Wild Cherry Sapling Trees

• Variety: Wild Cherry, also called Gean or Mazzard, the native Cherry, as young saplings
• Latin name: Prunus avium
• Sold as: Bareroot saplings, 60/80cm, 150/175cm and 200/250cm tall
• Use: Screening, woodland and wildlife planting. Not a plant for a clipped hedge
• Mature size: More than 12m tall and more than 8m wide
• Native: Yes
• Flowers and fruit: White flowers in late spring, then small, shiny red-purple Cherries
• Autumn colour: Orange and red
• Best soil and site: Any soil with decent drainage. Full sun. Exposed or sheltered
• Wildlife: RHS Plants for Pollinators
• Hardiness: H6, hardy through the British winter
• Delivered: Bareroot, November to April. Collection from Castle Cary also available

Wild Cherry, or Gean, is a big, vigorous native tree with white flowers in late spring, small Cherries that the birds take, and orange and red autumn leaves. These are young bareroot saplings for screening, woodland and wildlife planting, and the cheapest way to plant Wild Cherry in number.

Wild Cherry Sapling Trees

The Wild Cherry tree, Prunus avium, is a large, vigorous native tree with white flowers. It'll grow on any soil with decent drainage.
Wild Cherry isn't ideal for a clipped hedge, but it can be planted as a screening tree and pruned so that it branches low down.
It can grow up to about 25 metres high.

The plants on this page are young saplings. You can also buy larger wild cherry trees.
Browse all of our other varieties of wild and ornamental cherry blossom trees, edible cherry trees or all our fruit trees.

Wild Cherry saplings are only delivered bareroot, during winter (Nov-April).

Choosing a size:
When you are ordering a large quantity of Wild Cherry for a big planting project, we suggest that you buy the smaller, 60/80cm tall plants. They're cheaper than large plants, easier to handle and more likely to cope well with poor conditions.
Use the larger 150/175 tall plants if you want a full grown tree quickly.
All of our young trees and shrubs are measured by their height in centimetres above the ground (the roots aren't measured).

General description:

Wild cherry trees are vigorous and wide spreading. Mature trees have a suckering tendency and, over time, a single tree can create a cloned thicket of itself over a large area. It looks lovely in spring, with simple, scented white flowers frothing out from the brown and green new leaves. The cherries are edible and a bit sweet, but the flavour isn't great unless you cook them with some sugar; best to leave them for the birds, who prefer these wild fruit to your precious cultivated ones.
It's not really suitable for a clipped hedge, Cherry Plum is much better suited for this.

Planting Companions

Bird Cherry is the other native Cherry. For the native hedge below your trees, plant Hawthorn and Field Maple. For a bigger tree from day one, buy a standard Wild Cherry. Dust bareroot roots with Rootgrow as you plant.

Why Ashridge for Native Trees?

Hedging and young native trees are not a sideline here: your Wild Cherry saplings are grown for us by specialist growers. Bareroot plants are lifted to order while dormant and guaranteed for 12 months. Ashridge has sold plants since 1949 and is a Which? Best Plant Supplier 2025.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Gean the same tree as Wild Cherry?

Yes. Gean and Mazzard are old names for the Wild Cherry, Prunus avium, the native tree from which the sweet eating Cherries were bred.

Can you grow Wild Cherry as a hedge?

Not as a clipped hedge. Plant it as a screening tree, pruned so that it branches low down, or in a native woodland mix. Cherry Plum is the better plant for a clipped hedge.

How big does a Wild Cherry grow?

It reaches more than 12 metres tall and more than 8 metres wide, in 20 to 50 years. It is a tree for a big garden, a field corner or a wood.

Can you eat the Cherries?

They are edible and a bit sweet, but the flavour is thin unless you cook them with sugar. Most people leave them for the birds, which prefer them to cultivated fruit.

Does Wild Cherry sucker?

Mature trees do. Over time, one tree can make a thicket of itself, which is welcome in a wood and less so beside a lawn. Plant it where that will not matter.

Which size of sapling should you buy?

For a large planting, the 60/80cm size. Small saplings cost less, are easier to handle and cope better with poor conditions. Use the 150/175cm size for a tree quickly.

When are the plants delivered?

Bareroot only, from November to April, while the plants are dormant. You can order at any time of year and your plants are lifted and sent once the season opens.