Hi, since many of us grow figs and other fruits, I was wondering if anyone on here has ever grown Nanking Cherries. If so how was your experience and what your thought is on this plant. Also if anyone is growing them can you please pm me if you have any seeds to trade. Thank you.

I grow them. Gotta have 2 for cross pollination. Very very productive, but small fruit. Very tart flavor which I love. I'm sure some of the cooks out there would make a nice marmalade or something out of them. I gave away one of my shrubs and replaced it with a white Nanking so hopefully next year I will have both red and white fruit. I'm told the white is sweeter and somewhat larger than the red. Good fun fruit to grow.

Hi,

While I lived up north, I grew just about all the sand cherries commonly available. They are easy to grow, thrive on neglect and are pest free. I lived in zone 5 and they wintered over with no protection and no winter damage even the winter when we hit -30 for a couple of days. They make great jams and jellies but are a bit tart for out of hand eating. You can use them much like currents and they make a nice sauce to accompany a venison roast.  Fruits were small but mine were grown in a bare dry windswept area and probably did not reach the size they might have in a more hospitable area. If you are going to grow sand cherries, consider some of the black too.  Plants are not quite as pretty as the Nanking but the fruit is a bit sweeter. They are not huge plants and squeeze into a landscape quite well providing color in both spring and fall as well as fruit.

Thank you both for your response. I've looked on Ebay but have had bad experiences with sellers selling me either bad or "random" seeds. I will look into sand cherries though. Thank you for the suggestion.

I get a lot of tip death on mine I assume from an insect boring into the stems.  My shrubs are beautiful in flower, but I've never gotten the large yields that others talk about...not sure why.  What berries I do get are a pleasant nibble.

Get your young plants from a reputable nursery. I got mine from Edible Landscaping, not cheap but you know your getting a good plant.

BLB has a good point. I've also looked for these shrubs and wondered why some nurseries sell them dirt cheap like 3 for $12 and some for $15 each.

Have to second getting starter plants from a reliable source.  After that, you can increase the numbers by propagating your own plants. Just left unattended if you bury a lower limb or two you will have good sized new plants to transplant next season. they also put up new plants from the roots once they reach a certain size. If you are ambitious, root cuttings from your own plants. You may start with sand cherries but dollars to donuts you will find yourself expanding into currents, gooseberies and jostaberries too :)

was curious if someone w a collection could provide some comparisions. Running out of space here, looking at the photo makes me want to bid! LOL.was curious if someone w a collection could provide some comparisions.
Running out of space here, looking at the photo makes me want to bid! LOL.