rockm

I have a Black Cherry (Prunus resinosa) that I collected about eight years ago. I have found they are marginal to good bonsai material. They have some quirks that are not easily overcome.

They are a pioneer species with all the associated issues, branch drop and die back along with an added attraction--they are borer magnets.

Internodes can be short, but usually it is pretty long. Internode length, from what I've seen in my area, depends on where the tree is growing. Stressed environments produce shorter internode length. In a pot, the tree will have very long internodes...

I have found this tree will drop branches and leaves if it gets too dry too wet or pruning is too aggressive. They sucker from the base too.

Branching is stiff and awkward, as that's the way the species usually grows in the wild. Pruning has to be carefully done in the spring, as the branch tends to die back behind the cut by at least an inch, sometimes more, sometimes the entire branch. Even a little die back can kill off the buds left on the branch. The entire branch may follow.

Borers are a real problem, as this is a fruit tree. Borers love fruit trees. You have to keep a very close watch in the spring for these pests as they can do significant damage in a short time. One almost girdled and killed my tree in a couple of days. Sawdust piles at the foot of the tree in April, along with slime trails are a tip off you've got to do some borer patrol.

I would not collect another one unless the trunk was REALLY good--not the typical arrow straight trunks with gun metal colored smooth bark that is typical of the species. Older specimens, like the one I stumbled across are capable of having beautiful rough plated pine-like bark. Mine was also collected in an area where it was regularly bumped into by drunken four wheeling teens, resulting in some pretty nice natural shari too. Look around ALOT for an interesting trunk. I wouldn't waste the effort on something that's "typical."

On the plus side, they are extremely easy to collect with very little root. I simply sawed mine out of the ground. It's trunk is seven inches across. I just took a saw to the large lateral roots four inches out, pried the tree up, severed the tap at the trunk. No problems at all. Tree recovered fine. The tree backbudded up and down the old wood on the trunk in a few weeks.

Good luck.