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Broadleaf tree · Rose family (Rosaceae)

Black cherry

Prunus serotina · also: American black cherry, Rum cherry

The black cherry comes from North America and was planted on a large scale in the 20th century in pine forests on sandy soil, to improve the soil and as a firebreak. That proved a mistake: birds spread it everywhere, it forms a dense shrub layer and so crowds out the native woodland plants. In the Netherlands it earned the nickname ‘forest pest’. You recognise it by the glossy, leathery leaf with rusty-brown hairs along the midrib underneath, and by the bark, which smells of bitter almonds. Don’t plant it. This page helps you recognise it, keep it in check and remove it, and suggests native alternatives.

Caution: Stones, leaves and bark are poisonous: they release hydrogen cyanide. Don’t let children eat the little cherries or crunch the stones. Wilted leaves, after pruning or a storm, are dangerous to horses, cattle, sheep and goats. And don’t plant it: it is an invasive non-native species.

Updated on 10 October 2026

Light
Sun or partial shade
preferably some sun
Moisture
Normal
no wet feet
Legal basis
Acid soil
acid
Hardiness
Throughout Belgium
no protection needed
Size
10–20 m, often shrubby
tall
Flowering
May–June

Key facts
Height	10–20 m, often shrubby
Native to Belgium	No, naturalised
Good for bees, butterflies and birds	Yes, for bees
Poisonous to people and pets	Yes, take care with children and pets
Flowering	May–June

Identify

Black cherry: how do you recognise it?

Habit: Tree of 10–20 m, but often a broad, multi-stemmed shrub; in woods it forms a dense shrub layer.
Leaves: Alternate, elliptical, 5–12 cm, leathery and glossy dark green, finely toothed with incurved teeth. Underside with rusty-brown hairs along the midrib.
Bark: Dark, with horizontal lenticels; smells of bitter almonds.
Flowers: Spikes of small white flowers in May–June.
Fruit: Black little cherries in late summer, which birds eat and spread.
Difference from bird cherry: The native bird cherry has a dull, thin leaf without brown hairs and flowers earlier, in long hanging spikes.

Flowering: May–June

Identify by feature: Black berries

Looks like it, but isn’t

Bird cherry Prunus padus: dull, thin leaf without brown hairs; flowers earlier, in long hanging spikes. Difference from bird cherry

In your garden

Why grow it?

Why not to plant it: it is an invasive non-native species that overruns entire woods, especially on sandy soils.
Birds spread the stones: if you leave it in your garden, you are seeding it into the woods around you.
Stones, leaves and bark are poisonous to people and animals.
Recognise it early: a seedling is still easy to pull up, a large shrub is far harder to get rid of.

Black cherry: where does it grow best?

Grows in sun and part shade; seedlings survive for years in shade and shoot up as soon as light reaches them.
Mainly on acid sandy soil: in pine and oak woods, woodland edges, hedgerows and gardens.
From there birds spread it to every open patch in the area.

Light: Sun or partial shade
Legal basis: Acid soil
Moisture: Normal
Size: 15 m tall, 8 m wide
Hardiness: Throughout Belgium, no protection needed

Goes well with

Bird cherry: The native alternative for moist soil: long, hanging, fragrant flower spikes in April–May and little cherries for birds.
Wild cherry: A native cherry tree with white blossom and cherries for birds, for a large garden or woodland edge.
Rowan: A native tree for acid sandy soil, with orange-red berries for thrushes.
Alder buckthorn: A native shrub of sandy soils with berries for birds; food plant of the brimstone butterfly.

Good and bad companions

Goes well with

Tolerate the shade under this tree: oregon grape, rhododendron, oleaster, japanese skimmia, garden privet, camellia, laurustinus, box-leaved honeysuckle

Maintenance

Black cherry: when and how to plant it?

Don’t plant it, not even as a hedge or windbreak, and don’t leave seedlings in your garden.
Looking for a native cherry? Choose bird cherry for moist soil, or wild cherry for a large garden.
For berries for birds on sandy soil: rowan or alder buckthorn. For a tree on acid soil: silver birch or English oak.
Pull up seedlings as soon as you see them, roots and all, ideally after rain when the ground is soft.

Care

Seedlings: Pull them up with the whole root; broken-off roots will regrow.
Young shrubs: Lever them out of the ground with a garden fork, with as much root as possible.
Large shrubs and trees: Cut them down and dig out or grind the stump. If the stump stays, cut off new shoots several times a year, for years on end, until the roots are exhausted.
Follow-up: Come back in the following years: stones in the soil and birds will keep producing new seedlings for a long time.

Tip: Not sure whether it is black cherry or native bird cherry? Turn a leaf over: rusty-brown hairs along the midrib and a glossy, leathery upper side point to black cherry.

Black cherry: when to prune it?

When: Don’t prune; remove it, preferably before it sets fruit.

How:

Pull up seedlings and young shrubs, roots and all.
Cutting it down without removing the stump leads to vigorous regrowth: dig out or grind the stump, or keep cutting the regrowth for years.

Caution: Don’t leave cut branches in a field: wilted leaves are poisonous to horses and livestock. Take away branches with cherries rather than composting them.

Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Don’t propagate: Don’t propagate it and don’t give away plants or seedlings: that only helps it spread.
How it spreads: Birds eat the black little cherries and drop the stones far from the tree. After cutting, it also resprouts vigorously from the stump.

Black cherry: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy throughout Belgium: no protection needed.

Fully hardy.
Winter, when the ground is wet and soft, is a good time to pull up shrubs and dig out stumps.

Diseases and pests

Regrowth after cutting: A shrub that has been cut down sprouts lots of new shoots. Dig out or grind the stump, or keep cutting the regrowth for years.
Seedlings in garden and wood: Birds sow it everywhere. Go over your garden and hedgerow every spring and pull up seedlings.
Crowding out: Under a dense shrub layer of black cherry, native trees no longer germinate and woodland flowers disappear. Tackle it before it forms such a layer.
Confusion with bird cherry: The native bird cherry is a valuable species: check for brown hairs along the midrib and a glossy leaf before you remove anything.

Through the year

January: Dig out large shrubs, or cut them down and remove the stump, in mild weather.
March: Pull up seedlings while the ground is moist.
May: Flowers in white spikes: remove flowering shrubs before they set fruit.
June: Cut off regrowth from felled shrubs.
July: Last chance to remove shrubs before the cherries ripen.
August: The cherries ripen: take away branches with fruit, not to the compost heap.
September: Cut off regrowth again; pull up seedlings.
November: Plant native alternatives, such as bird cherry or rowan.

Use

What can you use it for?

For wildlife: Flowers for insects, but it crowds out the native woodland flora.

Caution: Stones, leaves and bark are poisonous. Better to remove it than let it seed further.

Good for wildlife

Bees: Nectar and pollen for honeybees and wild bees.

You and this species

Did you know?

An invasive non-native species that overruns entire woods, especially on sandy soils.
In the Netherlands foresters call it the ‘forest pest’, even though it was planted there in the 20th century precisely to improve pine forests.
In its homeland, eastern North America, it grows into a stately tree with valuable timber; here it often stays a shrub.
In the 20th century foresters planted it widely in pine forests, to improve the soil and as a fire-resistant understorey. Only later did it become clear how invasive it is.
In its native North America it is a valued forest tree: its reddish-brown American cherry wood is prized for furniture.

All species · Identification key · Pruning calendar