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Which cherry blossom for my garden
Garden noob
Posts: 260
in Plants
I'm thinking of digging up the plant that's circled in red and would love to plant a cherry blossom in its place, hopefully this winter if I can get a move on.
Question is, which cherry blossom? I'm currently leaning towards prunus pink perfection but I'm no expert and would love some input. How far from the fence would I need to plant it?
The spot is at the South end of my North-facing garden, against the West fence. It gets decent sun until about 4-5pm, by which time the bridge in the background casts a shadow.
My ideal tree would be about 3-4 metres tall, assuming that spot would give it enough space. I'm not too precious about the laurel if it needs to go.
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That looks to be really near to the neighbour's property so I'm wondering if they will be a bit upset if you plant something that is going to overhang their fence. They would be perfectly within their rights to prune the tree on their side of the fence which would ruin the overall shape so maybe a fastigiate (columnar) cherry would be the way to go.
Hi Ceres, thanks for the input. Next door is just a private road leading to offices. I hoped they would appreciate a cherry blossom over the old fir trees that used to line the fence!
Last edited: 02 February 2018 20:34:15
I think cherry trees are overrated. Three weeks in May ( less if there's a gust of wind) and that's it. Nothing more to recommend them. Sorry..not a fan. Lovely in parks parks and such-like but not a small/medium garden.
Im sorry. Didn't mean to sound so dismissive. If you want a cherry tree then you have a cherry tree. But a nice Acer would be lovely lol
Last edited: 04 February 2018 02:48:32
I on the other hand can’t stand acer and love cherry trees. Mostly because I have alkaline soil and high winds so Acer don’t like me.
have you looked at weeping cherry trees? There’s your all year round interest.
Well, I now have both an acer and a cherry blossom. I hope it's okay to like both?
We took a punt on a prunus cerasifera princess. It's a smaller cherry blossom that's supposed to have attractive bark and produce plums in the autumn, so it's not just about the three weeks in May. But we should get the full three weeks though - we're well protected from Westerly winds by the bridge in the background of the photos above.
When I started this thread I was concerned about getting a tree of the right size/spread etc. Now I've taken the view that I've spent less than most spend on their Christmas tree each year, so I'm not worried if in 5 years we feel we got it wrong and need to replace it.
Or look at Prunus autumnalis subhirtella. An elegant small tree which flowers on and off throughout mild spells in the winter with a bigger flush in early spring ... so pretty.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Ah your post has just appeared ... thats a lovely prunus - enjoy
Last edited: 04 February 2018 07:10:20
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Like I said, I might change it in 5 years - I'll check out Prunus autumnalis subhirtella in the meantime
I don't think you'll be disappointed with the cerasifera, though it's a flowering plum not a cherry. In general terms on cherries, though, they have their good and bad points. Good points are the most magnificent flowers that stop you in your tracks, in white and pink. 'Yukon' and 'Tai Haku' are quite large growing trees with, respectively, greeny white and pure white flowers. 'Shirogetsu' is white but with an interestingly horizontal growth habit like a pancake--I've seen two grown over a gateway and it was fabulous, but not right for your space. Pink flowers--unless you really go for the hefty tetraploid types like Kanzan then you're better off with some more delicate varieties like 'Shirofugen'. P. subhirtella 'Autumnalis Rosea' is excellent for its winter flowering habit, but for early spring, a newer variety I love is 'Pandora', and check out P. hillieri 'Spire'. Those are possibly the best of the flowering sorts. They have also the advantage of great autumn colour. But they age quickly (circa 50-70 years and they die) and tend to lose branches and such, so they can end up looking tatty. I have not recommended the columnar 'Amanogawa' because it is really bad for dying off at the top in patches. 'Pandora' is upright and seems not to do this.