The Wild Cherry is yet another British tree that’s definitely magic. It has had religious / superstitious associations since pre-historical times; linked mostly with warding off evil and stopping people getting lost. We use it for milling timber for furniture, as firewood and for making cooking and smoking products.
We do also get some garden type Cherry blossom tree pruning etc, this tends to go to wood turning and firewood as its not quite as good as wild Cherry for smoking and not usually big enough for milling.
Cherry trees grow to over 25 metres in height and live for over 50 years. The bark is red brown colour and has horizontal sort of dotted lines (lenticels). There are a couple of native UK Cherry trees, the one we get most of in lowland Scotland is Gean or Wild Cherry which is native to the whole UK and widespread.
Cherry timber
Cherry logs are nice to mill / cut but can be a bit springy when green and during drying, especially the sapwood. When you cut it Cherry logs go a striking red / orange colour then calm down to a deep reddish brown once dried out.
The timber is strong, medium weight and takes polish or oil about as well as anything. Great for wood turning and for making furniture. Most of the Cherry timber you see available in the UK are actually American imports. The British version is a lighter (classier of course) colour with pink hues rather than deep reds. British Cherry is available commercially but its not as common so look at small local sawmills in your area to find it.
Cherry for smoking and cooking
If we can’t mill it we use Cherry wood to make excellent logs, chunks and chips for smoking and cooking. Cherry is a mild smoking wood, gives food a sweet smoky taste but also imparts a strong reddish colour to lighter foods like cheese and chicken.
