Mayday Cherry vs White Meadowsweet - TreeTime.ca

Mayday Cherry vs White Meadowsweet

Prunus padus

Spiraea alba

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Mayday Cherry
White Meadowsweet

Mayday Cherry is a small deciduous tree known for its early blooming and fragrant white flowers.

A favourite specimen tree on prairie homesteads, Mayday Cherry produces small black berries that are inedible to people but highly desirable to birds.

White Meadowsweet is a woody, deciduous shrub that begins to bloom in early summer with small white and pink flowers. Its foliage turns from a light green into an attractive golden-yellow later in the fall.

The White Meadowsweet, also known as Mead-Wort or Bride-Wort, is favored by birds and butterflies but is largely ignored by deer. They produce small brown berries in the summer, and while they are technically edible, they are not sweet and are more desired by wildlife.

Mayday Cherry Quick Facts

White Meadowsweet Quick Facts

Zone: 3a
Zone: 3a
Height: 9 m (30 ft)
Height: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Spread: 8 m (25 ft)
Spread: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: normal
Moisture: normal, wet
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: fast
Life span: short
Life span: short
Suckering: low
Suckering: high

Toxicity: seeds and leaves are toxic if ingested

Fall colour: golden yellow
Flowers: early blooming, white
Flowers: white, small
Fruit: small black berries
Berries: small black berries
Seeds: located within the berries
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, PE
Other Names: common bird cherry, european bird cherry
Other Names: mead wort, meadowsweet, narrowleaf meadowsweet, pale bridewort, pipestem