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Scientific Name:
Prunus avium
Pronunciation:
PROO-nus aye-VEE-um
Common Name:
sweet cherry, bird cherry
Family Name:
Rosaceae
Plant Type:
Tree - deciduous
Key ID Features:
Leaves elliptic, most blades 5-12(-15)cm long x 3-6cm wide; margin unequally serrate; flowers solitary, 2.5-3.5cm wide, petals white and about 1cm long; drupes (cherries) oval shaped, most 1.5-2.5(-3.5)cm long. Winter ID: exfoliating bark; buds clustered, ovoid; flower buds more rounded, about 5-7mm long x 3-4mm wide; leaf scars half-round to crescent shaped with 3 bundle scars.

Habit:
Irregular, Spreading, Upright
Form:
Oval - vertical, Round
Texture:
Medium - coarse
Mature Height:
15 - 22m
Mature Spread:
10 - 15m
Growth Rate:
Moderate
Origin:
Africa, Europe, South Asia / India
Hardiness Rating:
Zone 5: (-29 to -23 °C)
Exposure:
Full sun, Part sun/part shade
Soil/Growing Medium:
Well-drained
Water Use:
Moderate
Landscape Uses:
Attract beneficial insects, Attract birds, Urban agriculture
Additional Info:
Google. Cultivars shown may include P. 'Bing'.

Leaf Morphology:
Form:
Simple
Arrangement:
Alternate
Texture/Venation:
Soft flexible
Surfaces:
Lustrous
Colour in Summer:
Dark-green, bronze when young
Colour in Fall:
Yellow, Red
Shapes:
Ovate
Apices:
Acute
Bases:
Cordate
Margins:
Serrate
Additional Info:
Spectacular fall colour

Inflorescence Type:
Flowers clustered, Floriferous
Flower Morphology:
Flowers perfect
Number Of Petals:
5
Corolla Shape:
Rotate/stellate
Ovary Position:
Inferior
Colour (petals):
Showy, White
Flower Time at Peak:
Mar, Apr

Fruit Type:
Drupe
Fruit Colour:
Dark-red
Fruiting Time:
Jun, Jul
Additional Info:
Showy

Bark Morphology:
Exfoliating, Prominent lenticels
Bark or Stem Colour:
Red
Additional Info:
Banded
Leaf Bud Type:
Ovoid
Leaf Scar Shape:
Half-round
Propagation:
Seed, Greenwood cuttings, Softwood cuttings
Pest Susceptibility:
Galls, Mites, Nematodes, Scale insects, Virus (Rabbit resistant)

Course(s):
  • HORT 1155
Location(s):
  • (ENA)  Eastern North American planting
  • (FEA)  Field lab Equipment Area : confirm species
  • (FSC)  Far South Campus
  • (TFL)  Turf Field Lab
  • (TFLE)  Turf Field Lab East
  • (TFLN)  Turf Field Lab North
  • (WDH)  Wark-Dumais House
  • (WLG)  WoodLand Garden
Location Map