Help needed to ID a tree seedling/ sapling

Jun 17, 2021 00:48:50

Hello fellow growers.

I am hoping that with a few photos and some information I found about this tree, someone might be able to recognize the three and know more about it's growing characteristics, mature size, preference for sight as well as sunlight, etc. Below are a few photos. This is a one year old seedling that came up in a pile of gravel which was moved from its original location by the shed and into a pile on the driveway. (I have three or four more of these seedlings around my small plot, normally found at the foot of large pine trees or along the chain link fence - i.e., likely brought in by birds). I am in zone 7b, Piedmont area of North Carolina.

Using books, I have tentatively IDed the tree as a Wild Sour Cherry, except for the fact that no mentioning about the weeping growing habit is noted/documented. Generally,, there is not much information about it, other than "likely escaped cultivation" and especially about this unusual weeping form that it seems to be growing in. It is very beautiful - the branches are bending gently down, retaining the rounded form, almost like the arm's of a bowing ballerina, and handing so low they are touching "below" the ground - I had to elevate the pot by placing it on a few bricks to prevent me stepping on the branches by accident.

What puzzles me also is that neither in my neighborhood, no in the nearby parks, have I seen any tree resembling this growing habit (other thn some commercial cultivars other species). It should be mentioned that deer is very fond of them and the poor seedling does not stand a chance unless protected/fenced. Same goes for rabbits. So in the wild, the tree saplings have no chance of developing into a tree because of heavy browse.

Does this tree looks familiar to anyone? Any information would be greatly appreciated! Is it native? Rare or common? What species?

PS: This is a *very* thirsty tree and a big "drinker" Dries up in half a day. It has me trained by now to water it twice a day :-)

Jun 17, 2021 03:31:32

The weeping habit is interesting. I see grafted ornamental standards, some pretty old, as landscape specimens around the region. They look like similar weeping scion wood atop a 2m trunk. If it has attractive flowers you might have some propagation potential.

I also wonder whether it will bear decent fruit. My experience with seed-grown cherries is that they tend to be crap, so I graft known varieties on rootstock. We're overrun here with flowering trees spread by birds and none of them have fruit worth picking.

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