One of the most glorious sights we often see of these trees is the Japanese Cherry blossom that adorns many pictures each year. However, there is so much behind the Japanese flowering cherry blossom in the Japanese culture that the Japanese Government made them a national flower.
Japanese cherry trees show the Japanese cherry blossoms between March and May. Because of how beautiful they are, planting Japanese cherry trees has seen an increase in other areas.
In the spring, when they look to bloom and fill your yard with color and their wonderful aroma, trees are at their most beautiful and striking. One of the main questions on people’s minds is, do cherry blossoms grow cherries? Since there is so much focus on the cherry blossom, cherry fruit appears to take a back seat and be overlooked.
In reality, you will find a difference between trees that produce cherry blossom; cherries are not a cherry blossom tree fruit, they come from a different tree altogether. You can find several species of standard cherry trees from the same botanical genus, each producing different cherry blossoms.
In our guide, you can learn more about the trees you see at the National Cherry Blossom Festival and that not all cherry blossoms produce edible fruits. By the end, you’ll learn that many cherry blossom trees won’t produce any fruit at all, and if you want to produce fruit at home, you may be looking for a different cherry tree than the ornamental cherry trees you see in pictures. (Learn How To Kill Palm Tree)
Cherry Blossom Varieties
These beautiful trees come in over 200 different types. The Washington Tidal Basin is surrounded by the Yoshino cherry (Prunus x yedoensis), which has a complete festival devoted to it and can grow at the height of 35 feet.
The weeping cherry (P. x subhirtella), which comes in a range of sizes, can have pink or white blooms. Like a weeping willow tree or water gushing from a fountain, the branches spill downward.
The 20-foot-tall “Okame” cherry (P. “Okame”), which has branches that extend upward in the shape of a conventional, rounded tree, has deep pink blossoms.
In the lower South, it occasionally blooms as early as Valentine’s Day and can be an early bloomer. The vigorously growing “Kwanzan” cherry (P. serrulata ‘Kwanzan’) has carnation-like blossoms. It typically flowers in mid-to-late spring and can grow up to 30 feet tall. It is a late bloomer.
Will A Cherry Blossom Tree Grow Cherries?
A good number of cherry blossom trees bloom and grow cherries, although not all offer edible fruit you find in the supermarket. Most often, fruits are not like cherries from a standard cherry tree. Most often, the cherries found on a cherry blossom tree are very small and not edible.
Focus on planting standard fruit trees if you want to grow cherry trees that will eventually produce cherries. This is primarily because cherry blossoms produce little useless fruits for larger-scale uses.
Fruits aren’t grown on cherry trees, only the blossoms. They occasionally yield small cherries, which are useless for sweet pies or other delights. Small cherries produced by various cherry blossoms should be ignored, as you cannot use them as food ingredients.
It is also essential to keep in mind that not every flowering cherry tree can bear cherries. Many cannot yield even a single fruit; they are only suited for cherry blossom viewing to produce flowers, and no cherries will appear. (Learn How To Stop A Tree Branch From Growing Back)
How Cherry Blossom Trees And Cherry Trees For Edible Cherries Differ?
Because both trees are so fruitful, gardeners adore them. Every year, cherry trees can yield an abundance of fruit, but it takes a few years for the first bunch to appear on a cherry tree. Overall, they will produce a ton of juicy, sweet fruits in the following years.
As their gardeners feel like successful tree gardeners, cherry blossom trees thrive and lift their gardener’s morale.
They are ornamental cherries intended to produce beautiful flowers. When cherry blossoms are in bloom, the flowering beauty is covered in light pink flowers (Weeping Cherry), and other hues, such as on the Yoshino Cherry trees, can brighten your yard.
The following are key distinctions between a regular cherry tree and the flowering cherries you see at cherry blossom festivals.
Hardiness zones: Hardiness zones 4 to 7 are suitable for standard cherry trees, while zones 5 to 8 are suitable for most cherry blossom trees.
Height: Sour cherry trees can grow up to 25 feet, and an ornamental cherry tree can grow up to 40 feet tall.
Soil conditions: Many cherry trees thrive in any soil type with the proper structure, texture, and humidity, but cherry blossoms such as the Yoshino cherry tree requires moist, loamy soils.
Sun requirements: Wild cherry trees need full sun to produce fruits, yet the Yoshino cherry blossoms (Genus Prunus) are beautiful trees and do well in partial shade. You’ll find you don’t need full sunlight for flowering cherry trees to produce flowers.
Appearance: Even though the two trees appear similar. Blooming cherry blossoms and standard cherry trees have slightly different appearances.
With cherry trees having branches as long as 20 feet and cherry blossom trees having long branches of about 30 feet, the shape and size of the branches are almost identical but slightly different depending on the variety. (Learn What To Put Around Palm Trees)
Flowering: Cherry blossoms bloom and are cultivated for large flowers with white petals (Yoshino) in the cherry blossom season.
The beautiful trees offer long blooming seasons, and their pink and white flowers are long-lasting. Also, you will find a fruit cherry tree in full bloom has flowers that have five petals
On the other side, cherry trees are cultivated for fruits. They, therefore, produce short-term flowers that mature into fruits over a short period.
Ease of growth: These trees are easy to maintain, but one tree grown to produce fruits and produce small cherries compared to one grown for flowers, these cherry trees require more upkeep.
Most fruit-bearing trees require a lot of maintenance to keep the fruits free of pests and illnesses. Cherry blossoms such as the ones in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden need basic tree care procedures to be followed.
Ornamental Cherry Trees Blooming Season
Every spring, the cherry blossom season lasts roughly a month and is always influenced by the weather. When looking at the calendar and hoping to see flowers, a fair rule of thumb is early March to early April.
Most cherry blossom trees bloom for one to two weeks during the season. The trees will bloom earlier in the season as you travel further South. Cherry blossoms, when in bloom, make for simple, beautiful floral arrangements that can endure quite a while.
About Cherry Blossoms
Most cherry trees are grown more for their ornamental blossoms than for their tasty fruit. Prunus is the name of the solely ornamental genus of cherry trees. In the summer, these trees continue to produce fruit, but it is typically so sour that only animals can consume it.
In the genus Rosaceae, cherry trees that produce edible fruit can be found, although most of these trees are too challenging to grow in the South. They require chilly temperatures to survive, which explains why.
Contrary to common assumption, most cherry blossoms actually have a light scent. They grow swiftly, yet they are short-lived. Most of them have lifespans of 15 to 25 years, although some, like black cherry trees, have significantly longer lives. Despite their delicate appearance, you can grow them for yourself if you put them in a spot with full sun and well-drained soil.
Blossoms bloom in a number of hues. While some have blooms that are white or darker pink, others have light pink flowers. Some have blooms that are white or yellow-green in color but eventually become pink.
Celebrating Cherry Blossoms in Washington, D.C.
The cherry blossoms that bloom around the United States national monuments in Washington, DC, are among the most well-known in the country.
The cherry blossom is considered to be the unofficial national flower of Japan. In 1912, the mayor of Tokyo, Yukio Ozaki, presented the United States with 3,000 cherry trees to celebrate the friendship between the cities and countries of Japan and the United States. (Read Trees That Grow In Water Guide)
These trees were planted around the Tidal Basin in Washington. In 1915, the United States of America sent flowering dogwoods to Japan as a token of their gratitude. In 1912, the First Lady of the United States, Helen Herron Taft, planted the first cherry blossom tree along the Potomac.
Because of people planting trees all around Washington, the state has become a center for the blooming of cherry blossoms. The timing of each year’s National Cherry Blossom Festival is determined by when the trees are in full bloom.
