The Ornamental Cherry Tree
After watching numerous Gardener’s World episodes with my gardening hero Monty Don, I’ve decided I’d also like to include ornamental cherry trees in my garden design! From what I’ve learned and seen, they are a visual garden delight! The following is useful information on the ornamental cherry tree variety; Surprisingly there are quite a bit to choose from!
Information provided by:
Information by: https://homeguides.sfgate.com
FLOWERING CHERRY TREE - OVERVIEW
Ornamental cherry trees are known for their explosion of showy flowers in the spring. Some types also produce small cherries in the summer that are too tart for our palettes, but appeal to a wide variety of birds. Flowering cherry trees are an excellent choice for home gardens because they require minimal care. In addition to spectacular cherry blossoms, they provide year-round color and interest with seasonally changing foliage and attractive bark.
The nuts-and-bolts stats on the Flowering Cherry Trees:
Their zones include: 5-8, 5-9 in the West
Their height and spread are 20 to 30 feet
They require Full sun
Their bloom time includes late March through April. Temperature has a greater impact than the amount of sunlight or precipitation on bloom time. Warm, cloudy days are the best environment for coaxing early spring blooming.
Their colors are unique in that the blossoms change colors, starting out dark pink when in bud, turning lighter pink when they first blossom, and then eventually turning pale pink or white. Some varieties also display wonderful fall color, with foliage that turns purple, red, or orange. Some varieties feature colorful bark as well.
Helpful Landscape Designing Tips to consider:
Flowering cherry trees are quite versatile and will fit in with many garden styles including Japanese tea gardens, Asian or Zen gardens, cottage and country gardens.
Plant a single specimen as a striking focal point in a large border, lawn area or courtyard garden.
Use in pairs to accent either side of an entry or gateway.
Plant in groves to make an impressive impact in a larger landscape.
Establish in rows along driveways or streets.
Larger varieties can provide useful shade.
Plant spring-flowering bulbs beneath ornamental cherries for a second splash of color.
There are numerous flowering cherry trees to choose from, to the point it was getting a bit overwhelming so I’ve opted to focus on the few that I will be considering in my garden.
Kim’s Flowering Cherry Tree Picks for the Palisade Posh garden:
Yoshino Cherry
Zones: 5-8
Height/Spread: 25 – 35 feet tall and wide
Exposure: Full Sun
Bloom time: Spring
Color: White to pink flowers. Dark green, glossy foliage turns bright yellow in fall.
Moderately fast grower with a rounded crown. Good choice for single specimen and use in lawns. Relatively short lived, usually at 15 to 20 years.
Amanogawa
Zones: 5-8
Height/Spread: 20 - 25 feet tall, 8 – 12 feet wide
Exposure: Partial shade to full sun
Bloom Time: Spring
Color: Pale pink flowers; bronze-green early foliage, turning mid-green in summer and orange to red in fall.
Narrower, columnar habit makes this variety a good choice for lining streets or long driveways. Fragrant flowers.
Ichiyo
Zones: 5-8
Height/Spread: 15 – 20 feet tall and wide
Exposure: Full sun
Bloom Time: Late spring
Color: Flowers open shell pink and fade to white. Foliage emerges light bronze-green, turning deep green in summer, and finally orange to red in fall.
This variety blooms slightly later than others and grows in a vase-shaped habit.
Higan Cherry
Zones: 4-8
Height/Spread: 20 – 35 feet fall, 15 – 30 feet wide
Exposure: Full sun to part shade
Bloom Time: Spring, with an additional lesser bloom in the fall
Color: Pink double flowers. New foliage may be bronze and turn yellow to orange-bronze in the fall.
The Higan cherry tree produces a spectacular show of semi-double pink flowers in the spring and has the potential of reblooming in the autumn, but not as profusely. It produces small black fruits that ripen in the summer and are a favorite treat for the resident birds. Will tolerate weather extremes better than other varieties.
Weeping Higan Flowering Cherry
Zones: 5-8
Height/Spread: 15 – 20 feet tall and wide
Exposure: Full sun
Bloom Time: Spring
Color: Magenta buds open to pink flowers. Bronze leaves mature to green.
Slender branches weep downward forming an umbrella of flowers.
Kiku-shidare-zakura
Zones: 5-8
Height/Spread: 10 to 15 feet tall and wide
Exposure: Full sun
Bloom Time: Spring
Color: Pink flowers; new bronze leaves turn green in summer.
This variety also offers attractive peeling copper-colored bark. I think my friend Laurie might have this variety in the front yard of her place… there is a tree there that has bark that looks like what I’ve described here!
Kwanzan or Kanzan
Zones: 5-9 (most cold hardy)
Height/Spread: 10 to 15 feet tall and wide
Exposure: Full sun
Bloom Time: Spring
Color: Deep pink double flowers. New foliage may be bronze and turn yellow to orange-bronze in the fall.
Considered to be one of the most ornamental flowering cherry trees, this variety is sterile does not produce fruit.
As you can see even with me narrowing down the options, there are still quite a few varieties to choose from! I’m thinking I will need to create a vision board to help me figure out which varieties to include and where to place them in the garden and or around the farm.
Once you’ve decided on which type of Ornamental Cherry tree you want AND where you want to locate it in your garden the next thing you will need to know is how to plant it. I’ve included nine bullet points to help guide you:
How to Plant an Ornamental Cherry Tree:
Choose a location with well-draining soil, and full sun or light shade. Plant the cherry tree in the spring after the last frost.
Check the soil pH with a pH test kit about six months before planting. The pH for flowering cherries should be around 6.5 to 7.0. If the soil is too alkaline, peat moss or sulfur added to the soil will lower the pH. If the soil is too acidic, dolomite lime added to the soil will raise the pH. Follow the manufacturer's instructions for rates. Add amendments as soon as possible to give them time to change the soil pH before planting the tree.
Dig a hole as deep and twice as wide as the root ball. Leave a mound of soil in the center of the hole. Set the tree on the soil mound and spread the roots in the hole. The crown of the tree should be at least an inch above the surrounding soil level. If the tree is too low, add more soil to the center mound.
Backfill the hole about two-thirds full. Water the tree and fill the rest of the planting hole with soil. Do not cover the crown with the soil; only fill to the point the roots were covered in the nursery container.
Spread a 2- to 3-inch layer of mulch over the root zone of the tree, in an approximately 3-foot radius around the tree trunk. Keep the mulch at least 8 inches from the trunk.
Water the tree to a depth of 12 inches when the top 2 inches of soil dries. This may be twice a week in the summer, or every three weeks in the fall. Watering frequency depends on several factors such as the soil type, rainfall amounts and temperature.
Fertilize the tree with nitrogen beginning the year after planting. Apply 1/10 pound of actual nitrogen per year for each year of the tree's age, with a maximum of 1 pound per year. Apply it once in the spring or spread the nitrogen amount into two to four equal applications over the spring and summer.
Prune the cherry tree during the dormant period to remove dead, damaged or diseased branches. Cut small branches less than 3/4 inch in diameter with pruning shears. Use a pruning saw for larger branches. Remove branches just outside the branch collar.
That is probably more than you ever thought you wanted to know about Ornamental Cherry trees, but they really are quite beautiful! Once we nail down a property and the Boutique farm and garden is well underway, I will make a point to write a follow up post showing which trees I chose and where I placed them in the garden! Right now, I’m thinking they would be a beautiful addition to the Airbnb landscape, perhaps with an outdoor bench or bistro table and chairs strategically located beneath their delicate blooms. Just imagine how delightful a morning coffee or afternoon glass of wine would be under their specular foliage!
