Best Ornamental Cherry Trees
The sight of billowing pink cherry blossom trees against a blue sky is one of the heart-stopping sights of spring – a sign that winter is behind us and spring is on the way. In Japan, the custom of ‘hanami’ involves admiring the transient beauty of the blossom. Flowering from March to May, there’s a blossom to suit all tastes, from delicate, single blooms to blousy doubles, in whites and the palest pinks to bright baby pink. A great choice of trees for London gardens, as many varieties don’t get too – here are some of the best for smaller gardens:
Prunus serrula (Tibetan cherry)
Lovely as a multi-stem, it has small white flowers in April but is grown more for the polished coppery bark that shines out in the winter – particularly lovely with sun shining from behind. ‘Branklyn’ is a smaller, more upright version.
Prunus serrula ‘Pink Perfection’
An elegant spreading cherry with masses of bright pink frilly flowers from April to May and glowing autumn colour. A small spreading tree with bright pink frilly blossom.
Prunus serrula ‘The Amanogowa’
A small pillar-shaped tree when young, spreading as it gets more mature. Popular in small gardens, it has large blowsy, semi-double pink blooms in late April.
Prunus serrula ‘Kanzan’
A small to medium sized relatively upright tree with bright pink double flowers in spring and excellent autumn colour.
Prunus ‘Pink Shell’
A small, elegant tree with spreading branches and delicate single, pale pink flowers – a lovely contrast to the light green leaves. One of the prettiest cherries and widely available.
Prunus ‘Kursar’
A small and popular ornamental cherry tree and one of the first to flower with clusters of deep pink single blooms in March to April. It has a neat upright habit, and the new bronze foliage turns green then red gold in autumn. Height 3/4m
Prunus ‘Accolade’
Another pretty cherry, with a graceful spreading shape and a cloud of large rose pink semi-double flowers in April/May. It also has smooth reddish-brown bark and fiery orange foliage in autumn. Height 6/7m.
Prunus ‘Okame’
A lovely tree with masses of single pale pink to white flowers in March/early April and orangy red autumn foliage.
Prunus ‘Kojo-no-mai’
A dinky cherry tree/shrub – with delicate very pale pink flowers and wonderful autumn foliage. Ideal for containers.
Prunus x subhirtella ‘Autumnalis’
Unlike the others here, the tiny white flowers of this tree don’t flower until October. A stunning tree for winter.
Care:
Cherries tolerate semi-shade, but they do best in the sun, in well-drained soil. Any pruning such as removing dead, diseased or damaged branches, or those that cross, needs to be done in the summer so that wounds heal before winter, avoiding diseases such as bacterial canker. When planting, incorporate lots of well-rotted garden compost in the planting hole and stake.
Companions: Cherries look great under planted with spring bulbs such as Crocus tommasinianus and hyacinths such as ‘Woodstock’. Spring flowering perennials such as Epimedium x youngianum ‘Niven’, Pulmonaria ’Blue Ensign’ and bergenia also look good.