How to Grow and Care for Ornamental Flowering Cherry Trees

Ornamental cherries are celebrated with festivals and parades, gifted from one country to another, and cherished in gardens. They’re arguably the queens of the spring flowering trees.

Once you plant one in your garden, there will be no question as to why ornamental cherries are so valued.

They’re absolutely stunning. In the spring when they’re blanketed in blossoms, it’s hard to look at anything else.

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It’s true that these elegant trees have a reputation for being a little bit difficult and some of them deserve that reputation.

But newer hybrids and cultivars are hardy and healthy, and once you know how to set yourself up for success, you can lessen the chances of having a problem.

We’ll help you to become a flowering cherry master. Here’s everything we’ll talk about to get you there:

I don’t know who first looked at a cherry tree and thought to themselves that they could make those blossoms bigger and more colorful, but they were a genius.

Take out your shovels and let’s dig in.

Flowering cherries are several species from the Prunus genus, the same genus that includes edible cherries, almonds, apricots, peaches, and plums.

These species, including P. jamasakura, itosakura, nipponica, sargentii, serrulata, subirtella, and many hybrids, are mostly native to China, Korea, and Japan, or have been grown and cultivated there.

Some famous hybrids include Higans (P. x subhirtella) and Yoshito (P. x yedoensis).

The blossoms are known as sakura in Japan, and they’re the national flower of the country.

In Japan, flowering cherries have been