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5 Top Weeping Cherries

Weeping Cherries came about because for hundreds of years in China and Japan, people bred and collected different specimens of unusual cherry blossoms, particularly ones that cascaded or grew differently.

All weeping cherries share similar growing attributes because they are all created by grafting different tops onto the same type of root stock. 

Weeping cherries are created by taking the tall stem of an upright cherry tree and grafting onto it different types of tops. Essentially weeping cherries either come in a cascading or “weeping” variety, where the branches all grow downwards or they grow out horizontally from the graft, but not tall like a regular cherry.

Different nurseries will graft heads of weeping cherries at varying heights so you can usually find the exact variety you want at the height you want, if you just look (or talk to your local nursery.)

Each weeping cherry will bloom at different times in spring, with the Falling Snow being the earliest.

You will not find big luscious juicy cherries unfortunately on a weeping cherry tree. They are not really suitable for eating and only grow tiny little pips with a small amount of skin over them. But what they lose in fruit, they make up for in spectacular blossoms that are just gorgeous.

They are wonderful as a feature tree as they can look stunning in the middle of a garden or even in a large pot in the right place.

Approximately 98% of all weeping cherries sold in Melbourne tend to fall into 5 basic varieties.

5 Best Weeping Cherry Trees

Falling Snow Weeping Cherry

The most popular weeping cherry is definitely the Falling Snow. It has a neat symmetrical shape that cascades almost straight down. Its head is not overly large and it has a beautiful dense white blossom that blooms quite early in spring for a spectacular display. It’s often the first of the weeping cherry varieties to blossom. 

Falling Snow is a popular courtyard tree. Many people choose to grow them in pots with a shorter stem because if they are too tall then the blossoms are too high and you can’t enjoy them as much. Growing them so they bloom at eye level is more popular. Low grafted Falling Snow can look gorgeous in pots.

The next most popular Weeping Cherry is probably the Subhirtella alba, or as most nurserymen call it – the Sub Alba for short. Its blooms are not as brilliantly white as the Falling Snow – they actually have a bit of soft pink in them. But their flowers are much bigger than Falling Snow. It can take a couple of years for them to really grow a big strong head, but when they do the amount of flowers they produce is overwhelming.

White cherry blossoms in a modern garden.They do tend to grow out a bit more than Falling Snow so they can get wider, but you can prune them back. The foliage lasts really well and they don’t tend to get diseases or bugs so the leaves will last through to autumn and give you really lovely colour then. 

The Sub Alba is our favourite weeping cherry because it grows very strong, is very hardy to wind and heat and is not prone to many bugs or disease. It will grow strong for long and when it is old and covered in big bunches of blossoms it is quite spectacular.

Subhirtella rosea Weeping Cherry

The Subhirtella rosea is another weeping cherry that nursery people like to shorten the name of to just Sub rosea. It’s a big tree with beautiful, soft pink blossoms. The head of a Sub rosea can grow really quite large, up to 3 or even 3.5 metres wide, but can be controlled by pruning. When they bloom you get this big, full head of flowers that looks like an amazing giant cloud of soft pink. Really, really spectacular. It can grow so large you can end up with a gorgeous canopy of flowers that is delightful to sit under in spring.

The Sub rosea is very adaptable to a wide range of growing conditions including heat and moderate drought, but it’s best kept out of the wind to help it retain its blossoms and autumn leaves for longer. The trunk of the Sub rose will only grow as tall as its graft height so this gives you prediction on how tall it will be.

The weeping cherry is one of the last to blossom in spring. It has quite beautiful, double-petal, pink blossoms which tend to completely cover its bare, loosely handing branches. 

The most unique feature of a Cheals weeping cherry is that it unlike other varieties which tend to grow in a definite way, either all the branches cascading down or all the branches growing outward, a Cheals can grow in a very irregular way. Some of the branches may cascade down, while others might tend to grow outwards or even upwards. So it can grow with an asymmetrical look in striking contrast to other varieties or it may grow with some of its branches in one direction giving it some extra character! 

Cheals Weeping CherryIn autumn, the Cheals will be awash with colours including beautiful bronzes. It is a lovely feature tree in a large pot or in the garden, but like all weeping cherries, best to plant it in a spot that is not too exposed to the wind.

Mount Fuji/Shimidsu Sakura Grafted Upright Cherry

Mount Fuji & Shimidsu Sakura Trees
LEFT: Mount Fuji, RIGHT: Shimidsu Sakura

Strictly speaking the Mount Fuji is not actually a “weeping cherry” at all. It is very similar to a Shimidsu Sakura and both share the same characteristic of growing in a very horizontal manner with their branches reaching out rather than cascading down in a “weeping” fashion. 

Where they differ is that the Mount Fuji has a white double flower that grows in hanging bunches of fives or sevens. The Shimidsu Sakura however has flowers that start off kind of a light pink and fade to white. So you get lovely dark pink buds and light pink flowers and white flowers all mixed together. 

The Mount Fuji will tend to grow much wider with longer branches, sometimes up to 3 or 4 metres whereas the Shimidsu will grow in a more compact fashion, but you can of course prune any variety to keep them smaller if you have limited space. With large hanging clusters of three, five or even seven beautiful white blossoms it is no surprise that Mount Fuji is one of the stars of the Annual Japanese Blossom Festival. 

As both of these varieties grow in a more horizontal fashion, they are better suited than other weeping cherries to growing in a cottage garden, where you can plant a whole range of low flowering plants under and around them or even a flowering ground cover like a White Bacopa or a White Arenaria which will give you a lovely effect of matching white flowers below.

Tips for Weeping Cherry planting & maintenance

Watering & Feeding

Most Weeping Cherries are quite hardy and can survive both frosts and drought. While they can struggle a little in extreme summers, if you keep the water up they will thrive. (Weekly watering is OK, with bi-weekly watering if you get a run of long hot days). Feed every 6-8 weeks with something like Osmocote.

Planting

When planting weeping cherries always dig a big, wide hole, fill with lots of potting mix to allow the roots to spread. This helps them find their own water in summer. But conversely they don’t like ground that is too soggy, so plant in soil that will drain well or in a mound above the soil line to help with drainage. And don’t just plant in a small hole in a very heavy clay soil as they won’t do well.

Plenty of Sun

Weeping cherries are not good in too much shade or dappled shade and require a minimum of a half day of full sun to thrive.

Blossom Time

Their blossoms can also be quite long lived, lasting up to six or seven months but sadly they don’t flower all year round.

Keeping the Pests Away

They are mostly disease and pest-free but they can be attacked by pear slug. A simple spray with a mix of pyrethum and dishwashing detergent, sprayed twice over 24 hours on a warm but not hot day will handle this problem.

Long Live the Weeping Cherry

You will get a very long life from a weeping cherry, with many growing for up to 70, 80 or even 90 years, so you will enjoy their beautiful blossoms every spring for decades. No wonder they are so popular as their beauty lasts so long!

In closing

We hope you like our list of the 5 top Weeping Cherries. You will get a very long life from a weeping cherry, with many growing for up to 70, 80 or even 90 years, so you will enjoy their beautiful blossoms every spring for decades. No wonder they are so popular as their beauty lasts so long!

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