Lighting: | Full sun, but semi-shade in summer. |
Temperature: | Varies greatly depending on variety. |
Watering: | Most varieties need frequent watering, especially in summer. Reduce watering in winter. Do not allow the flowers to get wet or they will rot. P. tormentosa needs less water than most cherries, and care must be taken to see that it does not become waterlogged. |
Feeding: | Every two weeks after flowering has finished through late summer. Use liquid bonsai fertilizer or half-strength general purpose food, switching to a formula high in posassium towards the end of summer. P. mahaleb requires a break in feeding through the heat of summer, but feeding may be resumed till mid-autumn. |
Repotting: | Every second year in spring, using basic bonsai soil. P. serrulata may need annual repotting. P. serrulata and P. mahaleb can also be transplanted in late autumn, after leaves fall. |
Styling: | Suitable for all styles except broom. Suitable for all sizes, but some varieties have coarse branch structure and large leaves. Be careful to choose a species or cultivar which is appropriately proportioned for your design. Prune back tips during growth as necessary. Developmental pruning of branches may be performend in winter. Cherries are sometimes displayed with significant amounts of deadwood. Remove flowers as they fade. Wiring can be done in spring-summer, but care must be taken to protect the bark. |
Propagation: | By grafting in early spring. Beware of bad grafts when purchasing! Difficult to grow from cuttings. |
Pests etc.: | Not tolerant of air pollution. Birds love to eat the flower buds, so some protection may be necessary in spring. Lots of bugs love to chomp the leaves, although some varieties are more resistant to insects and disease than others. |
Prunus apetala: Choji cherry
Prunus avium: wild cherry, gean, sweet cherry, mazzard - This
cherry features white blossoms in spring followed by small red-
purple fruit. It has the added attraction of crimson autumn
foliage, and bark which turns red and peels with age.
Can grow to 40 ft. and is hardy in zones 6-8. Needs
cross-pollination between several cultivars.
Prunus avium 'Plena': double gean, double-flowered mazzard -
Similar to the species, but with double-flowers. It is
sterile, but the flowers last longer than those of
varieties with fertile flowers.
Prunus campanulata: Formosa cherry, Taiwan cherry - Hardy only
to zone 8, this cherry has rose red flowers and red fruit.
Prunus caroliniana: Carolina laurelcherry - Small white flowers
followed by black, bitter fruit. It has 2-4 inch glossy
evergreen leaves, which are quite attractive, but make the tree
suitable for only large-sized bonsai.
Prunus 'Hally Jolivette': Hally Jolivette cherry, pink flowering
cherry - Bears small white flowers tinged pink. Notable
for its delicate twigging.
Prunus incisa: Fuji cherry - This cherry has a nice autumn show,
with leaves of orange. It has red or pink flowers and purple-
black fruit. It is hardy to zone 6.
Prunus japonica: Japanese single bush cherry, Japanese plum -
Hardy to zone 4, this popular cherry has pink to white flowers
and wine-red fruit.
Prunus lannesiana cv. 'Superba': Sato cherry
Prunus maackii: Amur chokecherry - A very hardy cherry, one of
the few with flowers that are unspectacular. However, it makes
up for this deficit through its showy copper bark. Hardy in
zones 3-6.
Prunus mahaleb: St. Lucie cherry - A cherry with interesting
foliage, it has bright green heart-shaped leaves which turn
yellow in autumn. Mature plants bear masses of white flowers
followed by black fruit, but young plants flower little.
Prunus padus: bird cherry - the small, purple-black, bitter
fruit of this cherry follows spikes of white, fragrant flowers.
Prunus pissardii: flowering cherry - Bears pink to white single
flowers.
Prunus pseudocerasus - This cherry has white, fragrant flowers
and is hardy to zone 6.
Prunus sargentii: Sargent cherry - Of interest due to its masses
of small flowers in spring and its scarlet autumn display. It
can grow up to 50 feet in nature. Hardy in zones 5-9.
Prunus serotina: black cherry - Red-black fruit follows spikes
of flowers. Its large leaves - up to 5 inches - make it
unsuitable for all but the largest sizes. Hardy in
zones 3-8.
Prunus serrula: birch bark cherry
Prunus serrulata: flowering cherry, Japanese cherry, Oriental cherry,
Japanese flowering cherry - Another popular cherry, this
one has white flowers and black fruits. Many cultivars
are available. hardy in zones 6-8.
Prunus serrulata 'Hisakura': flowering cherry - Bears dep pink
single flowers.
Prunus serrulata 'Kanzan': flowering cherry - Used mainly for
its remarkable flowers, which are large, pink, and so profuse
they can completely obscure the branches. Unfortunately, it
tends to be large and coarse otherwise.
Prunus serrulata 'Kiku-shidare sakura': flowering cherry - This
cherry's pink double-flowers appear before the leaves in spring.
Prunus serrulata 'Shirotae': flowering cherry - Bears white and
fragrant semi-double flowers.
Prunus sinensis: bush cherry - This small-leaved cherry bears
pink or white pom-pom shaped flowers.
Prunus subhirtella: Higan cherry, rosebud cherry - The species
has white to pink flowers and black fruit, but many cultivars
are available. Hardy in zones 6-8.
Prunus subhirtella 'Autumnalis': autumn cherry, Higan cherry -
a lovely cultivar, for multiple reasons. Its small leaves color
well in autumn, and it bears sporodic white or pink flowers on
bare wood during frost-free periods in winter. It has the added
advantage of more delicate twigging than most cherries.
Prunus subhirtella 'Autumnalis rosea': pink autumn cherry - A
pink version of the above.
Prunus subhirtella 'Fukubana': pink spring cherry - Has deep
pink flowers in early spring.
Prunus subhirtella 'Pendula': weeping cherry - Of interest due
to its contorted weeping branches. It is the most
common cv. of this species, often found as a garden tree,
and can grow th 60 ft.
Prunus tormentosa: downy cherry, Korean bush-cherry, Nanking cherry,
red fruit, Chinese bush fruit, Tormentosa cherry - One
of the most hardy cherries, it will thrive to zone 3.
It bears white flowers and red berries. The young
growth and undersides of leaves have a downy texture.
Prunus virginiana: chokecherry - A shrubby cherry otherwise
similar to P. serotina.
Prunus yedoensis: Yedo flowering cherry, Yoshino cherry -
Produces very showy pink to white flowers followed by
unremarkable black fruit. It grows to 40 ft. with 4 inch leaves,
making it suitable only for large sizes. Hardy in zones 6-8.
=================================================================
From: jklewis@ix.netcom.com
Date: Sat, 21 Dec 1996 18:47:05 -0800
[snip]
A couple of other species that I find bonsaiiable:
Prunus caroliniana, Carolina laurelcherry. It is a small, very handsome
tree with leathery, glossy evergreen leaves that are a little large (2-4
inches) but so gorgeous you can ignore that. They do reduce a bit in the
pot. Dark gray bark, marked with the typical horizontal "cherry-type"
striations. Flowers are small, white and attractive and come in early
spring. Fruit are 1/2 inch, black, dry and bad tasting.
Things like to take big chunks out of its leaves. Dunno what.
Likes sun, but will stand partial shade.
It's been a while since I've had one in a pot.
Natural range hard to determine. It is widely used as an ornamental
throughout the south. Probably not real cold hardy.
[snip]
The Carolina laurelcherry is a specimen tree, informal upright, with
a top that fans out a bit.
Pretty much a deep south tree, I think. Not likely to be cold hardy
Jim Lewis - jklewis@ix.netcom.com (Tallahassee, FL.)
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Welcome to Hooterville
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