Ornamental cherry, among the first trees to bloom

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For about a week in early spring, the branches vanish under flowers in hues ranging from white to pink: the ornamental cherry, or Japanese cherry (Prunus serrulata), is grown for that one spectacular burst of colour. Give it full sun, ordinary well-drained soil and shelter from wind, and the fragile blooms will last their full span.

Pruning and care will help it grow and bloom magnificently.

Planting ornamental cherry tree

It is recommended to plant in fall, before the first frost spells, to give the roots time to grow.
If you plant your Japanese cherry tree in winter, proceed only if it doesn’t freeze.

Just like most plants that have been purchased in pots or containers, it’s possible to wait for spring and summer to transplant it, if you avoid hot spells.

If this is the case, it will be necessary to water regularly over the first few months after planting.

• Set the tree so the graft union stays clearly above the finished soil level, because burying it lets the scion root and bypass the rootstock, forfeiting its size control and disease resistance.
• Ornamental cherry roots are shallow and wide-spreading, so plant the tree well back from paving and driveways, since surface roots can lift and crack such hard surfaces as the tree matures.
• Avoid the exact spot where a cherry, plum or other Prunus has just been removed, since replant problems stunt the new tree.

Pruning a Japanese cherry tree

The only pruning that is really important is the removing of dead wood.

Don’t prune before the blooming, but wait until it is over to reduce tree size or balance the branches, if needed.

• Cut back to just outside the swollen collar where the branch meets the trunk, leaving no stub, because ornamental cherries seal small clean wounds far better than torn ones.
• Keep cuts small on Prunus: large pruning wounds tend to callus slowly and late spring exude gum, so removing smaller branches earlier reduces the risk of lasting, poorly sealed wounds.
• Prune in dry weather: fresh cuts are most vulnerable when wood is wet, since rain and damp spread silver leaf fungal spores and the fungal or bacterial organisms that cause canker.
• Rub out any shoots that appear on the trunk below the graft union or from the roots, since they come from the rootstock and will never carry the ornamental blossom.

Ornamental cherry tree or Prunus varieties

The most common ornamental cherry varieties is the ‘Kanzan’, which in spring bear spectacular blooms.

Other varieties are the ‘Kiku Shidare Sakura’, ‘Hokusai’ and ‘Accolade’. These grow smaller than the ‘Kanzan’, and only reach about 20 to 26 feet (6 to 8 meters) tall. They also are entirely covered in beautiful spring flowers when they bloom.

Lastly, if a dwarf Prunus tree for a smaller garden is what you are looking for, check out the ‘Amanogawa’ variety.

• Did you know…? Ornamental cherry tree is part of the same family as traditional cherry-bearing cherry trees. But the berries they produce are tiny and tasteless, with little flesh around the stone. Though edible, they aren’t worth the effort of picking them.

Which ornamental cherry for which garden?

The named forms differ mainly in size, which is what decides where each one fits. Here is how the varieties mentioned above compare.

Whichever you choose, the display is brief but transforms the garden at the very start of spring.

Learn more about ornamental cherry trees

A garden with an ornamental cherry tree is absolutely magnificent in spring. The tree brightens the first days of spring with abundant flowers in hues that range from white to pink.

The blooming only lasts about a week, but it will turn your garden in to a burst of color that signals that warmer weather is just about to come back.