A cherry tree will produce fruit after three or four years. Some cherry trees don't grow fruit. Most cherry trees have large, shiny green leaves arranged alternately on branches. Cherry tree bark is not shaggy, but very hard, making it useful as building material. Plum blossom bark is darker than cherry tree bark and does not have horizontal lines. % of people told us that this article helped them. For tips on distinguishing between a plum and cherry tree, read on! They are grown for their beauty, not their bounty. Plum leaves are purple. All cherries have a stone pit in the center. It's easiest to spot a cherry tree in the spring when it is in full bloom, or in midsummer when it is fruiting. Cherry tree bark has horizontal lines. The sticky resin was thought to promote a good complexion and eyesight, and help to … However, it's not a very hot burning wood. Wild cherries can vary a lot in their size and composition. Cherry Tree Leaf Identification. The flowers will appear in long narrow clusters after the leaves come out in the spring. Freeze them and use them in recipes! Cherry plums and regular plums are usually bigger, about 1 inch or larger. Identifying Cherry Tree Flowers and Fruit Study the flowers. Also, the leaves should be shiny, medium-green, and up to 5 inches long. References Cherry trees require at least some cold in the winter in order to thrive. You cannot change the taste. ", "I am showing my grandchildren which fruits are safe!". Honestly, best one I have come across. First, there are hundreds of different species of trees in North America. The bark of a cherry tree is soft, but not shaggy. Sweet cherry trees have more leaves than sour cherry trees. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. Can you identify a cherry tree by its height? The bottom leaves are usually medium green. In fact, cherry trees grow in Turkey, Iran, Spain, Italy, Chile, Romania, Greece, and many other countries. Up higher, the leaves turn paler yellow. Cherry tree flowers are either white or … All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published. "Nice to see what they look like in the woods. Cherry tree leaves are green or copper. In the spring, cherry trees will have white or pink blossoms with small clefts in each petal. For example. A good rule of thumb is that if the fruit is smaller than ¾ of an inch, it is probably a cherry. For tips on distinguishing between a plum and cherry tree, read on! It's very dark and strong, "It was very helpful with my question of how to identify a cherry tree. ", http://wildfoodshomegarden.com/Cherry.html, http://www.vcbf.ca/plum-versus-cherry-trees-how-to-tell-the-difference, https://www.extension.iastate.edu/forestry/iowa_trees/trees/black_cherry.html, http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2011_species.html, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9jJLIN9cRk, consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow. To identify cherry trees, begin by studying the leaves and looking for an oval shape with a point at the tip and serrated edges. Low-quality wood, as well as the sap wood, can be more tan. Traditionally, cherries were planted for their fruit and also their wood which was used for making cask hoops and vine poles. The most likely time to reach peak bloom is between the last week of March and the first week of April. The author puts just a few more bits of info like distinguishing. After about ten years of age, the prunus serotina begins producing a small, tart fruit, which is … In this case, several readers have written to tell us that this article was helpful to them, earning it our reader-approved status. If you see orange colored fuzz along the midrib of various leaves, it’s probably a black cherry tree. Keep in mind that other trees can be this height as well. In the summer, look for yellow, black or red fruits that are small and round. Conditions may not have been right. Next, look at the bark on the trunk, which will be gray or brown and have horizontal markings, called lenticels, on it. Some trees, like crab trees that flower, look a lot like cherry trees. Cherry fruit is rounder in shape than either of these. Yes. Kwanzan cherry trees produce white or pink double blooms, and Yoshino cherry trees produce white single blooms. are usually sorted into three broad groups: Ornamental cherry trees, native or wild cherry trees, and agricultural cherry trees. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. There are both sweet and sour varieties of cherries. Prunus fruit are drupes, or stone fruits. Plum buds are round. Your tree could be producing a wild cherry variety. Cherry buds are oval. Why does it take so long? Flowering crab apple trees are often mistaken for cherry trees, but if you look closely at their leaves, you will not see the small red glands. Many members of the genus are widely cultivated for their fruit and for decorative purposes. Learn more... Cherry trees are known for their beautiful blossoms. Cherry trees (Prunus spp.) Third, there is a lot of variability in wood, especially in regard to color and grain, the two features most people rely on for a positive identification. Be sure to rinse cherries after you pick them because the tree may have been treated with pesticides. What's in your soil can make all the difference, as well as if you have been pruning it or not. Cherry trees' smell is faint, if not non existent. Mature flowering cherry trees can reach 20’ (6.96 m) in height. When's the correct time to prune a non-fruiting cherry tree? Cherry wood is harvested from the American Black Cherry Tree (prunus serotina). Cherry trees are often confused with peach and plum trees, but it's not difficult to identify cherry trees if you know what you’re looking for. Sour cherry tree leaves have fewer than 8 pairs of veins per leaf. wikiHow's Content Management Team carefully monitors the work from our editorial staff to ensure that each article is backed by trusted research and meets our high quality standards. If you take a close look at the fruit, you should be able to distinguish cherry trees from other fruiting trees, such as cherry plum trees or apple trees. Cherry tree height ranges between 6 and 40 feet tall. Weather can also have an impact. I needed extra and deeper discussion on cherry trees. Approved. We know ads can be annoying, but they’re what allow us to make all of wikiHow available for free. Fruit trees can be fickle, and require specific circumstances in order to fruit. Many trees only bloom at a particular time during the year but if you can see flowers, usually in the spring, it can be another helpful to help with tree identification. Uses of wild cherry. ", "This was very helpful with a school project I had to do. I have a walking cane of my grandfather's.