultivation, cropping in climates where sweet cherries will not grow. The down on the leaves and young shoots gives the species its name. The bark is shiny and reddish-brown on young wood, and it peels in thin strips as the shrub ages.
Science & Biotechnology
The shrub flowers very early, often within days of the last frost, and the flowers are damaged at about minus two, which makes the crop unreliable in some years. The fruit ripens quickly, over two or three weeks, and does not ship well, which is why it is grown for local markets and for jam rather than for supermarkets.
Prunus tomentosa is also used as a dwarfing rootstock for other cherries in cold climates, since it is extremely hardy and reduces the vigour of the scion. It suckers freely, which is either a way to propagate it or a nuisance, depending on where it is planted.
Uses & Benefits
Fruit is eaten fresh, stewed, or made into jam, jelly and wine. It is tart and does not need much sugar. In China the fruit is also dried, and the seed is used in medicine, though it contains amygdalin and should not be eaten.
The shrub is grown as an ornamental for its early flowers and as a fruiting hedge. Birds take the crop within days of ripening, so netting is necessary if the fruit is wanted. Because it suckers, it makes a dense thicket that is useful as a windbreak or as cover for wildlife. The fruit is also used as a rootstock for other stone fruit in cold regions, and the shrub is planted as a windbreak around orchards on the northern plains.
Growing from Seed
Seed needs cold stratification for three months, then germinates in spring. Fresh seed sown in autumn in a nursery bed is simpler. Named forms are propagated by cuttings or by digging suckers in late winter.
Plants are self-fertile, so a single bush will crop, though cross-pollination improves the set. They tolerate poor, dry soil and light shade but fruit best in sun. Prune after fruiting to remove old canes, since the best fruit comes on two- and three-year-old wood, and keep the sucker growth in check. A mulch of compost in spring keeps the shallow roots cool and reduces the need for watering in dry spells. Fruit is best picked with the stalk attached, since the skin tears at the stem and the cherry then rots within a day.
Our Take
The most cold-hardy cherry worth growing, and a good jam fruit for a climate that is too harsh for the sweet kinds.
Related Reading
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