How to grow cherry trees (and the best varieties to choose) | House & Garden

Cherry blossom on show in a west London garden by Sheila Jack

In spring, the ornamental cherry trees on our streets and in our gardens morph into clouds of white and pink. Clinging to the branches, the fleecy blossom gives the season a much-needed voluptuousness and provides bees with a bounty of nectar. Most of these trees are Japanese, and, this spring, the National Trust is inviting people to enjoy them at gardens across the country during Blossom Week (24 to 30 April), in emulation of the Japanese tradition of blossom viewing. Known as hanami, it is a huge festival in Japan, when families and friends gather to eat picnics under the flowering cherries.  

The main tree revered during hanami is the pale pink Prunus x yedoensis 'Somei-yoshino', mainly because it only blooms for one week, symbolising the sanctity of living in the moment. In the recent past, it was held in such lofty esteem that many other Japanese hybrids enjoyed between the 17th and 19th centuries were not protected and therefore died out or became lost. Thankfully, some of these trees had been introduced to the UK in the 19th century and could therefore be returned to their country of origin. The main person responsible for this was Collingwood Ingram (nicknamed Cherry Ingram), an ornithologist who developed an obsession for flowering cherries after moving to a house in Kent that had some growing in the garden. Over the years he made several trips to Japan to study cherries and reintroduce missing varieties.  

One of his best rescues was 'Tai-haku' – commonly known as the great white cherry, it is a wonderful spreading tree with large white flowers. Ingram found it growing in a garden in East Sussex, looking very sorry for itself, but he recognised its