wow, how did you get your nanking to fruit like this? mine only flowers but no fruits
How many plants do you have and how close are they. That sure sounds like a pollination problem.
I only have one, nanking plant. I donât have room for another.
They arenât self pollinating so unless you have another type of cherry in the area or plant another Nanking you probably wonât get any fruit.
If you arenât will/able to plant another one, which I totally understand with a small yard and limited space myself, maybe someone can send you some dormant scions next year and you can try grafting in branches from a different Nanking.
zendog, I did not know there are different types of Nanking, good to know. Thanks. I think you idea of grafting another type is good solution. I will ask for scion in dormant season.
I think many people grow Nanking from seeds, so that if you have 2 seedlings you have enough genetic diversity usually for some cross pollination. But if you want true variety you might ask for some wood from someone who has one of the white ones. I know from growing alpine strawberries the white varieties are less likely to attract the birds so maybe it works the same way with Nanking cherries.
Zendog, white nanking?? I thought nanking are all red, there is a white variety, very interesting?
I donât think they have any now, but here is a link to edible landscapingâs description. As a disclaimer I havenât grown these myself, but just did a ton of research on them when I was considering growing them. Ultimately I put in Carmine Jewel and Crimson Passion bush cherries instead since the Nankings seemed like too much work to process for pies and that is what I wanted. But I may still consider putting in some Nankings along a back fence as a privacy screen. Theyâll mostly be in the shade there, but Iâve heard theyâll still grow into nice plants although Iâll probably only get a few cherries.
Appreciate the info. zendog. I have Carmine cherry, but has not flowered yet, well, I saw two unopened flowers buds this year so far . I am wondering if Carmine is self fruit type too. But I donât think Nanking and Carmine blooms at same time, can cross pollinate each other.
IL847 - Carmine is self-fruitful, all the Romance cherries are. In my experience, they seem to flower for a few years without setting fruit, then finallyâŚ
Don, it is good to know, Thanks. I should not set expectation to high on tasting one sooner then.
I potted 5 Nankings that I purchased from raintree. They looked horrible when I got them but they are now starting to leaf out. Should I add any type of fert? Maybe liquid miracle grow?
unless show some signs of nutrient deficient, I usually donât fertilize fruit tree a lot.
Those look really good don. How old r they and how do they tast?
Those are Carmine Jewel. I planted the bush in the spring of 2011 as about a 2 foot tall potted plant. Itâs about 5 feet tall now, maybe a bit more. The fruit is pretty sour to eat out-of-hand, but it is quite good made into syrup or juice and sweetened a bit. It isnât my favorite of the bush cherries â Juliet is the easiest to eat fresh (of the ones I grow), with Cupid a close second. At least that was my experience last year, the first year they all fruited. Some people speak highly of Crimson Passion, but I donât grow that one. Hereâs a pic to show the size difference of some of the fruits and their pits. They just started fruiting last year though, so I donât know if the fruit size will be the same on a heavily fruiting bush or not.
That is good to hear. From my searches, most comments claim deer arenât interested. Some sites list it as a deer resistant shrub. I guess it depends on what else is available in environment.
Unfortunately, that isnât the case with the romance bush cherries, such as carmine jewel. It seems deer love these cherry bushes. They need to be caged or placed somewhere deer will avoid, like along a building.
Very nice pics don, really shows the fruit size. I am supprised at how small the pit is . I almost purchased one of these about three years ago. There was just not much information that i could find on them so i backed out.
Don, a picture says it all. Thanks for posting it.
This is what I picked from one Nanking cherry bush this morning.
I weighed them up on the kitchen scale , 4 lbsđ
Derby, looks yummy.