Cherry

Cherry grows primarily in Appalachian and Northern regions. It is most heavily concentrated in the Allegheny Mountains of northwestern Pennsylvania. The lumber is renowned for its light red heartwood that slowly darkens with age. The wood is moderately heavy and hard. Cherry trees are relatively small so the lumber widths and lengths are often a bit narrower and shorter on average compared to other species.

Cherry is highly regarded in veneer, furniture and cabinets. Given its high cost, substitutes such as Soft Maple and Birch are sometimes stained to imitate Cherry. Buyers of Cherry generally prefer lumber with minimal “gum pockets”, small black streaks that sometimes occur randomly throughout the lumber. The red heartwood stands out from the cream colored sapwood. Some of Midwest’s Cherry is steamed before kiln drying to help bleed the heartwood color into the sapwood.