Prunus avium - Native Wild Cherry - 60cm-80cm

Prunus avium is our Native Wild Cherry and is one of the most visually spectacular deciduous trees native to Ireland. Holding the prestigious RHS Award of Garden Merit, it is widely celebrated for its brief but breathtaking spring blossom, high-value timber, and massive contributions to native woodland biodiversity. The leaves are large, oval, and a soft matte green with sharply serrated margins. A key botanical identifier is a pair of small, bright red fluid glands located right at the base of the leaf stalk.

Key Features

• Growth Habit: Grows into a medium-to-large tree, typically reaching 15 to 25 metres in height (and up to 30m) with a straight trunk and a broad, sweeping, rounded crown. 
• Tiger-Striped Bark: Highly distinctive, smooth, shiny reddish-brown bark that matures to an attractive purplish-chestnut shade. It features prominent horizontal breathing pores (lenticels) and has a tendency to peel away in papery horizontal strips. 
• Foliage: Alternate, oval, droopy leaves 7 to 15 cm long with sharply serrated margins and pointed tips. A vital diagnostic feature is the presence of two bright red glands situated at the base of the leaf stalk (petiole). The leaves fade into an intense display of orange, amber, and crimson in the autumn. 
• Blossoms: One of the earliest native indicators that spring is in full swing. In April and May, before its leaves emerge, the tree produces a dramatic display of pure white, cup-shaped, 5-petalled flowers hanging in clusters from long stalks.
• Fruit: Following pollination, the flowers mature into small, glossy, deep red-to-black cherries measuring roughly 10 mm across. While edible, the wild fruit is generally tart or bitter compared to modern orchard sweet cherries that were cultivated from this exact parent species.

Growing Conditions

• Sunlight: Strongly light-demanding. It requires full sun to light dappled shade to grow successfully and ripen its fruit crop.
• Soil: Thrives best in fertile, deep, moist, and well-drained soils, adapting comfortably to both acidic and lime-rich calcareous profiles.
• Soil Restrictions: Strictly cannot tolerate heavy clay, stagnant waterlogging, or poorly drained ground, which rapidly trigger root rot and fungal infections. It can also be quite sensitive to prolonged, severe droughts.
• Exposure: Fully cold-hardy, but it requires shelter from harsh coastal sea winds, which can scorch its blossoms and stunt its form.
• Root Dynamics: Possesses a vigorous network of shallow, adventitious roots. While excellent for binding bank soil to prevent erosion, it is wholly unsuitable for planting near buildings, patios, or underground pipes, as the roots can uplift structures.
• Cultivation & Maintenance: Best planted as bare-root whips between November and April during winter dormancy. Pruning should be kept to a minimum and only conducted in summer to minimize the risk of devastating bacterial canker or silver leaf diseases.

Wildlife Value

• A Lifeline for Early Pollinators: Because it is one of the earliest native trees to burst into flower, its massive clouds of blossom offer a critical early source of nectar and pollen for emerging honeybees, bumblebees, and solitary bees.
• The Avian Connection: The tree's botanical species name—avium—explicitly means "bird" in Latin. True to its name, the summer cherries are an invaluable energy source eagerly devoured by resident and migratory birds, including starlings, song thrushes, blackbirds, and fieldfares. The birds digest the flesh and drop the stones, facilitating widespread seed dispersal.
• Foragers The foliage supports over 30 specialized wildlife species, acting as an important food source for the caterpillars of native moths, such as the brimstone moth, short-cloaked moth, and cherry fruit moth.
• Mammal Scavenging: Fallen fruits on the forest floor provide a nutritious late-summer feast for badgers, foxes, wood mice, and bank voles.
• Nesting Habitat: Its broad, sturdy whorls of branches provide highly structured, secure nesting forks for woodland birds.