Prunus padus 'Watereri'
Common name: Bird Cherry
Prunus padus 'Watereri', a cultivar of the native European bird cherry, is a medium-sized, deciduous tree with a spreading habit. It has slender racemes of small, star-shaped, white, almond-scented flowers. The flower buds on a raceme open gradually beginning at the base first and lastly at the tip. The racemes may be up to 20 cm (8 in) long. The oval-shaped leaves are dark green above, and paler on the underside. The leaf margins have many sawlike teeth.
Bees, butterflies, and other insects enjoy the nectar and pollen that the flowers provide. The small, reddish-black fruit is bitter and inedible to humans, but very attractive to birds that drop the seeds in their droppings.
Prunus padus 'Watereri' can be found in Bed 107T of the Autumn Stroll. The photos were taken on April 19, 2022 and May 3, 2022.
**P. padus 'Watereri' was raised at the Knap Hill nursery before 1914. Knap Hill nursery was thought to have been founded by John Waterer.
Text and photos by Kumi Sutcliffe