Autumn Cherry

Autumn Cherry
Prunus subhirtella 'Autumnalis'
(PROO-nus) (sub-HIR-tel-uh)

This tree was blooming at work and for once the sun was out and there was some blue sky. The Cherry has turned into quite a handsome specimen. The people planted a tree for each of their children and the Cherry was for the first born. He has to be about fifteen now. We were all standing there looking at the tree saying that we hadn’t seen it have a more beautiful year.

Autumn Cherry can grow to 35 feet tall and have an equal spread. It is hardy to Zone 4, which makes it the most cold hardy of the Cherry Trees. It is also considered to be the most stress tolerant and heat resistant Cherry. It does flower sporadically during the fall, which is where it gets its name.

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Yoshino Cherry

Yoshino Cherry
Prunus x yedoensis
(PROO-nus) (yed-oh-EN-sis)

While I was cleaning off one of memory cards I came across these photos of Yoshino Cherry. It is a spectacular tree that was in full bloom the day I took the photos (April 18th, just north of NYC). This tree grows to about 50 feet although if you start out pruning it when it is young it can be held much lower. It is easy to get a nice shape out of the Oriental branching pattern. I was surprised this tree is hardy to USDA Zone 5. They should be planted in full sun with good drainage. The bark and yellow fall color are nice for the fall and winter seasons. These photos were taken of one tree out of a group of several. I noticed some of the others had a slight pink tinge to the flowers.


This is the tree (along with the Kwanzan Cherry) of the Washington, DC Cherry Blossom Festival. I read recently that actually Macon, Georgia has more of these trees than DC does. There are a few cultivars available including ‘Akebona’ (soft pink flowers), ‘Perpendens’ (irregular weeping branches) and ‘Shidare Yoshino’.

In Japan there is a legend that each spring a fairy maiden hovers low in the warm sky to wake the sleeping Cherry trees to life with her delicate breath.

“Break open a cherry tree and there are no flowers, but the spring breeze brings forth myriad blossoms.”
Ikkyu Sojun

Weeping Japanese Cherry

Weeping Japanese Cherry
Prunus x 'Snow Fountain'

Height: 10 to 15 feet
Spread: 8 to 10 feet