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The back stone fruits of the bird-cherry are ripe: botanically they are tiny plums and the fruit flesh is even edible – these sourish fruits are a quite good source of Vitamin C, but make for constipation. Some even like such "mouth-thickening” fruits. Tea can be made from both leaves and fruits.

It is a common bush everywhere, sometimes growing into a large tree. As young it tolerates shadowed sites well. The bird-cherry is not recommended for planting in one’s yard, but there is no real reason for that; it might be that its various insect pests are disliked, but the bark and shoots of the bird-cherry aren’t eaten by rabbits nor even by the very undemanding goats. All could see the widespread damage caused by the bird-cherry ermine moth (Yponomeuta evonymellus) in 2005-2006, when great numbers of bird-cherry trees were left leafless, but they recovered the following year without further complications.