Flowering cherry trees (Prunusspp.)
are among the showiest and most dramatic trees you could grow in your home landscape.
The flowers of the many varieties are both attractive and mildly fragrant.
After the leaves drop, you could enjoy the shiny, coppery bark through the winter.
There’s almost no limit to the way flowering cherry trees can be used.
The young tree benefits from protection against strong winds.
How and When to Plant Flowering Cherry
Plant bare-root flowering cherry trees in fall.
Dig a hole the same depth as the bare-root tree or container and twice as wide.
If the tree is grafted, don’t cover the graft.
Backfill the hole and press down on the soil to remove air bubbles.
Soil and Water
Flowering cherry trees thrive in moist, well-drained soil that’srich in organic matter.
Water young trees weekly until they are established.
After that, the tree may only need supplemental water every 10 days.
When watering the tree, soak the ground all around the roots.
Temperature and Humidity
Flowering cherry trees don’t tolerate extreme heat or cold.
A period of cool 45F weather is needed for the dormancy period that precedes the spring blooms.
Flowering cherry trees prefer cool, dry weather.
Established trees can tolerate humid southern summers, but they need more frequent watering during hot, dry periods.
Prune flowering cherries in the winter.
Start by removing any offshoots (called suckers) that develop at the base of the tree.
Remove any dead or diseased growth, plus branches that grow in proximity and rub together.
However, judicious pruning may be needed to keep the tree from outgrowing the pot.
If these problems occur, an early spring utility of fungicide or the removal of affected limbs will help.
How to Propagate Flowering Cherry
Home gardeners can propagate a flowering cherry with softwood cuttings.
However, because many flowering cherry trees are grafted, the resulting tree may not resemble the parent.
The section should have two to four leaf nodes on it.
Place a plastic bag loosely over the pot and cutting and put it in a bright light location.
Mist the cutting every day to keep the planting medium moist.
Rooting typically takes two to three months.
Gently tug on the cutting occasionally until you feel some resistance, indicating the cutting has rooted.
Remove the bag permanently and wait while the cutting develops robust roots.
In a week or two, transplant it to the selected area.
Akebono Yoshino cherry is robed with masses of fragrant, double white to pink flowers.
It has a spreading, arching crown and dark green leaves that turn brilliant yellow in fall.
It grows 25-30 feet tall.
It grows up to 40 feet tall and 25 feet wide.
Zones 5-8
Tibetan Cherry
Prunus serrulabears shiny, copper-colored bark and white flowers in mid spring.
The green foliage turns gold in fall.
The tree grows 30 feet tall and wide.
Zones 5-8
Frequently Asked Questions
They are considered to be relatively short-lived trees.
Most of them live only 30-40 years.
Each tree may bloom for only a week or two, but they are spectacular during that time.
Add other cultivars known to bloom at different times to expand the show.
