Question on anatomy of weeping cherry tree

7 years ago

last modified: 7 years ago

So I have a question on the bark and flower color of a weeping cherry(prunus subhirtella pendula). Do the naturally occurring weeping cherry(ungrafted ones) have a smooth bark like the ones grafted 5 ft above? Or do they only have a smooth bark when young and eventually change to a shaggy looking bark? Here are 2 pics showing 2 different looking barks of the weeping cherry.

And then next question about the flower color(pink ones). Why is it that the weeping cherries I see in Japan are pale pink but all the weeping cherries I see here are dark pink? Or is it just my eyes that see it that way?

I found a place that sells an ungrafted weeping higan cherry so I'm thinking of getting that. Though not sure how they propagated it

Featured Answer

Embothrium

7 years ago

last modified: 7 years ago

Prunus x subhirtella 'Pendula' is a synonym of P. pendula. The large growing, seed raised P. pendula have their own bark all the way to the ground. Although still present in the inhabited landscape these are effectively commercially extinct in North America. The top grafted, named horticultural selections offered instead are perched on a sweet cherry (Prunus avium) trunk. Or the trunk of whichever other cherry was used to provide the trunk for the grafted combination (finished stock resulting from the use of named rootstock selections such as the Gisela series for grafting Japanese cherries instead of sweet cherry was beginning to see some presence on the market awhile back).

Some weeping cherries that have been seen and identified in my area are P. pendula (tiny, blush pink), P. pendula 'Pendula Plena Rosea' (semi double, rosette like, rose pink), P. pendula 'Pendula Rubra' (single, deep pink) and Snow Fountains ('Snofozam') (white). This last is from Lake County Nursery in Perry OH, was introduced around 1985 and has since become quite common here. I have also seen at least one other weeping cherry introduction made by them on the local market in later years:

http://www.lakecountynursery.com/lcns%20sell%20sheets/PinkSnowShowers.pdf

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (6)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
7 years ago
if its ungrafted.. one would presume its rooted .. or seed generated ...

is this the tree you want to move? ..if so.. great.. since it looks telephone poled .... and the wounds are not great ...

ken
Heruga (7a Northern NJ)
Original Author
7 years ago
No those are just pics I got from Google. And it's not the tree that I want to move. That thread and this thread is unrelated. They just both happen to be about weeping cherries.

So.. Do you know anything about the bark of these trees? Why ones smooth and the others shaggy and rough ?
Related Discussions
miniature weeping tree question
Q
Comments (2)
If the trunk and branches are still live looking, and if the cambium layer is still green (the layer just under the bark - scratch lightly with a thumbnail to see) and if the branches are still bendable, then I would venture to guess that the tree just lost all the leaves from transplant shock. It MAY have been too wet or too dry, it may have been planted too deeply, it may have traveled from the nursery uncovered and been subjected to high-speed winds or it may have been poorly treated in the nursery before you bought it. If your summer was as weird-weather as mine was, it's no wonder newly planted things weren't happy. Check for too-deep planting by seeing if the trunk goes into the ground like a telephone pole or if there is a flare, a slight thickening of the trunk where the trunk and roots separate, visible at ground level. If it is NOT visible, then gently dig down and see where the flare is, If it's only about an inch or so down, then you can brush back the dirt until the root ball is in a slight hollow, and reapply the mulch, leaving the inch or 2 next to the trunk bare. If the flare is eventually visible, but deeper than an inch or so, then the best thing for the tree may be to dig it up, replant it with the flare at or above ground level (above might be best, to allow for settling from the new dirt under the root ball), and treat it as a newly planted tree - mulching, watering when the soil is dry down 2", etc., etc., for the next 2-3 years. If the cambium layer is brown all the way to the wood, even on the trunk, then the tree is dead, and does need to be replaced. Many people have come on the forum with questions and/or complaints about weeping cherries - although I would suppose that many more have not - so they can be problematic. A weeping red-bud, 'Covey' (which I believe is also dwarf), 'Lavender Twist'?, or 'Traveler' might do better for you.
...See More
Question about weeping cherry tree
Q
Comments (20)
Don't count on anything that you buy from a Lowes, HD, WalMart or even local nurseries to automatically do well in your zone. Check them out on the internet first. Businesses that sell plants are in business to make money. Even many nurseries will sell you plants that are not suited to the local climate. If they are responsible nurseries they will tell you that the plant you are buying will be an annual in your zone, meaning it's going to die come winter. Cheryl
...See More
Grafted Prunus pendula scion 'eating up' the rootstock bark?
Q
Comments (9)
Wow I feel stupid. So I guess all cherries have the same bark except when they age it peels off and those consistent line patterns and smoothness disappears like this in the photo. I thought weeping cherry was the only cherry with a distinctive bark and even embothrium stated that they have their own bark in my thread here: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/question-on-anatomy-of-weeping-cherry-tree-dsvw-vd~4574199
...See More
Pleached trees/ Weeping pear questions
Q
Comments (27)
LOL too true. That's good to know about the Glacier Blue and Majorie Channon, which would eliminate two of the variagated plants. I was just worried if I went with the Japanense Maple variety (variagated with white) it would be way too much white variagated plant overload. Although I do love that Pittsoporum.... The area is full sun now but once the trees and fence go in, I think it will be part sun although the trees would still be getting full sun. Do you have any input on the trees? I'm worried that I might be going too big for the space but I really want that space to have some privacy and afternoon shade (SW facing on a street).
...See More
Heruga (7a Northern NJ)
Original Author
7 years ago
Well I actually just bought a pendula from lazyssfarm nursery. They say its not grafted. Hoping it doesn't get too wide though since my backyard is only 40ftx40ft and I've got a Japanese maple and a persimmon tree still left to plant!

So if you take a seed from a grafted weeping cherry, and the seed germinates, will it become a true pendula?
Embothrium
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
No I wouldn't expect that to be an automatic outcome. And all the P. pendula cultivars are true P. pendula, what you are calling this is P. pendula - period - without an additional name attached.

Whether or not you in fact got a typical, seed raised P. pendula from the nursery depends on what, exactly it is. Previously there seemed to be some uncertainty about this:

I found a place that sells an ungrafted weeping higan cherry so I'm thinking of getting that. Though not sure how they propagated it

At any rate their photos appear to show the general effect it appears you are looking for, whatever the exact identification of what they are growing.

http://www.lazyssfarm.com/Plants/Shrubs/M-R%20Shrubs/M-R%20Images/prunus_subhirtella_pendula.htm
Heruga (7a Northern NJ)
Original Author
7 years ago
Hey so I've got another question to ask here instead of making a completely new thread. For the flower color of the prunus pendula(no cultivar), I just heard that its flower color is either pink or white. What determines its flower color? Soil pH? Can the flowers be pink one year and white the other, or will it remain the same color the whole time? I don't understand why some can be white and some can be pink. I know that different cultivars can have different flower colors like the snow fountain is exclusively white and plena rosea is exclusively pink. But I want to know about the pure prunus pendula.

Question on anatomy of weeping cherry tree

Embothrium

Comments (6)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

Heruga (7a Northern NJ)
Original Author

Related Discussions

Heruga (7a Northern NJ)
Original Author

Embothrium

Heruga (7a Northern NJ)
Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Question on anatomy of weeping cherry tree

Embothrium

Comments (6)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

Heruga (7a Northern NJ)Original Author

Related Discussions

Heruga (7a Northern NJ)Original Author

Embothrium

Heruga (7a Northern NJ)Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Heruga (7a Northern NJ)
Original Author

Heruga (7a Northern NJ)
Original Author

Heruga (7a Northern NJ)
Original Author