If your climate is too cold to grow sweet cherry trees, an outstanding substitute is the bush cherries. These incredibly hardy relatives of the cherry tree produce a fruit that – although smaller – can be processed for use in pies, preserves, jellies and more.
Depending on which variety you choose, these shrub-sized cherry bushes can produce fruit sweet enough for fresh eating (yes, really!), and they can produce a LOT. Pies for everyone!
But with all the optimistic advertisements out there, which bush cherry is the best to purchase – and how hard are they to grow? What’s a hybrid cherry? What’s a mountain cherry? Which bush cherries are sour? How big is the pit? What’s the pricetag?
Fortunately for the fruit gardener, there are enough different types of bush cherries to fit every need!
ASIAN BUSH CHERRIES
You may see this category of bush cherry advertised under a wide range of names. I most commonly see Asian-type shrub cherries advertised as “Nanking” or “Mongolian” cherries.
However, Utah State University’s Nanking Cherry info page rattles off a loooong list other names, including, “Manchu cherry, downy cherry, mountain cherry, Mongolian cherry, or Chinese bush cherry…”
The Nanking bush cherry has been planted in the United States for well over a century. It’s very commonly available, and cheap! It is much easier and cheaper to get your hands on one of these hardy fruit-bearing shrubs than it is to score an affordable bush from the newly-popular “Romance” bush cherry series.
Why is the Nanking so popular? Zone hardiness, for one. The Nanking cherry is incredibly cold-tolerant, and can survive winters all the way down to zone 2. That makes this cherry far more accessible for northern gardeners.
Additionally, the small size of the shrub makes it very manageable for small spaces. Propagation is a breeze, too – just plant the seeds straight in the ground where you want next year’s baby shrubs to sprout! (However, the shrub isn’t like a raspberry cane that hits fruiting size in a single summer, so be patient.)
In terms of growth habit, I’ve found the Nanking very easy-going, with low care needs and a high tolerance for weed competition (do as I say, not as I do, folks). The plant is very tough, and that hard-to-kill factor is one of the reasons I was attracted to it!
On the negative side, the Nanking’s fruit size is very small. The flesh-to-pit ratio isn’t ideal, and the taste? Well, think more like a pies & jellies fruit than a fresh-eating variety. This is a fabulous fruit for processing… but maybe not for that fruit salad.
(You can read North Dakota State University’s fact sheet on the Nanking Cherry, if you are looking for more stats on this useful fruit.)
HYBRID BUSH CHERRIES
Like the Asian bush cherries, hybrid bush cherries also have a shrub-like growth habit and smaller fruit. They were created by crossing the Asian cherries with different types of tree cherries (typically a tart/pie cherry) – and the combination created a fascinating blend of the two.
What do hybrid bush cherries offer that Asian bush cherries don’t? The Nanking’s incredible hardiness combined with a super-affordable pricetag is a hard combination to beat, but the hybrid bush cherries have a flavor improvement that is out of this world.
I didn’t think it was possible to get a genuine sweet-cherry taste on a shrub-sized plant… but boy, was I wrong. Not all hybrid bush cherries have the same great flavor, but breeding improvements have achieved specific bush cherry cultivars that taste sweet enough for fresh eating. No more puckering!
The latest and greatest advancement to blast onto the bush-cherry scene has been the “Romance” series of bush cherries – which you’ll recognize from the cultivar names like Romeo, Cupid, etc. These are awesome; I own a Carmine Jewel, and was blown away the first time I tasted the fruit. No sour aftertaste whatsoever!
However, don’t assume these (often pricey) Romance cultivars are your only hybrid options. I’ve seen alternatives (such as “Joel”) advertised by multiple nurseries, so do your research, and pick a cultivar that works for you.
You may not be able to find a hybrid cherry that checks every one of your “wish-list” boxes; the better taste might come with a higher price tag! You need to decide which factors are most important for you, and then chase down a variety depending on those priorities.
Hybridized bush cherries tend to a bit less bushy than true Asian types, due to the hybrids’ tree parentage, but they are still very small in comparison to a true cherry tree. Additionally, the fruit size is typically larger than the Nanking (although this may vary by cultivar; there’s a lot of different options out there, and I haven’t tested them all).
On the downside, because these are hybrid plants, propagating from seed will not “breed true” when you are looking to expand your fruit garden.
COMPARING BUSH CHERRIES TO SWEET CHERRY TREES
Growing bush cherries takes much of the gamble out of growing “sweet” cherries in northern zones.
However, if you are looking for a full-size fruit with a traditional sweet flavor, you may not find that bush cherries fit the bill. When comparing sweet cherry trees to bush cherries, you need to carefully consider your choice of cultivar and winterization needs.
Choosing a sweet cherry takes more effort than choosing a bush cherry. Almost any bush cherry will survive zone 4, but some sweet cherry cultivars are more forgiving of cold temperatures than others. If you are looking for full-size sweet cherry trees to grow in zone four, start by choosing a sweet cherry tree that is suited to your zone.
Not sure which cherry tree to choose? Your options are limited. Proven cultivars like the Kristen Sweet Cherry have the track record demonstrating cold-hardiness to zone 4, while other trees like the brand-new Chelan Sweet Cherry are still the subject of debate. Be careful to choose based on the best information you have, not just the promises from the first garden catalog to hit your mailbox!
Regardless of what cherry tree you choose, a bush cherry will almost always have better chances of surviving the winter than even the most cold-tolerant sweet cherry tree. Bush cherries need very little winter “prep,” although basic winterization such as protection from deer browsing and other minor tasks is always important.
In contrast, keeping a sweet cherry tree alive through the winter requires significant effort. You may get lucky for a year or two without putting in the time to properly winterize your sweet cherry trees, but chances are that the cold will zap your tender trees sooner or later! You need to put in the effort in order to reap the rewards.
GROWING BUSH CHERRIES
In my opinion, northern-zone gardeners who are looking for a cherry that will survive their winters have the best chance of success with a bush cherry instead of a standard sweet cherry tree.
There are so many benefits to growing the bush cherry. It’s more compact than a sweet cherry – which means lower productivity, BUT you can pack more shrubs in a small space, which negates that productivity loss.
Additionally, the bush cherry provides a wide variety of cultivar options, both sweet and tart, giving gardeners multiple options and a cherry for every price range.
Additionally, the extreme cold-hardiness of the bush cherry – all the way to zone 2! – is something that the sweet cherry tree will never be able to beat. Even the most cold-hardy advertisement I’ve seen for a sweet cherry tree only rates the tree to zone 3… and even that seems overly optimistic. When it comes to cold weather, the bush cherry is the toughest cherry you can find.
Hard to beat that kind of record!
Interested in growing other stone fruits in zones 4 and colder? Check out my articles on growing peach trees!