Ornamental Bird Cherry - Prunus padus Watereri
Prunus padus Watereri is sometimes called (with good reason) Prunus padus Grandiflora; the flowering stems of
Prunus padus Watereri have the best structure of any bird cherry species. Sometimes reaching more than twenty centimetres, nine inches, in length, each stalk or raceme is a well formed, smoothly tapering cone of tightly packed, little white flowers that exude a fine, nutty scent and are a big hit with bees and butterflies. In autumn, these are followed by a large number of small, inedible black fruit that contrast well with the bold autumnal colours of the foliage, though you probably won't have much time to notice as birds tend to get them all pretty quickly. First cultivated about a hundred years ago, this tree has won an Award of Garden Merit from the RHS as a tree that is both simple to look after and beautiful, as well as an award for being desireable to use in flower displaysthough we think that the flowers look best when they are covering the tree.
Prunus padus Watereri is noticeably bigger than its close relatives and
can reach fifteen metres, fifty feet, high.
An extremely hardy and unfussy tree, the only requirement for a happy Watereri is a well drained soil. They will do just fine in a shady site with poor soil, though you will help it establish quickly by improving poor earth with some good old manure and you may lose out on some flowers if it is too shady.
If you are unclear about the way standard trees are sized, take a look at our Guide to Standard Tree Sizing or you can go back to our main standard trees page.
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