This variety is cold-hardy to zone 3. It is very vigorous and fast growing, with spreading trees reaching up to 12' in three years. Hanska means "tall" in Sioux! It blooms early and is not self-fertile. It will require another Japanese, hybrid, or a native plum (P. nigra or P. americana) for pollination. The pollination of hybrid plums is poorly understood, but the most reliable pollinator - especially for growers in cold climates - will be a native plum, P. americana, while European plums will not pollinate this variety. Ember, Kaga and Bubblegum (Toka) are also recommended pollinators for early-blooming hybrids. (Hanska itself is rated as a fair pollinator.)

Ripening mid-season, Hanska is a small, clingstone fruit with bright red skin, a heavy blue bloom, and yellow flesh. The fruit is excellent for fresh eating, and the fragrant apricot notes of the P. simonii emerge even more fully when Hanska is cooked. 

Like Kaga, this plum is a cross of Prunus americana with Prunus simonii (a Chinese plum). This cross is among the many products of Niels Hansen's breeding program at South Dakota State University, where Hansen strove to produce cold-hardy plums of excellent flavor. Hanska was introduced in 1908.