Maack's Bird Cherry

Family Rosaceae (Rosaceae). Grows in Primorsky and Khabarovsk Krais, Amur Oblast, Korea, and northeastern China. More commonly used in landscaping than other species. It was named after the Russian naturalist and explorer of Siberia and the Far East Richard Karlovich Maack (1825-1886).

\r\nA tree up to 17 m tall, with a broad pyramidal crown. The trunk is covered with very attractive, reddish-orange or golden-yellow bark, smooth, glossy, peeling across the trunk in paper-like, thin sheets, somewhat reminiscent of the peeling of some Far Eastern birch species. Such bark develops only in the light. In the rather dark taiga forests of the Far East the trunk color is not so bright, sometimes it is almost olive. Leaves glossy, elliptic or oblong, with an attenuate apex, sharply serrated, up to 13 cm long. In spring they are light green, in summer dark green, in autumn intensely yellow or yellowish-red. Flowers white, 0.6 cm in diameter, in erect oblong racemes, without scent. Fruits small, up to 5 cm in diameter, rounded, black, very bitter, inedible, serve as a treat for birds and bears, for which in its native land it received the name "bear berry". In autumn, unlike other species of the genus, it drops its foliage en masse and quickly.

Maack's bird cherry flowers and fruits from 7 years of age. It is very winter-hardy, tolerating temperatures down to -40°C. Prefers fertile, fresh soils, and is wind-resistant. Very sensitive to shading; even in partial shade it loses its ornamental value, whereas in full light it retains its decorative qualities well into old age. Resilient in urban conditions. Tolerates transplanting, pruning and asphalt paving well. Ornamental at any time of year. Little susceptible to pest attack. Grows quickly, easily propagated by seed; in natural conditions it produces natural hybrids with Maximovich's cherry. One of the best honey plants of the Far East. I. V. Michurin obtained an intergeneric hybrid between cherry and Maack's bird cherry - "Tserapadus".

\r\nRecommended for solitary and loose-group plantings, and for creating avenues. Considering its light-loving nature, it should be planted 5 m apart from each other. In cultivation since 1870.