Hi, All,
Could someone help me to ID one of my trees? Below are some photos. The tree came from ArborDay 3 years ago labeled as “Nanking Cherry”. It has not flowered yet, but I really don’t think it is a Nanking Cherry. Does anyone know what this tree really is?
Here is the link to the Nanking Cherry on Arborday website:
https://www.arborday.org/trees/treeguide/TreeDetail.cfm?ItemID=815
In Spring:
In Fall, the leaves turn orange red.
Not nanking cherry, can’t tell you what it is though. Leaves remind me of persimmon, but I haven’t seen that many of them.
Thank you smsmith!
Agreed. This is not Nanking. The leaves look like some cherry trees, pretty big and lush. The growth habit shows a cherry tree’s behavior - very long stems without branches. It’s very annoying when getting mislabeled plants. It’s a perfectly fine and healthy tree, but just don’t know what I am growing. 
It looks healthy, and has aesthetic value…so keep it and find out.
That looks like a cherry tree. The leaves and way flower buds formed. Not sure sweet or sour.
Arbor Day has a nice mission but trees they send out are usually very small and not always true to labels.
I’m leaning towards persimmon also. Arbor Day has two varieties listed, so it’s a possibility.
I’m sure there are some persimmon experts here that can rule it in or out.
i agree. leaves are too big for cherry.
you want some nanking cuttings? contact me in early may.
No persimmon expert here but i havent noticed any serrated leaves on any of the persimmons im growing.
I agree, does not look to be persimmon to my eyes.
No, not persimmon. I wanted to keep quiet for I don’t know exactly what it is.
But, PRUNUS something or other…cherry seems probable. Buds could even be flowering cherry and not fruiting, anyhow, when it blooms early in 2021 show us a picture then.
My first look at this thread. It’s Prunus with the cherry side. The way the leaves hang at Fall as shown is 100% cherry. that’s why blueberry and I are in agreeance. It’s definitely a cherry of some sort. Every aspect is cherry.
best regards,
Dax
Definitely not a persimmon, but I’m not sure what it actually is.
This may be completely off base, but the leaves look a lot like the leaves on my peach tree, both in terms of shape and in terms of fall color.
Thank you all for your comments! Really appreciated!
I found some old photos taken in Apr when the leaves were still small. I still think this is some kind of cherry tree, but just not Nanking Cherry. It grew quite fast last year, so I cut it again at 2 ft to introduce branching. It worked. But still it’s getting pretty big. All the branches you see in the photos taken in fall are current year growth. The leaves are rather large, like palm size, 6 inch long.
I ordered Nanking cherry, and planted it in the garden because I was only expecting a 6-8 ft bush. I am afraid that it will outgrow the space quickly if it’s a common fruiting cherry tree. It would be even taller if it’s a flowering cherry tree. That’s really not what I wanted. Hopefully it will flower this coming Spring. Then we can tell. And at that time I can decide if I should move it somewhere else depending on its mature size.
@steveb4
Thank you!
Yes. I’d like to have some nanking cuttings. I will send you a PM.
I have some experiences with rooting and I use Dyno-Gro KLN as rooting hormone.
Do you recommend rooting dormant woods or soft woods for Nanking Cherry?
This is definitely not nanking or persimmon. It is cherry tree for sure and based on the autumn foliage it will be some kind of flowering/ornamental cherry.
Some other thoughts considering the other pictures–
how big was it when you got it?
Is there any sign of it having been GRAFTED?
Seedling prunus avium is possible…bird cherry or cherry rootstock/sweet cherry.
(But if those are flowering buds near tips of late season growth…then a seedling sweet cherry would not bloom in first 3 or 4 years I wouldn’t think.–unless a dwarfing rootstock.)
The larger leaves don’t seem to belong to a sour/pie cherry.
havent tried but ive heard they are pretty easy to root.
If the consensus is cherry of some type and you want to try to keep it smaller, I can give you some Carmine Jewel or Juliet scions to try to graft to it when you come for the other stuff. I haven’t done it myself, but have heard they graft to other cherries fairly well.
I always thought that cherry leaves had a little pimple like bump near the base of each leave stem, but I cant remember if its on both sides or just one. Also, all Cherry and Plum have horizontal Lenticells going around the trunk and branches. Not sure if yours is old enough to have these. At first glance, I thought it was one of the native dogwoods, but I cant see if the veins of the leaves curve around and all meet at the tip of the leaf, which is what all dogwoods do.
