Prunus avium 'Wild Cherry'

[Ex. Co. Durham, England]

SWEET FORM***

Rosaceae, large fast growing deciduous tree to 30m, with bark that turns mahogany red and peels with age. The white cup shaped flowers give a magnificent display in mid to late spring. The fruits are small and red to purple, appearing in summer. The leaves turn crimson in autumn. A widespread throughout the British Isles, except in Northern Scotland and Western Ireland. It grows in woods, hedgerows, and copses, open in hilly areas. Birds are particularly fond of the ripe fruits and can completely strip a tree within a day. The wild cherry is often used as a stock for grafting cultivated varieties.

USES:

The fruit can be used raw or cooked, its fruit can be either sweet or bitter depending tree, the fruit can be cooked in pies, preserves, also an edible gum is obtained by wounding the bark. The very bitter seeds contain hydrogen cyanide in small quantities, so best not eaten.

The fruit stalks are astringent, diuretic and tonic, a decoction is used in the treatment of cystitis, oedema, bronchial complaints, looseness of the bowels and anaemia. An aromatic resin can be obtained by making small incisions in the trunk, this has been used as an inhalant in the treatment of persistent coughs.

GROWING INFORMATION:

Wild cherry seeds have a deep dormancy within them, this requires a degree of patience to overcome and it is usually possible to get good levels of germination if the correct procedures are followed.

First prepare a free draining substrate into which the seeds are to be mixed, this can be a 50/50 mixture of compost and sharp sand, or perlite, vermiculite or even just pure sharp sand has worked well for me. The chosen substrate needs to be moist (but not wet), if you can squeeze water out of it with your hand it is too wet and your seeds may drown and die. Mix the seeds into the substrate, making sure that there is enough volume of material to keep the seeds separated.

Place the seed mixture into a clear plastic bag (freezer bags, especially zip-lock bags are very useful for this -provided a little gap is left in the seal for air exchange) If it is not a zip-lock type bag it needs to be loosely tied. Then write the date on the bag so that you know when the pre-treatment was started.

The seeds first require a period of warm pre-treatment and need to be kept in temperatures of 20°C for a period of at least 2 weeks - it is not critical if it lasts a week or two longer than this. During this time make sure that the pre-treatment medium does not dry out at any stage or it will be ineffective!

Next the seeds require a cold period to break the final part of the dormancy, this is easily achieved by placing the bag in the fridge (4°C) for at least 18 weeks, again if it is for a little longer it does not matter. It is quite possible for the seeds to germinate in the bag at these temperatures when they are ready to do so, if they do, just remove them from the bag and carefully plant them up. Seeds that are ready to germinate will have split the hard outer case and can quickly begin to produce a root. For small quantities I tend to just leave the seeds in the fridge and remove the germinated ones as they arise and plant them up. I find that this way you can get the maximum number to germinate.

After a few months any remaining un-germinated seeds can have the whole warm and cold process repeated again. For larger quantities it is easiest to sow the seeds in a well prepared seedbed once the warm and cold pre-treatments have finished and wait for the seeds to germinate. Seeds that are ready to germinate will have split the hard outer case, if they have not done so the pre-treatment is not yet complete or has been ineffective due to incorrect temperatures or incorrect moisture content of the pre-treatment medium.

It has also been found that fluctuating pre-treatment temperatures can give the best germination results and I have myself had excellent results by keeping the mixed seeds in a cold shed through the winter for the cold stage of their pre-treatment and allowing the temperature to fluctuate naturally.

Do not expose newly sown seeds to high temperatures (above 25°C) otherwise a secondary dormancy may be induced and the seeds will not germinate until they have been pre-treated again. Germinated seeds can be planted in deep pots or plug trays in a good quality compost. Keep the seedlings well-watered and weed free. Growth in the first year is usually between 30-60cm and usually trouble free. Allow them to grow for 1-2 years before planting them in a permanent position.

HARVESTED: 2025

 

APPROX. 25 SEEDS