Tree · Rosaceae
Weeping Cherry
Prunus subhirtella
Plant it for the spring cascade of pink and white, and the weeping cherry pours blossom over your garden every April.
Full sun
Every 5–10 days
USDA 4–8
15–40 ft · 4.6–12.2 m
Overview
The weeping cherry is one of the great spring showpieces, a small tree whose long branches arch up from a grafted standard and then spill back to the ground. In early spring, before the leaves unfold, the whole canopy fills with light pink to white flowers that hang from the trailing stems. It belongs to the rose family and traces back to Japan, where the Higan cherry has been prized for centuries.
What you buy is almost always a graft. A weeping scion is joined to the top of an upright standard rootstock, usually at 4 to 6 feet, so the branches cascade from that height rather than from the soil. That detail shapes everything from pruning to the suckers you'll need to remove, because any growth from below the graft reverts to a plain, straight tree.
Give it room and it grows fast, reaching 15 to 40 feet (4.6 to 12 m) tall with a spread to match. It's hardy across a wide band of the country and asks for little once settled, though it carries the cyanide-bearing foliage common to all cherries, so where you plant it matters around grazing animals.
Care
The short version: full sun, moist well-drained soil, and steady water while it's young. Feed it once in early spring, prune lightly after it flowers, and keep the suckers below the graft cut off.
Light
Plant it in full sun for the heaviest bloom, though it will take part shade and still flower. The more direct light the canopy gets, the denser the spring show.
Water
Keep the soil moist and well drained, and water on roughly a 5 to 10 day rhythm while the tree is young or during a drought. Once established it shrugs off some dryness, but it never wants to sit in soggy ground.
Soil
It does best in moist, fertile, well-drained loam and isn't fussy, adapting to clay or sand. A pH anywhere from 5.5 to 7.5 suits it, which covers most garden soils.
Temperature
This is a cold-hardy tree, comfortable across a wide range from about -20°F to 100°F (-29°C to 38°C). It needs the winter chill of a temperate climate to bloom well in spring.
Humidity
Ordinary outdoor air is all it needs, so there's no target to hit. Good airflow through the canopy matters more, since crowded, damp branches invite the leaf and bark diseases cherries are prone to.
Feeding
One feeding does it. Apply a balanced slow-release tree fertilizer in early spring as growth starts, and skip anything heavier, which only pushes soft growth that pests and canker move into.
Pruning
Prune lightly right after flowering to take out dead, damaged, or crossing wood and to keep the weeping shape. Always cut off the suckers below the graft union, and avoid big cuts, which open the door to borers and canker.
Repotting
This one stays in the ground. It's not a container tree, so plant it in its permanent spot with room for the full spread and leave it there.
Size & spacing
Expect a mature tree of 15 to 40 feet (4.6 to 12 m) tall with a spread of 15 to 25 feet (4.6 to 7.6 m). Give it that full footprint up front, well clear of buildings and other trees, since it grows fast and won't want moving later.
When to plant
The weeping cherry runs on the cool end of the calendar. Plant it while it's dormant in early spring or fall, watch the flowers open before the leaves in early to mid spring, and save your pruning for right after the blossoms fade.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Plant: Early spring or fall while dormant
- Harvest: Early to mid spring (light pink to white flowers before leaves)
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 4–8
Temperature: down to -34°C
Troubleshooting
Most weeping cherry trouble lands on the bark and twigs rather than the flowers. Catch a canker or a black knot gall early and you can cut it out before it spreads. Match what you see below, then act while the wood around it is still sound.
Wilting branch tips with sunken, oozing cankers on the wood
This is canker and dieback, where fungi slip in through wounds and choke off whole limbs, sometimes with the help of borers tunneling underneath. Cut the cankered wood out well below the lesion during dry weather and wipe your tools clean between cuts. A vigorous, well-watered tree with no fresh bark wounds is the best defense.
Fix:
- Prune out cankered wood well below the lesion during dry weather
- Sterilize tools between cuts
- Improve vigor with proper watering and avoid bark wounds
Hard black galls swelling around twigs and branches
Those coal-black, corky swellings are black knot, a fungus that grips the twigs and shows up most clearly in winter. Prune each knot out 10 to 15 cm below the gall in late winter and get rid of the wood you cut. Clear out any wild cherry nearby, since it feeds the same disease back into your tree.
Fix:
- Prune out knots 10-15 cm below the gall in late winter
- Destroy or remove pruned material
- Repeat inspections annually
Spotted, sticky, or chewed-up leaves
Several culprits show up on the foliage. Aphids and scale leave a sticky honeydew and curling leaves, Japanese beetles chew the green right out between the veins, and leaf spot or leaf curl fungi leave defined lesions. Hose off or treat the sap-feeders with horticultural oil, pick beetles off by hand, and rake up fallen leaves so the fungus can't carry over.
