← Back to all plants

The illustrated growing guide

Flowering Cherry

Prunus × yedoensis / serrulata

Family Rosaceae

Est. zones 5-8

Botanical illustration of Flowering Cherry
Tree · Prunus × yedoensis / serrulata

The tree of spring festivals — a two-week explosion of pink or white blossom that's worth the wait even though it's fleeting. These ornamentals are gorgeous but not long-lived (20-30 years) and prone to borers and cankers, so keep them vigorous and prune only in summer. 'Yoshino' is the Washington D.C. classic; 'Kwanzan' is the toughest and most double.

TreeFull SunModerate waterModerate growthAttracts bees

Where to buy the plant — 3 nurseries

Japanese Cherry — a print from the Flowering Trees collection

From the print shop

The closest print we make

We don’t print Prunus × yedoensis / serrulata. The closest we have is Prunus serrulata (“Japanese Cherry”) in the Flowering Trees collection — the same genus, Prunus, not the same species.

16 designsfrom $21.99white or black groundmatte poster, unframed

Shop Flowering Trees botanical prints →

I

Overview

Will flowering cherry suit your garden, and what goes wrong.

✓

Will it thrive where you are?

Enter your ZIP — we look up your USDA hardiness zone (2023 map) and check it against what flowering cherry actually needs.

Hardy inZones 5-8

Flowering Cherry at a glance

HardinessUSDA 5–8
Mature size15-40 ft by type
PollinationBees on the spring clouds
Chill requirementNot yet established
Bloom seasonSpring — the iconic clouds of pink/white blossom (fleeting, ~1-2 weeks)
Harvest seasonNot yet established
Growth rateModerate

Common flowering cherry problems

II

Growing

Light, water, soil, propagation and the season’s jobs.

How to grow flowering cherry: light, water & soil

LightFull Sun
WaterModerate; well-drained
SoilRich, well-drained · pH 6.0 - 7.0
FertilizerLight spring feed
PruningSummer (cherries bleed and are prone to disease from winter/spring cuts) — Prune minimally in summer to avoid disease entry; remove suckers and deadwood. These are ornamental — little to no fruit.
Spacing20-25 ft

How to plant & propagate flowering cherry

PropagateSeed (stratify), cuttings, or layering

When to spray flowering cherry

Dormant season. Dormant oil for scale/aphids.

Growing season. Manage borers; keep trees vigorous.

III

The year

What flowering cherry asks for, month by month.

The flowering cherry year, month by month

MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Bloom
Prune

What each band means

  • Bloom — flowers open — pollinators working, frost on blossoms is the danger.
  • Prune — shape it now — cuts heal cleanly and structure is visible.

The flowering cherry year as text

  • Jan pruning
  • Feb pruning
  • Mar bloom, pruning
  • Apr bloom, pruning
  • May bloom, pruning
  • Jun pruning
  • Jul pruning
  • Aug pruning
  • Sep quiet month
  • Oct quiet month
  • Nov quiet month
  • Dec pruning

These are the species' typical months — expect them a few weeks earlier in warm zones and later in cold ones. Watch the plant, not just the calendar.

IV

Ecology & uses

What it does for the garden, and what it is grown for.

Flowering Cherry in the garden system

  • Understory layer tree
  • Keystone: Keystone — hosts 340-450+ caterpillar species
AttractsBees
MoistureFacultative / average
DeerBrowsed — protect young plants
OriginIntroduced

What flowering cherry is grown for

! Some parts toxic — see notesPits/foliage toxic as all Prunus

UseSpring blossom
UseSpecimen
UseSmall yards

Edibility, identification, and traditional-use notes here are general reference — not medical or veterinary advice, and not a claim that any plant treats or prevents anything. Medicinal ratings record how strongly a plant features in herbal tradition, nothing more. Never eat or dose a plant you have not positively identified. More on how to use this library.

V

Cultivars

Named varieties of flowering cherry, ruled as a catalogue.

Best flowering cherry varieties & cultivars

'Yoshino' (white, the D.C. tidal-basin cherry); 'Kwanzan' (double pink, tough); 'Weeping Higan'; 'Okame' (early)

VI

Sources & plant ID

Where the care distinctions come from, and how the plant is filed.

Research basis

Sources behind this profile

No extension citations are attached to flowering cherryyet. The care figures below come from the library's own catalogue rather than a traced primary source.

Plant ID

BinomialPrunus × yedoensis / serrulata
FamilyRosaceae
TypeTree · Perennial
USDA symbolPRYE
OriginIntroduced
Invasive riskLow

VII

Where to buy

Third-party nurseries — not Story Thyme Farms.

Third-party nurseries, not Story Thyme Farms. Prices are theirs.

Story Thyme Farms may earn a small commission from these links, at no cost to you — it never changes what we recommend.

Nature HillsKwanzan Flowering Cherry Tree$63.96↗Botanical InterestsWeeping Yoshino Flowering Cherryfrom $119.95↗Nature HillsYoshino Flowering Cherry Tree$87.60↗

VIII

Questions

Flowering Cherry questions, answered straight.

Is flowering cherry safe for kids and pets?

With care. Pits/foliage toxic as all Prunus Site it accordingly if children or pets roam the garden. This is general reference, not medical or veterinary advice — call a vet or poison control if something has actually been eaten.

How do you propagate flowering cherry?

Seed (stratify), cuttings, or layering.

IX

Elsewhere

Where flowering cherry sits in the library.

Grows in the same world

Botanical illustration of Flowering DogwoodFlowering DogwoodBotanical illustration of Eastern RedbudEastern RedbudBotanical illustration of Crape MyrtleCrape MyrtleBotanical illustration of MapleMaple