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| What do you all think of this one? I usually associate it with parks and along the highway. I have one growing in the line of walnuts but it is still only fifteen foot tall or so. Am I correct that if open grown it will spread to about 40 and grow to about 50 feet? How annoying are any of its problems? Any good reason I should not go plop it out in an open space? |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Tue, Nov 27, 12 at 17:51
| mine are about 60 tall.. by 40 wide ... nice tree .. old fence rows plants .. probably at least 60 years old ... one week of stench from the flowers .. but mind you i have at least a dozen of them.. and one is just out the back door.. i dont recall noticing the smell.. on the ones out 3 acres ... otherwise a pretty nice.. FAST tree ... you have seen my pic of a bare root in back of the tractor trailer.. many times.. i am sure ... the cherries are 95% pit .. and bitter as heck.. useless .. and in the hosta beds.. i do tend to have to kill many with round up .... never seen a seedling in the lawn ... ken |
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| I probably have about a dozen Prunus serotina in the yard, ranging from young trees to the largest which is about 50 years old. These are rangey trees with craggy bark in maturity. Flowers are nice but not super showy. IIRC fall color is yellowish and they tend to lose some leaves early, perhaps due to leaf diseases? It is Prunus afterall. It's a weedy tree and seeds prolifically - I am always weeding out seedlings. Personally I would grow this tree in more of a naturalized setting, not a formal one or as a lawn specimen. Mine are all in the back yard. On the plus side, this is a fantastic wildlife tree. Pollinators love the flowers, birds love the fruits, and it hosts many butterflies and moths. I have observed on more than one occasion a female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly laying eggs on the big Cherries, unfortuntely much too high in the canopy for me to collect the eggs! Birds love to hop around the trees looking for insects, and there's a squirrel nest in my biggest tree. Also the leaves are small, and don't need much raking. |
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| On the plus side, this is a fantastic wildlife tree. Pollinators love the flowers, birds love the fruits, and it hosts many butterflies and moths. I have observed on more than one occasion a female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly laying eggs on the big Cherries, unfortuntely much too high in the canopy for me to collect the eggs! Birds love to hop around the trees looking for insects, and there's a squirrel nest in my biggest tree. Totally agree. |
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| Black cherries in extreme W MD (Swallow Falls SP) reach 120' among surrounding hemlocks, tuliptrees & white pines. Mine's 50'+ now (it was already here when I got here). However, it's a poor "shade" tree -- much of the sun goes right thru it. Fruit is rare too -- almost always aborts most/all its fruit halfway thru the summer. Thoroughly ripe black cherries are actually excellent eating. Below's a couple ripe ones. I won't cut it, but there are better lawn trees. |
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| That is another american tree high on my wish list. It is quite hard to come by here, but not impossible. It is actually used as a street tree sometimes, mostly in the 1960-70 but even in the last years |
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- Posted by alabamatreehugger 8a/8b south Alabama (My Page) on Wed, Nov 28, 12 at 20:19
| I have plenty of them, but when they get old and tall the tops tend to break off in storms. |
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| "However, it's a poor "shade" tree -- much of the sun goes right thru it." I find this a desirable trait. But it's not even as trus as it is of some other trees. I'd call it a moderate shade tree. "I have plenty of them, but when they get old and tall the tops tend to break off in storms." |
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- Posted by Dzitmoidonc 6 (My Page) on Thu, Nov 29, 12 at 0:04
| Like somebody said above, the fruit is a nuisance. If the birds ate them all (not ever), then you wouldn't mind it as much. As it is, when you have a gathering around the 4th of July, stay away from them, because the sky is full of falling things. Also the weekend after. The interesting things are the flies that appear when the fruit is on the ground. They draw flies that only fly about a foot high. They bother your ankles and you think they'll go for you drink, but the never fly up. A nice tree, and I also have P. flavium, but as a lawn tree there are better if you are going to plant one. Put the cherries away from your living area. |
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