If there has been a transition to different leaves with a different habit, with no flowers being seen you may have had sweet cherry rootstock sprouts grow up to overwhelm and replace a cultivar that was grafted on top. I often see this happening with Japanese flowering cherry trees here, even though the appearance of the scion and rootstock may be markedly different from one another at flowering time. If that is the case with your tree the portion that died may have been the last bits of the scion finally being killed off by the competition from the rootstock sprouts.

eoren, My hubby says he got it at Mahoney's in Winchester. Jane, There's a funny story to that tree. There's an old wives tail that my grandmother reminded me of before she died. We had been trying to have a second baby and getting no where and my grandmother reminded me of this tale. "When having trouble getting pregnant, plant both a dogwood and a kwanzon japanese cherry tree, You will be pregnant within 3 months. You will know the sex of the baby before it's born the following spring. Which ever tree survives will tell you the sex. Dogwood is boy. Cherry is girl." Well hubby got both trees and we planted them in Mid May. Sure enough I was pregnant by the beginning of August, due the end of May. Come the spring the baby was due and well, the dogwood tree was dying and the cherry tree was fine. By the time my baby was born, the dogwood tree was deader than a doornail and I had my daughter in my arms. 2 years later the cherry tree was just barely blooming, but was blooming and kind of looking a bit sad in my opinion. My mother was here for 4th of July that there and was looking at the tree and said "well the rest of the story on the cherry tree goes like this. "it will bloom poorly till it is attacked by a bad insect infestation. Kill off the infestation and you will have a huge blooming tree from the next year on." then she said "looks like you will plenty of blooms next year, you have termites in one part of the tree." We turned green and hubby ran for a saw to cut off the part that was infested with termites, cut it off, bagged in is several layers of plastic bags and brought it to the local county extension service for proper disposal. We sealed the cut section of the tree, as the main trunk had split into 2 sections and we had one side left. We saw no further termite problem and, YES, the following year on it has bloomed and bloomed profusely. Now, my neighbor across the street was with my husband when he bought the trees and she got the same ones I did. She wasn't trying to have a baby, far to old for that and just wanted the trees. Her dogwood, a white Kousa, has bloomed beautifully for years and years, but her cherry tree was always a pathetic little thing. Then about 5 years or so ago, the tree was attacked by little green worms and badly defoliated. She nursed it all summer with extra water and some fertilizer, and the following year on, it's bloomed it heart out an looks more like mine now. Are the old wives tales true? I don't know, I can only tell what happened with mine and my neighbors home and see what we have. Fran

It looks like they are only hardy to Zone 8; http://www.buycheapr.com/us/result.jsp?ga=us13&q=japanese+cherry+tree Tree Town USA Flowering Cherry, Yoshino Model # PRUYE02BR0024FT Internet # 202038410 Write the first review $16.98 /EA-Each Ships FREE with $49.00 Order This item cannot be shipped to the following state(s): CA,AZ This attractive deciduous Japanese flowering tree makes a wonderful specimen plant that enhances any landscape. Flowers bloom a soft pink and white color in spring and continue through until frost. This plant grows and flowers best with rich, moist soil in full sun, but will tolerate less hospitable conditions just as well. This beautiful tree is sure to be the highlight of the landscape and makes a great centerpiece. Can tolerate some drought and adapts to most soil conditions. Mature specimens grow up to 25 ft. in height and spread. � Botanical Name : Prunus yedoensis � Hardiness : Zone 5 to 8 � Vase form grows to reach heights of 25 ft. � Has attractive showy white and pink flowers � Hardy to -20�F � Full Sun

I was able to find a very informative site, which gives the origins of the different cherry blossom varieties (you might have to copy and paste the link) http://botanyboy.org/yoshino-cherry-tree-prunus-x-yedoensis-the-famous-japanese-cherry-blossom/ There are nine main different varieties of cherry that grow in the wild in Japan: Yamazakura (Prunus jamasakura) Oyamazakura (Prunus sargentii) Kasumisakura (Prunus verecunda) Oshimazakura (Prunus speciosa) Edohigan (Prunus Ascendens spachiana) Mamesakura (Prunus incise) Choujizakura (Prunus apetala) Minezakura (Prunus nipponica) Miyamazakura (Prunus maximowiczii) The Yoshino cherry was the result of a single hybridization between Edohigan and Oshimazakura. Cherries with the name 'Serrulata' are those found in the Satozakura group, which are the cultivated cherries. These derive mainly from a number of the wild Japanese varieties listed above. In addition, there is the Kanhizakura (Prunus campanulata), which was brought to Japan much later, and can tolerate warmer climates.