PLANT NATIVE: BLACK CHERRY

BLACK CHERRY, Prunus serotina Height: 50-60 feet Spread: 35-45 feet Sun: full sun to part shade Water: medium

Black cherry, with its spreading limbs and arching branches, is the largest and most important native cherry for wildlife. It blooms in spring, loaded with small, fragrant white flowers, each clustered together to form a narrow pendulous raceme. The abundant flowers are very attractive to small native bees and other pollinating insects. The shiny, dark green leaves turn lively shades of yellow, orange, and red in the fall. The tree produces copious amounts of small black fruits in the summer, highly prized by many songbirds, and i’s a larval host to a good number of butterflies and moths. It has a reputation as weedy and aggressive in forest restoration, where new seedlings can overtake open ground. In the home landscape this tree has not been a problem, however it might seed around here and there. It is seldom planted in home landscapes, but for gardeners wanting wildlife habitat, it’s worth planting.

Native plant recommendations from the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum, plantnebraska.org