Black Cherry

[ksgobbler]

I did a search. Seemed people love it, but some hate it. Couldnt find a thread dedicated to it but I have been wrong before. Looking for something different and these are available from the state nursery cheap. They say turkeys like them, and frankly I would consume them in jellies and such.

 

[MickT]

The fruit is very small- about the size of a pencil eraser. Great for birds- robins have wars over the one in my yard. You have to be careful about livestock eating the leaves on broken limbs- I believe they can develop toxic levels of prussic acid.


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[Native Hunter]

That's true about leaves and branches being toxic to livestock. I write right-of-way clearing contracts for utilities, and we always include language about this for livestock protection.

They are a nuisance to me and my native grass fields. Birds poop out the seed and you get lots of sprouts coming up. I personally wouldn't plant them, but to each his own.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

Black cherry grows like a weed around here. Tall and straight trees are highly valuable for lumber. Burns great in a wood stove. Songbirds love the berries. Grouse and turkeys too. And bears gorge on them in the fall. If you want some diversity, sure, a nice tree to go with.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

When we logged at camp, the forester told us to leave the few black cherry we have for seed / seedling production. Also for the diversity. X-2 with Natty above.

Every situation is different - if you have too many, maybe you don't need to plant any more. Birds and critters do spread the seeds.

 

[Northbound]

One of my favorite wood stove fuels, smells great! I've tried grafting fruit cherry varieties to it but always fails.
We get lots of them around here but rarely do they grow straight. I've always wanted to talk to someone who deliberately planted them, if so do they grow straighter than volunteers I'm used to seeing

 

[sandbur]

I am on the edge of the black cherry range. Many of the young trees get browsed. It also seems like Deer like the fruit.


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[Apple Junkie]

I don't think these cherries are suitable for human consumption, they're very small and mostly pit. Personally, I like to have some cherry for timber and for the diversity it brings to the habitat.

 

[g squared 23]

Add for diversity, they’re a neat tree to have, but it’s not going to feed or draw many critters. So if the latter is your goal, I’d look elsewhere. But a solid native specimen.


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[H20fwler]

They are natural here too but no where has really thick stands it’s more like just a few here and there. I like them, they have a unique look the cut wood can be used for everything and the fruit gets eatin up fast the short time it is on. When one falls they rot pretty fast on the ground and that is good for a lot of insects and birds.
Like others have said they create more diversity in the food chain for a lot of different wildlife and if they stay alive long enough to get big and grow straight they are a good tree to sell.

 

[ksgobbler]

I have none currently on my property. Cant see them become a nuisance in my grass since it gets burned regularly. Since they grow quickly I thought about using them as a row in a windbreak.

 

[MickT]

They won’t do much to knock the wind off in the winter. Have you looked at shrub oaks or chinkapin? You get mast and they tend to hold their leaves.


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[ksgobbler]

Soil is wrong for chinkapin.

 

[bigbendmarine]

Wild black cherries are about pea sized at my place in North FL, but from time to time I've grabbed a handful of two and they're tasty when ripe though admittedly too small to do anything other than nibble on.

That said, deer LOVE them in our neck of the woods. They're the ONLY thing I've seen that pulls bucks right out into the open around my house during summer days when they're falling. The deer hang around under the trees day and night. Put a camera on one and got 1,400 hits in 4 days. Also can say that deer here DO browse leaves they can reach.

 

[Tree Spud]

It is a weed tree on our property. Grows under the canopy and produces little or valuable fruit.

Yes, good burner in the stove, but competes for water /nutients with other more valuable species.

 

[rocksnstumps]

They do make good syrup for over ice cream. And also liqueur just like chokecherries too

 

[ksgobbler]

They do make good syrup for over ice cream. And also liqueur just like chokecherries tooView attachment 22552View attachment 22553

That is one of the major reasons they interest me. Also its another source of pollen for my bees. Ive been planting very pollinator friendly things lately. Everything we gave out for xmas this year was harvested from our property. Jalapeno jelly and cowboy candy along with honey and wild plum jelly.