{"product_id":"black-cherry","title":"Black Cherry (Prunus Serotina)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLocal Name:\u003c\/strong\u003e Black Cherry\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBotanical Name\u003c\/strong\u003e: \u003cem\u003ePrunus serotina\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFamily: \u003c\/strong\u003eRosaceae\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNative Status: \u003c\/strong\u003eDakota County Native\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLandscape Archetype: \u003c\/strong\u003ePrairie (as a successionist invader), Savanna, Woodland, Forest\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLife Cycle:\u003c\/strong\u003e Legacy (80-100 years, rare individuals can live up to 200 years)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSun Exposure:\u003c\/strong\u003e Full sun to shade\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSoil Moisture:\u003c\/strong\u003e Mesic to Dry\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSoil Type: \u003c\/strong\u003eLoam, Clay, Sand, Gravel\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHeight \u0026amp; Width Range:\u003c\/strong\u003e Height: Medium Canopy Tree (60-90 ft.)  Width: 20–40 ft at maturity\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBloom Color: \u003c\/strong\u003eWhite\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMorphology Notes:\u003c\/strong\u003e A tall forest tree with a slender trunk and relatively small crown when it is growing in competition with other trees. The bark is smooth dark reddish brown when young, eventually turning grey and fissured with scales as it ages. The bark is highly ornamental and provides excellent texture in a closed canopy situation or when paired with contrasting leafy textures. Leaves are oval, finely serrated, glossy (glabrous) above, with a pale underside and have a gorgeous orange fall color. Spring flowers form in slender, drooping racemes of small white blooms. The fruit orients itself in those same clusters, forming red and maturing to black. This tree is prized by woodworkers for its strong tight grains and beautiful heartwood color. You can build a guitar neck or inlay a desk in 20 years if you plant it today.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFruits and Seeds:\u003c\/strong\u003e Fruits are glossy red to black drupes containing a single hard seed. They ripen mid‑ to late summer hence the botanical name, \u003cem\u003eSerotina\u003c\/em\u003e derived from the Latin \u003cem\u003eserōtinus\u003c\/em\u003e, meaning “happening late” or “cherry that comes late”. The cherries are loved by birds. Despite common misconceptions, the fruit is also edible to humans, but seeds contain Hydrogen cyanide. Do not break or chew the seeds because you can potentially release the cyanide into your system. One seed probably won’t kill you but eating them like fistfuls of almonds will surely make you sick. If you eat a seed whole it will likely pass through you with no problem as this is a design feature of this plant. Remember birds eat them whole every year and still somehow house cats are the biggest threat to their safety. Some trees have highly palatable fruit while others are gross. In urban and suburban yards, the fruit will be so high on the tree you’ll never get it, but in wide open sunny spaces the branches will be low to the ground giving you an advantage over the birds. Eat raw, cooked, juiced or jammed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHabit and habitat: \u003c\/strong\u003eAn upland forest tree scattered in oak‑maple forests, forest margins, edgelands, forgotten fields and fencerows where birds poop out the seeds. In our area along with Aspens (\u003cem\u003ePopulus spp.\u003c\/em\u003e), cherries are one of the first trees to establish after disturbance or buckthorn removal. Thrives in well‑drained soils but tolerates a range of soils from sandy uplands to richer mesic forests. The root system is extensive but plays nice with underplanting’s.  Shade‑tolerant when young but won’t persist in deep shade. It grows best with canopy breaks or wide-open sun. If you live in the Twin Cities area you probably have this species on your property already so build a garden around it as this tree will easily outlive you with a life span of 80-200 years!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCompanions: \u003c\/strong\u003ePartners in crime: Red Oak (\u003cem\u003eQuercus rubra\u003c\/em\u003e) or really any Oak species, Big‑tooth Aspen (\u003cem\u003ePopulus grandidentata\u003c\/em\u003e), White Pine (\u003cem\u003ePinus strobus\u003c\/em\u003e), American Hazelnut (\u003cem\u003eCorylus americana\u003c\/em\u003e), Gray Dogwood (\u003cem\u003eCornus racemosa\u003c\/em\u003e), Chokecherry (\u003cem\u003ePrunus virginiana\u003c\/em\u003e), Nannyberry (\u003cem\u003eViburnum lentago\u003c\/em\u003e), Serviceberry (\u003cem\u003eAmelanchier arborea\u003c\/em\u003e), Red‑berried Elder (\u003cem\u003eSambucus racemosa\u003c\/em\u003e).