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