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Nankin Cherry

MsSage

Well-known member
Does anyone have some of these trees/bushes? They are also called Manchu Cherry. I was thinking of putting a few along a fence line as a windbreak and to have some fruit trees.
How long do they live? Are they good for wind break? How tart are the cherries?
 

James

Well-known member
The ones we have here in western NE get about 4ft high is all and the fruit has a bitter taste but when made into jelly it is great hope this helps
 

TXTibbs

Well-known member
Nankin are one of my favorite berries ever...they arn't tart at all or the ones my mom had weren't....if you let them get ripe they arn't. Her's in her yard are about 6 feet tall in the full sun. I would scour myself on them every year and not even regret it!!! Plant some...they are gooooood. Her's would get berries on them about the size of your thumbnails.
 

Kato

Well-known member
I have them too, and I've been making jelly for years. Hint... if you want to give the cherry flavour a jumpstart, put a tiny bit of almond extract in it. Takes it to a whole new level. mmm........

They make a good windbreak. Mine are about 10 to 12 feet high. They're pretty tough, and I've even had a few grow from dropped cherries.
 

mrj

Well-known member
I've got a few of them. I believe they are called 'Nanking' bush cherries. Mine are maybe 3 to 5 feet high. Think they are 15 more more years old. There is at least one that is a volunteer, maybe 30 feet from the original bushes. Probably 'planted' by birds, as it is under a cedar tree.

The older ones are absolutely loaded with blooms.......probably getting ready for a freeze! I think they bloomed earlier than usual. I will try to cover them if a frost is predicted, as we didn't get many last year. Too hot and dry.

These are bright red, maybe a half inch in diameter. Pretty soft, somewhat tart, but great for fresh eating or for jam. My favorite, tho, is to freeze them and eat like mini-popsicles. Got the idea from a suggestion to freeze seedless grapes and those little Clementine orange slices as a treat for kids. Both hit the spot for any age person!

They must be pretty tough, as we get wicked wind and low temps. I think a -40% was our low last winter, and we had several nights below -20%. Doesn't always get quite that cold, but can get even colder. It seems harder on stuff when we don't have much snow. Last winter, we had plenty of that! These bushes have lived through several years of above average rainfall, and about 8 years of drought. They are getting old, and I plan to replace them, eventually. Will plant some new ones yet this spring, and phase out the oldies when the new ones get going.

I wonder if the bitter tasting ones are sand cherries, or maybe Hansens Bush Cherries. I want some of the latter, but haven't yet tasted them. The photo's show them as being darker red, rather like a choke cherry on steroids (huge size compared with choke cherry!).

I've also been told they make a good wine.

mrj
 
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