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFriends to plant with a Prunus sapling: Silky Wild Rye (Elymus villosus), Woodland Sunflower (Helianthus strumosus), Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum), Solomon’s Plume (Maianthemum racemosum), White Snakeroot (Ageratina altissima), Zigzag Goldenrod (Solidago flexicaulis), Brown Eye Susan (Rudbeckia triloba), Late Figwort (Scrophularia marilandica), Sweet Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium purpureum), Giant Purple Hyssop (Agastache scrophulariifolia).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAdditions to add under a mature specimen:  Bottlebrush Grass (\u003cem\u003eElymus hystrix\u003c\/em\u003e), Woodland sedges\/Carex species like\u003cem\u003e C. Sprengellii or C. Rosea, C. eburnea\u003c\/em\u003e, Woodland asters like \u003cem\u003eSymphyotrichum lateriflorum\u003c\/em\u003e or \u003cem\u003eS. cordifolium,\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cem\u003eActaea spp\u003c\/em\u003e., Smooth Solomon’s Seal (\u003cem\u003ePolygonatum biflorum)\u003c\/em\u003e, Sweet Cicely (\u003cem\u003eOsmorhiza claytonii\u003c\/em\u003e), Early Figwort (\u003cem\u003eScrophularia lanceolata\u003c\/em\u003e).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEcological Associations: \u003c\/strong\u003eBlack Cherry is a quintessential wildlife tree. Its flowers attract a wide range of mining bees (\u003cem\u003eAndrena spp\u003c\/em\u003e.), sweat bees (\u003cem\u003eLasioglossum spp\u003c\/em\u003e.), small carpenter bees (\u003cem\u003eCeratina spp\u003c\/em\u003e.), and numerous syrphid flies. The leaves host larvae of hundreds of caterpillars including Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (\u003cem\u003ePapilio glaucus\u003c\/em\u003e), Eastern Tent Caterpillar (\u003cem\u003eMalacosoma americanum\u003c\/em\u003e) and a variety of leafroller moths. The foliage also supports generalist geometrid and noctuid caterpillars that define the base diet for woodland birds in the nest. The fruit is heavily used by Gray Catbird (\u003cem\u003eDumetella carolinensis\u003c\/em\u003e), American Robin (\u003cem\u003eTurdus migratorius)\u003c\/em\u003e, Cedar Waxwing (\u003cem\u003eBombycilla cedrorum\u003c\/em\u003e), and many thrushes, which disperse the seeds widely. Bark and wood tissues support boring beetles as well as fungi like the Black Knot Fungus (\u003cem\u003eApiosporina morbosa\u003c\/em\u003e), a common pathogen of Prunus species that creates the lumpy “burl‑like” growths seen on trunks and branches. You can’t walk through a forest without seeing one of these bulges or black cankers on the stems. If your tree gets this you can consult an arborist, but these trees are tough and will live unaffected for decades.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eProvenance: \u003c\/strong\u003eDakota County\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNH Propagation Technique: \u003c\/strong\u003eSeed\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSpecial Powers: \u003c\/strong\u003eYour relationship with this tree will be like that movie, She’s All That, from 1999. A popular person like yourself makes a bet with your neighborhood that you can turn an overlooked tree into a garden centerpiece. You choose Black Cherry (Prunus serotina), a quiet, underappreciated plant that secretly kicks ass. But as your scheme unfolds you get to know Black Cherry in a deeper way, the makeover you planned becomes secondary to your developing relationship. When the truth about the bet comes out, both you and Black Cherry have to decide who you really are and what you actually want. Stay together? Or let your neighbors' opinion dictate your yard? Don’t be the one left standing naked at graduation. Regardless, Black Cherry is a four-season queen. She looks beautiful young and old, in sickness and in health. She performs indispensable ecosystem services throughout her entire lifespan as a true keystone species—she really is all that and a bag of chips.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Northern Holler, LLC","offers":[{"title":"6\" Woody","offer_id":48188153594106,"sku":"PRUN-SERO-01","price":10.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"#1 Woody","offer_id":48188512370938,"sku":"PRUN-SERO-02","price":15.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"#2 Woody","offer_id":48188512403706,"sku":"PRUN-SERO-03","price":20.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"#3 Woody","offer_id":48647528808698,"sku":"PRUN-SERO-04","price":30.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0806\/9929\/3946\/files\/20241021_155223820_iOS.jpg?v=1773783922","url":"https:\/\/northernholler.com\/products\/black-cherry","provider":"Northern Holler, LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}