Dwarf cherry – description, flowering period and general distribution in British Columbia. the beginning of flowering. Buds close up.

Dwarf cherry – description, flowering period and general distribution in British Columbia. branches with buds on a background of blue sky.

Dwarf cherry – description, flowering period and general distribution in British Columbia. flowering branch on the background of the terrace.

Dwarf cherry – description, flowering period and general distribution in British Columbia. flowers close-up.

Dwarf cherry – description, flowering period and general distribution in British Columbia. blooming alley in the park

Dwarf cherry – description, flowering period and general distribution in British Columbia. two berries on a twig

Dwarf cherry – description, flowering period and general distribution in British Columbia. trees with ripe berries

Common name:

Dwarf cherry

Scientific name:

Prunus cerasus.

Other common name(s):

Sour cherry, Tart cherry, Dwarf cherry, Montmorency cherry.

Life form:

Tree.

Flowering time:

6 days.

Flowering period

in British Columbia for this plant is: April ↔ May.

NECTAR PRODUCTION:
30 kilograms per ha

SOURCE FOR HONEY BEES:
Minor

General distribution:

Prunus cerasus (sour cherry, tart cherry, or dwarf cherry) is a species of Prunus in the subgenus Cerasus (cherries), native to much of Europe and southwest Asia. It is closely related to the sweet cherry (Prunus avium) but has a fruit that is more acidic.

Cultivated sour cherries were selected from wild specimens of Prunus cerasus and the doubtfully distinct P. acida from around the Caspian and Black Seas, and were known to the Greeks in 300 BC. They were also extremely popular with Persians and the Romans who introduced them to Britain long before the 1st century AD. The fruit remains popular in modern-day Iran.

In England, their cultivation was popularised in the 16th century in the time of Henry VIII. They became a popular crop amongst Kentish growers, and by 1640 over two dozen named cultivars were recorded. In the Americas, Massachusetts colonists planted the first sour cherry, 'Kentish Red', when they arrived.

Map of distribution and habitat in Canada

This plant is present in at least 36 states/provinces in this country.

See The Map

Botanical description:

The tree of sour cherry is smaller than the sweet cherry. Its height is 4-10 m. A small tree, usually round-topped or spreading, bearing root suckers; leaves are ovate, hard, stiff and rather abruptly pointed, minutely toothed; flowers white, in cluster of 2-5 on slender pedicles, 2-4 cm long, appearing with the leaves; fruits globose, 0.6-1.25 cm in diameter, light red to nearly black, acid or sweet. The bark is bitter, astringe. The fruit is sour and sweetish.

Seasonal development:

Blooms late, with white flowers clustered on 2–4" long pedicels. Flowers appear on 1-year-old wood along with spurs. Ripens in late June, just 2 months after the spring bloom.

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