Prunus 'Pink Perfection' is a hybrid (thought to be P.'Shimidsu-zakura' x P. 'Kanzan') with long double flower clusters in deep pink carried in mid-spring. In autumn the foliage colours yellow, giving a good display. Strong growing it will reach 5.0 to 6.0m. Young trees should be pruned to encourage a better shape- naturally they are untidy with thin branches.
Prunus 'Tai Haku' , the 'Great White Cherry', has wide spreading branches covered with white single blossoms and bronze-tinted new foliage. P. 'Tai Haku' is a fairly large tree spreading wider than tall, it will reach 6.0m and a glorious sight in spring, but is for those with space.
Prunus 'Shirotae' (syn. P. 'Mount Fuji') is also a large tree (6.0m), with large (5cm), single or semi-double white flowers. The mass of blosom is followed by fresh green leaves that colour dramatically in the autumn.
Prunus 'Ukon', the 'Green Cherry', has creamy, green-tinged flowers and bronze tinted foliage. A very tolerant tree P. 'Ukon' is suitable for a range of climates and soils. The autumn foliage is tinted purple. Pruning lightly when the tree is young may encourage a better shape. It is more vase-like and upright habit than many other cherries (eventually 8m by 10m), spreading only with age.
Prunus 'Ukon'
It's All in a Name Our flowering cherry trees come from Japan, where 'zakura' means 'cherry blossom', hence all the cherries that are 'this-zakura' or 'that-zakura' names. So it all makes sense.
Softwood cuttings can be taken in spring/early summer. Encourage rooting with mist and bottom heat.
Plants grown from seed may differ from the parent- even from species. Remove fleshy fruit from seed & leave in damp compost for 8-10 weeks or sow in autumn in a cold frame.
Most varieties are grafted onto a stock- Prunus avium is most often used.
Prunus 'Kanzan' makes a bright candy-pink splash in the garden- and quite a big splash as it grows to 5.0 to 7.0m The flowers appear with the new bronzy, leaves, and the combination is either to your taste, or not. It is an upright, rather than a spreading cherry often used as a street tree.
Another upright cherry is Prunus 'Ama no gawa' (syn. Prunus 'Erecta'), the pencil or 'Lombary' cherry. An upright, slim habit as its name suggests, to 5.0 to 6.0m. Slightly fragrant flowers in pale pink are carried mid-spring. The leaves colour orange-red in autumn.
Some of the cherries, in particular Prunus serrula, the 'Tibetan' cherry, have beautifully textured, colourful bark that invites you to stroke it. Best suited to moist sheltered gardens in cooler climates. Prunus serrula is the parent of many of the lovely cherries that are available for the your garden, but it is worth growing in its own right. Clusters of small, white flowers appear with the leaves each spring. The dark green leaves then turn shades of yellow and gold come autumn. It can carry tiny red-black fruit.
Prunus sargentii is one of the tallest flowering cherries, growing as high as 24.0m, far too much for most of our gardens! It has a dusting of light pink blossom with deeper pink stamens in spring and bronze-red foliage in spring. One of the earliest cherries to develop brilliant autumn foliage, P. sargentii is one of the few that will not stand pollution.
There is, then, a wonderful range of spring-flowering blossom trees, and you can be sure there is one perfectly suited to your garden. From spring blossoms to autumn tint, a cherry tree is an beautiful additon to any garden, and far more of them should be grown.
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Prunus 'Ukon'
Emerging blossom on Prunus 'Pink Perfection'
