The graceful beauty of ornamental cherry trees

Early bloomers

Autumn-blooming Higan cherry (P. x subhirtella ‘Autumnalis’)
Pinkish white, double flowers sometimes appear in fall and warm winter weather but come on strong in spring. Multiple trunks, upright branches, rounded canopy. Quick grower when young; slows with age. Susceptible to bacterial canker (see next page). Grows approximately 6 m high and 6m wide.

Pink Higan cherry (P. x s. ‘Rosea’)
Masses of single, pink blossoms open from nearly red buds. Wide-spreading, horizontally branching. Grows 7.5 m high by 9 m wide.

P. ‘Hally Jolivette’
Double, white blossoms open from pink buds; relatively long bloom. A hybrid between P. x subhirtella and P. x yedoensis. Dense, shrubby form; makes an ideal addition to shrub borders. Slow grower. Zone 6. Grows between 2.4 to 5 m in height and width.

P. ‘Mount Fuji’ (syn. ‘Shirotae’)
Semi-double, fragrant blooms are pink in bud, white when fully open. Wide-spreading, low-branching; quick grower. Grows 4.5 m high by 6 m wide.

Weeping Higan cherry (P. x s. ‘Pendula’)
Pale pink, single flowers; striking specimen tree. Graceful branches hang to the ground. Grows 3 to 3.5 m in height and width.

Yoshino flowering cherry (P. x yedoensis)
Abundant single flowers open pale pink and later fade to nearly white. Graceful, arch­ing form. Grows approximately 12 m high by 9 m wide.

‘Akebono’ Yoshino flower­ing cherry (P. x y. ‘Akebono’)
Pale pink flowers; early. Rounded, spreading growth. Quick grower; strong disease resistance. Grows approximately 7.6 m hight by 12 m wide.

Mid-season bloomers

P. ‘Amanogawa’
Single to semi-double fragrant, pink flowers. Tall, pillar-like; excellent choice for small or compact spaces. Grows approximately 6 m high by 2 m wide.

Sargent cherry (P. sargentii)
Clusters of frilly, single, dusky pink flowers; deep bronze-coloured leaves; dark red bark; outstanding fall colour; mid-season. Uright, spreading branches form rounded crown; Zone 4. Grows 7 to 10 m in height and width.

Paperbark cherry (P. serrula)
Small, white flowers almost hidden by new green leaves; good fall colour. Bushy tree with narrow, willow-like leaves. Beautiful, glossy, mahogany bark shows well in winter. Grows to approximately 9 m in height and width.

P. serrulata ‘Kanzan’
Showy double, pink flowers over coppery new foliage; good fall colour. Hardy, upright tree; one of the most popular flowering ornamental cherries. Grows between 7.5 to 9 m in height, and 6 m in width.

Great white cherry (P. ‘Taihaku’)
Pure white, single blooms and red new leaves. Vigorous tree with rounded crown; good fall colour. Grows 6 to 7.5 m in height and width.

Late-season bloomers

P. ‘Shirofugen’
Long-lasting, double, white flowers change to pink as they mature. Wide-spreading. Susceptible to bacterial canker (see next page). Grows up to 7.5 m in height and width.

P. ‘Shôgetsu’
Huge bunches of pink-tinted buds open to white, five-centimetre-wide flowers. Low-crowned, flat-topped, spread­ing tree; slow grower. Grows approximately 4.5 m in height, 7.5 m wide.

Cold-weather picks

Prunus ‘Accolade’ Zone 4
‘Mary Liss’ pin cherry (P. pensylvanica ‘Mary Liss’) Zone 2
‘Rancho’ sargent cherry (P. sargentii ‘Rancho’) Zone 4
Nanking cherry (P. tomentosa) Zone 3