Japan’s world-famous dazzling cherry blossom festivals may attract visitors from across the world each spring, but we can easily produce wonderful displays in our own gardens. In Japan , cherry blossom is known as ‘sakura’ and every year thousands gather at the festivals to celebrate its arrival. Yet, with around 50 varieties available to British gardeners at home, we can grow our own ornamental cherries relatively easily.
They require deep, loamy soil and full or partial sun and are suitable for gardens of all shapes and sizes. Flowering cherries will grow in lawns or borders and larger varieties can be pruned to maintain the size most suited to the plot. The best time to prune is immediately after flowering.
“They are all beautiful and, depending on the weather, flower through from mid-March to April, but my personal favourite, Prunus Shirofugen, is one of the latest to bloom, in May, and also has wonderful autumn foliage,” says Mike Simpson, founder of Mail Order Trees in Cambridgeshire. As a huge fan of flowering cherries, he has chosen five varieties ideally suited to UK gardens. 1.
Prunus ‘Autumnalis Rosea’ This is a small tree with a spreading habit and, as its name suggests, flowers from autumn to early spring, depending on the weather. It grows to approximately 12ft high when fully mature but can be pruned to a lower height if necessary and offers a profusion of semi-double pale pink flowers. 2.
Prunus ‘Candy Floss’ A slightly larger tree that will .
