The Cherry species is a part of the Prunus genus which includes trees and shrubs like peach, plum, nectarines, and more. The Prunus genus includes over 430 different species of trees and shrubs. In this article, we are specifically focusing on the different types of Cherry species.
There are also many different Cherry species around the world. Some well-known Cherry species are the wild cherry, black cherry, and cherry blossom tree. I am are going to focus on cherry trees as a general species, but I will also include specific examples of cherry species when it fits the uses.
Cherry is a deciduous hardwood.
Cherry trees are used as food for humans, food for animals, woodworking, woodturning, landscaping, as a symbol of nature, farming, bonsai, firewood, medicine, flooring, and smoking food.
Cherry Trees Produce The Best Fruits
The cherry tree produces some of the best fruits that are known to the existence of mankind. It is hard to find someone that does not like the fruit that the cherry tree produces, and if you are one of those people that does not like cherries, you can leave this article now! (just kidding).
But not all cherry trees produce cherries that are palatable and tasty for us humans. The cherry species that are most commonly consumed by humans for food are the Sweet Cherry (Prunus avium) and Sour Cherry (Prunus Cerasus).
The taste of cherries is unmatched by most other fruits, they are sweet and juicy with an acidic kick to them.
Where I live in Norway, when road-tripping during summer, you will find stands of unmanned cherry stands along the road that sells the most amazing cherries and is the perfect road trip snack.
Cherries can also be used to make anything from jam to ice cream to candy.
Animals Loves Cherries
Many animals also love the taste of the sweet juicy cherry fruit. Birds are especially fond of the cherry, birds like the catbirds, finches, mockingbirds, blue tits and starlings love to partake in the consumption of cherries. Actually, most birds like cherries.
If you are a bird and don’t like cherries, you can leave this article now! (not kidding this time)
One of the biggest problems for cherry farmers is that birds can eat a large portion of the cherry crops. Farmers use many different methods to deter birds from eating their crops. A popular method is to make loud sounds frequently that scare the birds, usually sounding similar to a cannon shot. They also use visual deterrents in the form of scarecrows.
Cherry: A Favorite For Woodworking
The wood from the cherry tree is one of the most favored woods to use for woodworking by many woodworkers. The wood from the cherry tree machines well is easy to work with, has a beautiful grain pattern, and produces amazing-looking finished products.
You have to use sharp tools when working with cherry, dull tools will produce burn marks on the wood because of the increased friction.
Cherry wood can be quite expensive and exclusive, so cherry wood is often used for finer woodworking and smaller projects where the final beauty of the product is in focus.
Cherry wood will darken considerably over time when exposed to light and oxygen. This is one of the beauties of cherry wood.
Woodturning Beautiful Bowls
Cherry wood is also one of the better woods to use for woodturning. Cherry wood is easily on the lathe, has a beautiful and unique grain and color, and it also finishes and oil really well.
You can use cherry wood to turn many different objects on the lathe. Some good examples are bowls, goblets, table/chair legs, and more.
Landscaping With Cherry Blossom Trees
When using the cherry tree for landscaping we mainly talk about the cherry blossom trees. Cherry blossom trees are an overarching term of many different species with different properties like the color of their flowers.
Cherry blossom trees have been used for centuries to decorate beautiful parks, gardens, and other communal areas. The cherry blossom trees blossom early in spring before most trees have even started producing their visible leaves. The blooming of cherry blossom trees gives us an early start to the spring and is a sign of the coming summer season.
The Cherry Tree Has Unique Japanese Significance
The Cherry Blossom Tree has a unique meaning in Japanese culture. In Japanese culture, the cherry blossom tree represents our short-lived but beautiful lives. The blossoms bloom early in spring and stay in bloom for around two weeks. It reminds us to live in the moment and pay attention.
Want To Learn More About The Meaning Of Cherry Blossom Tree: Check Out This Article
Cherry Farming
The fruit from the cherry tree is so good that it is grown in large farms where the cherry fruit is produced in large quantities for an ever-expanding demand for cherries. These large plantations use high-tech machinery to harvest and process the fruits from the cherry tree.
As I said earlier in the article, birds love cherries, and the farmers have to use physical and audial methods to scare the birds away.
Cherry farms harvest thousands of trees every year and the cherry trees are grown all across the world.
Make Small Cherry Bonsai Trees
Bonsai is the art of growing small varieties of trees that naturally grows to be much larger. The cherry tree is a beautiful tree that is great for making bonsai out of. You can make a cherry bonsai for the beauty of the tree, but you can also make fruit-bearing bonsai trees.
A fun fact about bonsai trees is that the fruit will often become the same size as it normally would, regardless of the size of the tree. Bonsai apple trees will have large apples hanging on a tiny tree.
Cherry Firewood Smells Good
Cherry is a great wood to use as firewood. When burning cherry wood the smoke gives a pleasant and rich smell. This makes it a favorite to use in firepits and campfires. The heat output the cherry wood produces when burned is fairly average and not as high as the heat output of a denser wood like white oak for example.
Black Cherry is the main cherry wood used for firewood in the united states. It is a species of cherry that is naturally growing in the wild, and across most of the USA.
Cherry produces little smoke when burned, it splits easily and its seasons and dries quickly within 6 to 12 months.
Warm Cherry Hardwood Floors
Cherry is gorgeous wood to use as hardwood flooring. When using cherry wood as hardwood flooring it is important to know that you like the style of it, because the color of this much cherry can be quite intense. Cherry wood also darkens over time, the cherry hardwood flooring you install today will look completely different in a year.
Cherry hardwood will evolve to have a rich red color when matured, this will give the room a calm and warm feeling. Cherry floors were very popular one or two decades ago but they have become less and less in style with the design of modern houses. But cherry floors definitely have a unique look to them.
Cherry wood is on the softer side of woods commonly used for hardwood flooring like oak. Cherry wood will dent more easily.
Cherry hardwood floors are a great choice if you want calm and warm rooms
Smoking Sweet And Rich Food
Cherry is one of the most common woods to use for smoking any type of meat. Cherry is an allrounder when it comes to smoking meat and the wood can be used for smoking anything. Cherry gives a mildly sweet taste to the meat, the smoke also smells good while smoking the meat.
Cherry can be used for grilling, roasting, cold smoking, braising, hot smoking, baking.
Black Cherry is one of the most common cherry species used for smoking meat because of the availability of black cherry wood.
Check Out The Uses Of Other Tree Species
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