wild cherry collected
- Thread starter JudyB
- Start date
rockm
Spuds Moyogi
Good luck. If this is a black cherry (prunus resinosa) expect to have to replace ALL the branch structure on a rolling basis. I've had one in captivity for some time now and it regularly drops branches. It also doesn't like branch pruning when in leaf...It also draws borers and carpets of tent caterpillars.
If it's a sweet cherry, you might have less to worry about, though.
If it's a sweet cherry, you might have less to worry about, though.
Gene Deci
Shohin
I collected a black cherry (prunus serotina) once under similar circumstances. It looked a lot like your tree actually. It sprouted prolifically from the base but I didn't have much luck getting buds higher up on the trunk.
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JudyB
Queen of the Nuts
rock, it's def. a black cherry, we have them all over the place here. Does yours flower for you? I'll have to watch out for the borers, but the caterpillers have plenty of birch here that they love even more!
gene, I'm hoping since I left 3 "trunks" on this, that I'll get something... if it lives, you know how those big taprooted trees are about getting yanked.
gene, I'm hoping since I left 3 "trunks" on this, that I'll get something... if it lives, you know how those big taprooted trees are about getting yanked.
rockm
Spuds Moyogi
Mine flowers irregularly. The flowers are nothing like "regular" cherries, though. They resemble wisteria racemes. The fruit sets in the same pattern. They are extremely resilient trees however. They are all over the place here in Va. too. Each one has at least one nest of tent caterpillars on it. As spring progresses into summer, those caterpillars completely defoliate each one. The trees don't seem to mind and push new sets of leaves in a month or so.
Hard pruning in the spring can result in a nasty-looking sap flows. They're not called "resinosa" for nothing. Wounds can ooze brownish mucilagenous sap that can pile up on soil surfaces. Such flow can also point to borers' holes...
Don't expect a lot of ramification. These tend to push thick shoots up high (apically dominant).
Hard pruning in the spring can result in a nasty-looking sap flows. They're not called "resinosa" for nothing. Wounds can ooze brownish mucilagenous sap that can pile up on soil surfaces. Such flow can also point to borers' holes...
Don't expect a lot of ramification. These tend to push thick shoots up high (apically dominant).
jk_lewis
Masterpiece
The only "black cherry" I know is Prunus serotina. It is a widespread native that grows all over the east and Midwest. I have tried them off and on over 20 years when I found a "likely" specimen, but have had NO luck turning them into anything resembling a decent bonsai.
It's unlikely that the borers that like the birch will even look at the cherry. Prunus sp. have their own groups of borers -- lots of them. P. serotina also gets every known leaf rust or leaf spot disease known to man. It is a favored host for various webworm species, also.
So . . . good luck.
It's unlikely that the borers that like the birch will even look at the cherry. Prunus sp. have their own groups of borers -- lots of them. P. serotina also gets every known leaf rust or leaf spot disease known to man. It is a favored host for various webworm species, also.
So . . . good luck.
jk_lewis
Masterpiece
For some reason my last post appeared twice. It wasn't worth READING twice, though and it seems you can't delete your own messages here, so sorry for the wasted space.
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rockm
Spuds Moyogi
You're right Jim. I am always thinking Resinosa because of the sap thing. Serotina it is.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prunus_serotina
BTW, DON'T eat the cherries or the leaves. They contain cyanide compounds that can make you pretty sick.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prunus_serotina
BTW, DON'T eat the cherries or the leaves. They contain cyanide compounds that can make you pretty sick.
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JudyB
Queen of the Nuts
Thanks, -yeah, around here horse people doze em, so the horses don't eat the poison parts.
Jkl, thanks, I didn't think it'd be much of a good tree, but figured since I had to dig it up (posthole going there) I'd pot it, and experiment.
I really want an ornamental Japanese cherry variety, I've seen a wonderful one called Sato - Superba cultivar in a book, I'd love to know if anyone knows of growers of this type for bonsai material.
Jkl, thanks, I didn't think it'd be much of a good tree, but figured since I had to dig it up (posthole going there) I'd pot it, and experiment.
I really want an ornamental Japanese cherry variety, I've seen a wonderful one called Sato - Superba cultivar in a book, I'd love to know if anyone knows of growers of this type for bonsai material.
Gene Deci
Shohin
Our club got a bunch of flowering cherry seedlings mail-order from Bill V. a few years ago which were put out as part of our annual auction. A couple of them are comimg along nicely and flower profusely even as small as they are. I do not know what the variety is though.
the bonsai kid
Mame
Judyb and rockm do you have any picks of your prunus sarotina? i just collected one out my yard today and look forward to working with it. I love the flowers on them(wonder if they can be reduced under bonsai treatment
Thanks
Thanks
rockm
Spuds Moyogi
Flowers do not reduce. Prunus Serotina is mostly a pain to work with. Hard pruning at the wrong time can result in the tree abandoning branches. Branches also die off for no apparent reason, so don't get attached to branch structure and plan to redesign the tree ever few years. They're also bug magnets, scale, borers and tent caterpillars LOVE them.
rockm
Spuds Moyogi
Probably not.
gergwebber
Shohin
thats nice to find a tree like that with an interesting trunk..... at work there is a stand of wild plum i always think about ripping into, but they are like a small forest of fishing poles so I leaves them for the day when I go at them with a saw and loppers
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