In addition to the lovely blush pink, single flowers that open at in the beginning of the year, this cherry has a second season of beauty when the leaves turn an orange-red before they fall as winter approaches. Flowering cherries are said to be short-lived trees, and they are when compared with redwoods and olives.
Earl Marston, a member of the Men’s Garden Club of San Mateo County and treasurer of the San Mateo County Garden Center, planted this tree in 1988. The tree is planted at the edge of the back lawn with a row of hydrangeas behind it. When asked how often the tree was fertilized and watered, Marston replied that it was watered when the lawn and the hydrangeas were watered and fertilized when these plants were fertilized but the tree was not fertilized or watered specifically.
When asked if the tree had been sprayed we found Marston to be somewhat of a perfectionist as he has the garden sprayed regularly every two months by a professional firm. The reason for this is the two birch trees that also inhabit the garden. Birch trees are notorious for their aphid infestations. There are many varieties of flowering cherry trees
Some like the Yoshino Flowering Cherry, Prunus yedoensis, that is planted around the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C., a gift from Japan long before the war with that country, have become quite famous for their spring beauty. In our national capital they have a big “Cherry Blossom Festival” with parades and decorated floats to celebrate the flowering of these cherry trees. In San Francisco, the Japan Society holds a week-long festival at the Japanese Cultural Center to celebrate the flowering of all types of cherry trees.
The variety Akebono, sometimes called Daybreak is a variety of P. yedonensis that is a smaller tree with similar but pinker blossoms than those around the Tidal Basin. In my other garden I had several trees of the variety Sekiyama that is usually sold under the name of Kwanzan. This variety has large, double flowers of rather deep pink that hang in pendant clusters. The trees were very lovely when they first bloomed but as the flowers aged they turned brown and hung on the trees for weeks.
I couldn’t stand this as they looked so shabby when the roses bloomed that I had them all taken out. Flowering cherry trees are very easy to grow if you take care of their one mean need. They must have a fast-draining well-aerated soil. If the soil is heavy plant them in raised beds. They need very little pruning. Once in awhile a branch may grow at an awkward angle or stretch out over a walk.
These branches can be cut back so they conform with the shape of the tree. Branches may be cut while the tree is in flower for indoor decoration. I never have found a pest on my trees but slugs have been a problem on some trees and I have read about a yellowish caterpillar that damages the foliage, but have never seen one.
Flowering Cherry Trees
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