Cherry
As it is light demanding, it frequently can be found occurring as single trees or small groups, particularly along lowland woodland edges. Cherry often reproduces vegetatively by suckering so clumps frequently consist of identical trees. It is one of the first trees to flower in spring and the fruits are eaten by many small mammals and birds. Its attractive nature and its ability to grow well in many soil types has made cherry a common species in farm woodlands.
Why cherry is important
Demand for wild cherry timber is high, though top quality timber can be hard to find and very expensive. The timber is used for cabinet making, furniture, panelling and decorative joinery.
Our progress so far
Historically, many cherry seedlings planted in the UK were of continental origin and of unknown quality and uncertain adaptability. Many had characteristics similar to sweet cherry which have been bred to produce large fruited, heavily cropping trees with a wide, open and strong branching habit for ease of picking. Trees selected for timber production will have light branching, vigorous and strong apical growth. Timber trees also tend to be much less susceptible to bacterial canker. Therefore, ensuring trees are of a timber type is essential for forestry purposes.
The aim of the wild cherry improvement programme is to produce vigorous, well-formed trees of known timber quality characteristics, with resistance pests and diseases, especially cherry blackfly and bacterial canker. Working in partnership with East Malling Research, Future Trees Trust has helped with the development of several seed orchards which have been producing seeds for the nursery stock industry for over ten years. As a result of having high quality seed available the industry has significantly improved the quality of planting material available to foresters.
With up to 300,000 plants produced annually the old reliance on importing poor quality plants from Europe, which often had a sweet cherry origin, has been significantly reduced.
A Genetically Informed Seed Orchard
In 2026, Future Trees Trust established a pioneering wild cherry seed orchard at the Ditchley Estate. The orchard is the first of its kind in the UK, using genetic information to guide the position of every tree within the planting design.
Wild cherry trees belong to different incompatibility groups, meaning some trees cannot successfully pollinate one another. Working with Forest Research, Future Trees Trust used genetic data to identify these groups and developed bespoke orchard design software to optimise the layout of more than 800 trees across three orchard sites.
By carefully separating genetically similar trees, the design increases the likelihood that pollinating insects, such as bees, transfer compatible pollen between blossoms. This helps improve seed production while maintaining high levels of genetic diversity.
The orchard will provide a reliable source of high-quality, genetically diverse wild cherry seed for future woodland creation projects, supporting the establishment of resilient and productive forests for generations to come.
Find out about our first genetically informed cherry orchard design from Researcher Domen Finzgar:
