Prunus padus Colorata - Bird Cherry

Prunus padus 'Colorat' is a cultivar of the Cherry plum or Bird cherry that displays a beautiful range of red tones. Much more colourful than the classic species, this tree with moderate growth is charming with clusters of fragrant pink flowers in spring, young coppery purple leaves, summer foliage washed with purple, small black fruits, and autumn colours. In winter, it reveals its beautiful reddish-brown bark. The Bird cherry is perfect for clay and limestone soils. Suitable for medium-sized gardens, it can be pruned and integrated into a hedgerow.

Prunus padus 'Colorata' was discovered in 1953 in the wild in Smaland, Sweden. The species is a small tree in the large family of Rosaceae, known by different names depending on the region such as amaruvier, stinking wood, putier, putiet, putet, or pétafouère. It is native to Europe and northern Asia, and can be found in Japan. Its natural habitat is rather humid environments, where it spontaneously grows on clayey, often limestone, and seasonally waterlogged soil. This shrub, which suckers when not grafted, spontaneously forms thickets, but it does not appreciate the competition from other shrubs. The 'Colorata' cultivar has a slower growth. At maturity, the tree will reach between 8 and 9m in height with a spread of 4m if not pruned, depending on the growing conditions.

In the 'Colorata' Bird cherry, the bark of the trunk and older branches is reddish-brown with light lenticels, and the twigs are very red. The branches emit a scent of bitter almond when broken, which earned it the name stinking wood. The young spring leaves are coppery purple. The mature leaves are dark green on the upper side, veined with purple, often partially tinged with purple as well. Their undersides are covered with numerous tufts of down. They are ovate to obovate, finely toothed on the edges, and measure 6 to 13cm in length. This deciduous foliage takes on beautiful shades of orange, red, and purple in autumn before falling. Flowering occurs in April-May (sometimes in June) depending on the region, on branches with young leaves. The pink colour of the flowers forms a beautiful combination with the purple leaves. The 1.2cm diameter flowers have 5 white petals and a delightful scent of almond. They are arranged in pendant clusters measuring up to 15cm in length. Pollinated by insects, these nectar-rich flowers give way to small black "cherries" the size of a pea, ripe in August. These bitter to sour, astringent berries, which are not very fleshy and have large stones, are sometimes used to make liqueurs, jellies, or jams. The harvest is uneven and varies in a 3-year cycle. Some birds in the countryside are fond of them.

Prunus padus 'Colorata' is a very hardy tree that will thrive in many regions, as long as it has deep soil in which it can sink its roots. It should be planted in an open position, for example, as a specimen tree or in a large group of sparsely planted trees. It pairs well with many shrubs and small trees that bloom in spring, simultaneously or staggered, such as ornamental apple trees, flowering peach trees, Prunus mahaleb, quince trees, medlar trees, blackthorn, dogwoods, viburnums, flowering almond, hawthorns, and more.