Prunus Species, European Bird Cherry, Hackberry, Hagberry, Mayday Tree

The European Birdcherry grows well in the Midwest. It looks good in bloom. A landscape architect planted several on the hospital grounds ...Read Morewhere I worked. They were in part shade and developed a lot of Black Knot Disease on the twigs and branches all over. This species is only infrequently planted in the Midwest and only landscape architects seem to know of it. I never saw any self-sowing on the grounds, and I don't know if this species native to Europe and northern Asia would be terribly invasive in North America.

Pretty and hardy Spring blooming tree with white good scented flowers. Usually blooms in May/June in Finland.

Finnish nam...Read Moree: Tuomi
Swedish name: Hägg

Also called Swedish Clump Mayday tree. Member of the chokecherry family. One of the first blooming trees of the season. Grows to aroun...Read Mored 20 feet wide and 30-40 feet tall.

Leaves emerge in April, dark green above, lighter below. Elliptic to ovate, 2-5" long.

Flowers are white and very fragrant. The flowers are in clusters like grapes. They appear in May after the leaves have emerged.

Fruit are black berries, about 1/4" in diameter, and appear in late summer.

Bark is a gunmetal gray.

Decorative tree. Extremely hardy, from zones 2 through 9. It is susceptible to black knot (fungus). Control by pruning and burning afflicted parts.

Rule of thumb for pruning: The interior of the tree is kept open to allow good air circulation. Prune off dead, diseased and broken branches.

It is a deciduous, multi-stemmed tree. It has an annual growth rate of 6-24" and has a useful life of 12-50 years.

I have noticed that the ants love this tree. Have not seen aphids on it. I planted my tree two years ago and it is beginning to shoot out new stems from the center. Have had no problems with any fungus. I have it in full sun and it seems to like it. We get a lot of stong winds here and it seems to have adapted well to that.