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Sweet Cherry

Prunus avium (PROO-nus AH-vee-um)

Family: Rosaceae Non-native Understory

Sweet cherry is a deciduous tree in the rose family (Rosaceae) and cultivated in landscapes for its edible fruit. This tree is native from Europe to Afghanistan and northern Africa. The origin of the sweet cherry’s botanical name is derived from Latin. The sweet cherry enjoys full sun and grows to a height of 15 to 30 feet with a matching spread. It prefers moisture-retentive soils that provide good drainage as it will not tolerate wet soils. Gardeners value sweet cherry for its showy, fragrant, white flowers in spring, its fruit in summer, and its yellow leaves in the fall. The fruit is a fleshy drupe, yellow or red with a large pit (stone). It has occasionally escaped from gardens and naturalized in the landscape. Sweet cherry is a nice addition to an edible, butterfly or pollinator garden. Insects, Diseases and Other Plant Problems : Potential disease problems include leaf spot, bacterial canker, brown rot, black knot, crown gall, leaf curl, leaf scorch, powdery mildew, root rot, scab and shot-hole fungus. Potential insect pests include aphids, fruit flies, sawflies and scale. Birds and squirrels will eat mature fruits. Late frosts will damage the buds. VIDEO Created by Laura Barth for "Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits, and Nuts," a plant identification course developed in partnership with Longwood Gardens. More information on Prunus .

Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗ NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, 56 attributes.

How it fits the guild

Guild layer 2 - Understory
See companions & conflicts ↓

Companions & Conflicts

Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.

No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.

Also noted by NC State

Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.

Fills a similar niche Prunus armeniaca Prunus domestica Prunus persica

Full plant profile

Growing Conditions
Plant type
Edible; Poisonous; Tree
Life cycle
Woody
USDA zones
3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Light
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Maintenance
High
Canopy layer
2 - Understory
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Columnar; Conical
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Elliptical
Leaf margin
Serrate
Leaf size
1-3 inches long, 1-3 inches wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Toothed on the margin with 2 small red or green glands at the base of the blade. Petiole has a groove.
Flower color
White
Flower value
Showy
Flower size
1-3 inches
Flower detail
1-few in a rounded cluster, 5-parted, 1-1.5 in. Emerge with the leaves.
Bloom time
Spring
Fruit color
Gold/Yellow; Purple/Lavender; Red/Burgundy
Fruit type
Drupe
Fruit value
Edible
Fruit size
< 1 inch long, < 1 inch wide
Fruit detail
Fleshy, yellow to red to purple-red, with a large pit (stone) and long stem.
Bark color
Dark Brown; Light Gray; Red/Burgundy
Bark detail
Very distinct horizontal lenticels. Old wood may be grey with horizontal ridges.
Stem color
Brown/Copper; Red/Burgundy
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Non-native
Origin
Europe to Afghanistan, Northern Africa
Wildlife value
This is a larval host plant to Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus). You may see three flights from February-November in the deep south and two flights from May-September in the north.
Attracts
Butterflies; Pollinators
Play value
Edible fruit
Food & Medicine
Edible parts
Fruit
Fruit type
Drupe

Edibility

Fruit edible raw or cooked.

Landscape Use
Landscape theme
Butterfly Garden; Edible Garden; Pollinator Garden
Design feature
Flowering Tree
Garden tags
#fruit tree #poisonous #edible fruits #ebh-fn #ebh #problem for cats #problem for dogs #problem for horses #eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly #butterfly friendly #larval host plant #vhfn-f #vhfn #pollinator plant #frequent disease problems #frequent insect problems #wildlife friendly #hortcontest #edible #th-taste #th-wildlife
Problems & Resistance
Insect problems
Ornamental Cherry Pest Management Calendar; Cherry Lace Bug; 15. Tree Fruit and Nuts
Problems
Frequent Disease Problems; Frequent Insect Problems; Poisonous to Humans; Problem for Cats; Problem for Dogs; Problem for Horses
Poison severity
Medium
Poison parts
Flowers; Fruits; Leaves; Seeds
Poison symptoms
The leaves, flowers, green fruits, ripe fruits and seeds contain cyanide compounds in detectable quantities, but the seeds and fruit stalks have the highest concentration of toxins. If a couple of pits (stones, which enclose the seeds) are accidentally swallowed, it will not cause poisoning, but care should be taken to remove pits before fruits are processed in a blender or any other machine that will crack open the pits. Symptoms include gasping, weakness, excitement, pupil dilation, spasms, convulsions, coma and respiratory failure.
Toxic principle
Cyanogenic glycosides (amygdalin & prunasin)
Contact dermatitis
No
Toxicity summary
Medium severity poison; parts: Flowers; Fruits; Leaves; Seeds

Planted at Hunnicutt

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