Yoshino Weeping Cherry Tree
Prunus subhirtella var. pendulaView more from Flowering Cherry Trees
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Botanical Name
Prunus subhirtella var. pendula
Outdoor Growing zone
5-8
Mature Height
15-25
Mature Width
15-20
Sun needs
Full Sun
As if the beauty of flowering cherry trees was not enough, imagine if those blossoms were on pendulous branches that swept to the ground. With the White Weeping Cherry they are! This tree stops traffic with its snow-white blooms crowding the bare branches which cascade down to the ground. Even when not flowering, the hanging branches have great beauty and will be a feature in your garden all year round. This is the perfect tree for a small garden, since it will rarely grow more than 12 feet tall, with branches falling to the ground in a cascade of beauty.
• Snow-white blooms on bare branches in spring
• Easy, adaptable tree for most gardens
• No special care needed
• Cascading branches make a real statement in the garden
• Beautiful yellow fall color
Even with limited space, you can grow this lovely tree, which makes a lawn specimen perfect for a small garden, a background plant behind dwarf flowering shrubs, or even a container plant for a patio.
The White Weeping Cherry will grace every garden, from the smallest to the largest, with its cascading branches bearing snow-white flowers right to their tips. As it grows, it will add a foot or two per year to its branches, but most of the growth will cascade down to the ground like a graceful snowfall. This beautiful small tree will lighten up the garden in early spring with white flowers on the bare branches – flowering so early that the leaves will only emerge as the flowers fade and fall.
This plant is especially attractive placed at the top of a bank or among rocks, where the branches can be left to cascade down and across the soil. It also looks very beautiful planted by a pond where the flowers will reflect in the water, and it is small enough to be grown in a large pot on a terrace or in a courtyard. The descending branches of the White Weeping Cherry will eventually flow across the ground, down a bank or over rocks if left un-pruned, or they can be trimmed each year to any length you want. The upper height will increase only a few inches a year, but soft new stems can be staked-up to form a central stem from which more branches will cascade. In this way the height can be increased by several feet.
Despite its delicate beauty, the White Weeping Cherry is a tough, hardy plant that will grow happily in almost any type of soil, although it prefers not to be in acid soils. It has a few pests and diseases, but if given a little care it will reward you with a long, healthy life. It will very rarely if ever be bothered by deer. So wherever you live you can enjoy the spring beauty of this tree.
Weeping Cherries have been grown for hundreds of years in Japan and they form an important part of the famous Cherry Blossom Festivals held each spring. There are many types of Weeping Cherry, in different colors, but the White Weeping Cherry is especially prized for the brilliance and purity of its color and its unique cascading habit.
Over time your White Weeping Cherry will develop a sturdy trunk and a large crown of pendulous branches. Every spring those bare branches will be covered in gorgeous white flowers with pale-pink centers. As the flowers fade, green leaves will burst out and cover the branches for the summer, making a green column. In fall they will turn golden yellow before falling and revealing the elegant hanging branches and the glossy, dark-brown trunk. White Weeping Cherry is a reliable flowerer, performing well every spring, unlike some flowering trees that flower well only every second or third year.
The White Weeping Cherry is hardy in zones 5 to 8, so if you live in anywhere but Florida, Southern Texas, California or the north-central states, you can have this beauty in your garden.
Flowering Cherries will grow in almost any soil, but they do best in soils that have some clay in them and are not acidic. They have a strong root-system able to find food, so they rarely if ever need fertilizer. When established they will tolerate drought quite well, but should have some water during extended dry periods.
The White Weeping Cherry is easy to plant. Dig a hole two or three times wider than the pot. Place your plant in the hole, replace most of the soil and firm it well down. Then water thoroughly and replace the rest of the soil. If your spot is very exposed to strong winds, it could be a good idea to put in a stake and tie the trunk to it, making sure the stake goes up to the top and some of the weeping branches are attached too. After a couple of years take out the stake as you tree will now be ready to stand alone.
The White Weeping Cherry prefers an open sunny position, but it will also be happy with a few hours of the day in shade. Water once a week during the first growing season, but after that you only need to water during extended periods of drought.
This tree needs little or no pruning, but you can shorten back the branches if they grow right to the ground. This should be done immediately after flowering has finished. Always cut where a bud is pointing out, as this will preserve the beautiful arching form of the branches as they cascade down. Watch for any shoots that point straight up, as these are from the supporting trunk, not the White Weeping Cherry and they should be cut completely off as soon as they are seen.
White Weeping Cherry is a special plant and only this exact plant will have these beautiful flowers and pendulous branches. So it must be produced directly from trees absolutely known to be the correct plant. Our trees are grown the correct way, by skillfully attaching pieces of the White Weeping Cherry onto a strong, upright stem. This way every tree is identical to the original. However these obviously take longer to produce, so avoid cheaper, seedling trees that will only be a disappointment.
We sell only trees that are true to the original form and we have a wide range of sizes to give you the best plant for your purpose. However we are constantly renewing our stock so our customers get fresh, healthy plants, so supplies of this tree may be limited. To avoid disappointment order now.