Fix:
- Hose off or treat aphids/scale with horticultural oil or insecticidal soap
- Handpick Japanese beetles
- Rake and destroy fallen diseased leaves
Toxicity
This is a beautiful tree with a real warning attached. Like every cherry, its leaves, twigs, bark, and seed pits hold cyanogenic glycosides that release cyanide, and wilted foliage is the most dangerous of all. Keep prunings and fallen leaves well away from horses and livestock, and stop pets and children from chewing the twigs or pits.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds · People
Cats Mild
A cat that gnaws wilted leaves, twigs, or a seed pit can show brick-red gums, widened pupils, and labored, panting breath. Cases are uncommon, but the cyanide works fast, so treat any breathing trouble as an emergency.
Dogs Mild
Dogs that chew bark, twigs, or fallen seeds may drool, breathe hard, and show flushed red gums and dilated pupils. It rarely happens, yet a dog that has cracked into the pits needs a vet without delay.
Horses Severe
Horses are in real danger here. A pile of wilted prunings tossed over the fence can trigger staggering, gasping breath, bright red mucous membranes, and convulsions, and the animal can be dead within minutes.
Rabbits Toxic
The same cyanogenic compounds make the leaves, twigs, and bark unsafe for rabbits. Keep cuttings and prunings out of reach, since even a small amount of wilted foliage can bring on weakness and breathing distress.
Livestock Severe
Cattle, sheep, and goats are the classic victims of wilted-leaf cyanide poisoning. Within 15 to 20 minutes of eating fallen or pruned leaves they may slobber, breathe rapidly, show bright red membranes, and convulse, often fatally.
Birds Toxic
The cyanide in the foliage, bark, and seed pits is dangerous to birds as well, so keep poultry and pet birds from pecking at prunings or cracked pits.
People Caution
This is an ornamental tree, not food. The pits, leaves, twigs, and bark carry cyanogenic glycosides, so don't eat any of it and keep curious children from chewing the seeds or foliage.
Keep pruned branches and fallen leaves away from horses and livestock, since wilting raises cyanide. Prevent pets from chewing twigs, bark, wilted leaves, or seeds.
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222
Canada
Poison Centres: 1-844-764-7669
Varieties
Most weeping cherries trace back to a few named cultivars, set apart mainly by flower color, whether the blooms are single or double, and the size of the tree. These are the ones worth knowing.
'Pendula'
The classic weeping form carries single light-pink flowers on long cascading branches grafted atop a 4 to 6 foot standard.
'Pendula Plena Rosea'
This weeping selection trades the single blooms for fuller double pink flowers.
'Snofozam' (Snow Fountains)
A dwarf weeping cultivar, it pours white flowers down a low cascading frame that suits smaller gardens.
'Autumnalis'
Its semi-double pink flowers open twice, once in fall and again in early spring.
Yoshino cherry (Prunus × yedoensis)
A related flowering cherry that grows upright and spreading rather than weeping, with white to pale-pink blooms.
How to propagate
Propagating a weeping cherry is not a beginner's job. The cascading form depends on grafting onto a tall standard, which is why nurseries handle nearly all of it and home cuttings rarely match the look.
GraftingDemanding
Late winter to early spring (bench graft) or summer (budding) · 1-2 years to a saleable grafted tree
Grafting is how nearly every weeping cherry is made. Growers bench-graft in late winter or bud in summer, joining the weeping scion to an upright standard rootstock, often Prunus avium, at 4 to 6 feet so the branches spill from the top. It takes 1 to 2 years to build a saleable tree, and the work is demanding enough that few home gardeners attempt it.
Stem cuttingsDemanding
Early summer (softwood) · Several weeks to root, 1-2 years to establish
Softwood cuttings taken in early summer will root, but only with difficulty, taking several weeks to strike and 1 to 2 years to establish. The bigger catch is that a rooted cutting lacks the tall standard, so it never gains the elevated cascading form that grafting gives, which is why this route stays rare.
Myths
Weeping cherries grow from seed or cuttings and shoot straight up like an ordinary tree.
The cascading shape comes from a grafted scion set on top of an upright standard rootstock, not from a seed. Any sucker that springs up below the graft union reverts to the rootstock and grows straight, so cut those off.
The flowers and fruit are the only parts that put animals at risk.
The petals are not the worry. The cyanogenic compounds gather in the leaves, twigs, bark, and seeds, and wilted foliage is the most dangerous of all to grazing animals.