Wild Black Cherry (Prunus serotina)
Wild Black Cherry is remarkable for its value to wildlife. As a Keystone plant, it is the host for the Red-Spotted Purple, Hummingbird Clearwing, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, and 416 other species of butterflies and moths in our area (nwf.org)! It produces a profusion of aromatic flower clusters in the spring that are very popular with early pollinators and it is a host plant for the specialist bee Andrena fenningeri (Johnson and Colla, 2023) . Plus, the fruit is an important source of food to many birds (bird table) and mammals too (illinoiswildflower.info) (audubon.org)! Native Cherries are always a gift to the landscape.
Photo credit: Doug McGrady (1), John Blair (2-4)
Wild Black Cherry is remarkable for its value to wildlife. As a Keystone plant, it is the host for the Red-Spotted Purple, Hummingbird Clearwing, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, and 416 other species of butterflies and moths in our area (nwf.org)! It produces a profusion of aromatic flower clusters in the spring that are very popular with early pollinators and it is a host plant for the specialist bee Andrena fenningeri (Johnson and Colla, 2023) . Plus, the fruit is an important source of food to many birds (bird table) and mammals too (illinoiswildflower.info) (audubon.org)! Native Cherries are always a gift to the landscape.
Photo credit: Doug McGrady (1), John Blair (2-4)
Wild Black Cherry is remarkable for its value to wildlife. As a Keystone plant, it is the host for the Red-Spotted Purple, Hummingbird Clearwing, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, and 416 other species of butterflies and moths in our area (nwf.org)! It produces a profusion of aromatic flower clusters in the spring that are very popular with early pollinators and it is a host plant for the specialist bee Andrena fenningeri (Johnson and Colla, 2023) . Plus, the fruit is an important source of food to many birds (bird table) and mammals too (illinoiswildflower.info) (audubon.org)! Native Cherries are always a gift to the landscape.
Photo credit: Doug McGrady (1), John Blair (2-4)
Life Cycle: Perennial
Sun Exposure: Full, Light shade
Soil Moisture: Medium, Medium-Dry
Height: Up to 80 feet
Plant Spacing: 30-60 feet
Bloom Time: May-June
Bloom Color: White
Advantages: Bird Favorite, Caterpillar Favorite, Pollinator Favorite
Host Plant: Red-Spotted Purple, Hummingbird Clearwing, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, and 416 other species of butterflies and moths in our area (nwf.org)
Specialist Bee: Andrena fenningeri (Johnson and Colla, 2023)
Resource: Johnson, Lorraine, and Sheila Colla. A Northern Gardener’s Guide to Native Plants and Pollinators: Creating Habitat in the Northeast, Great Lakes, and Upper Midwest. Island Press, 2023
