Plant · P-395

Bush Cherry

Prunus japonica

Bush Cherry is a compact East Asian shrub that stays under about five feet, cropping a small, sweet-tart cherry that is eaten fresh or cooked into pies, jams and preserves. Fruit quality is unusually inconsistent from seed - some plants taste sweet and agreeable, others harsh and sour - so it is worth trying a named selection if fruit is the goal. Its kernel and root have a genuinely varied history of herbal use, well beyond the usual token mention for this genus. It flowers early enough to feed the first bees out, and whatever fruit people do not pick goes to the birds.