Prunus padus 'COLORATA'

European bird cherry is our native plant which grows wildly in all almost all parts of our continent except for its hottest southern regions. They are melliferous and produce abundance of small berries offering a nice autumn feast for birds. In the nursery trade a few varieties have become quite popular, they have vary by size, canopy shapes, and even the colour of flowers and leaves.

Colorata is a Swedish variety of European bird cherry from 1953 variety producing pink flowers and coloured foliage. In late April appear slender racemes composed of tiny, cotton-candy pink, scented flowers. Deciduous leaves are narrowly obovate, very dark green and emerge tinged an attractive tone of deep maroon, and in autumn turn golden orange and scarlet red for a short period of time. It makes long, slender, and slightly arching branches that form a somewhat irregular rounded canopy. It can be pruned after flowering.

Bird cherry is ideal for places where more demanding trees find the soil too difficult to cope with. It can take almost any soil type, from sandy and dry in summer to clay and heavy ground. If you make sure the plant does not stand in water for the first few months after transplanting you can be sure it will establish happily in its new home. However, on too dry locations it will bot thrive and tend to be short-lived. It can spread by suckers and its roots may heave weaker foundations if placed too close. Perfectly hardy to at least -40 °C (USDA zone 3).

Last update 20-03-2007; 20-02-2022