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Flowering Cherry
Prunus serrulata
Flowering Cherry blooms from April through April.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Flowering Cherry
Plant it in full sun. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 5–8. Expect it to reach about 26 ft tall and 23 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 12 years (not yet checked).
What was checked
Mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun and the trait tags were checked against named botanical sources for this plant. The bloom months and water need on this page were not, and each fact above says which. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
When to plant Flowering Cherry
Plant Flowering Cherry in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. In zone 6, the middle of its hardy zones 5 to 8, spring means March to May and fall means August or September. Once settled, it blooms in April.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 6, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 6 in March. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Flowering Cherry get?
26 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult23 ftwideSee Flowering Cherry in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
How far apart to plant Flowering Cherry
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Give Flowering Cherry about 23 ft of clear ground in every direction, measured from its center. It is one plant with room around it, not a row, and a raised bed is too small for it.
Add Flowering Cherry to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Where these facts come from
Flowering Cherry's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags were checked against 9 published sources on July 29, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.
- Missouri Botanical GardenPlant Finderheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags
- NC State ExtensionGardener Plant Toolboxheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags
- Purdue ArboretumExplorer, Purdue Universityheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags
- The Morton Arboretumheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags
- Clemson Home and Garden Information CenterClemson Cooperative Extension Home & Garden Information Center, Orname...height, spread, sun and trait tags
- Oregon State UniversityLandscape Plantsheight, hardiness zones and sun
- University of Maryland ExtensionOrnamental Cherry Treessun and trait tags
- Utah State University ExtensionTreeBrowserhardiness zones and sun
- treesandshrubsonline.orgTrees and Shrubs Online (Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British...trait tags
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
Comes in 9 varieties across 2 colors
Same genus, similar care - pick the color you are growing.
Compare every variety in the Flowering Cherry group
Every figure is the variety's own page fact. Tap a name to open it.
| Variety | Color | Blooms | Hardiness | Sun | Size (H × W) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akebono | Pink | Apr | Zones 5–8 | Full sun | 23 ft × 23 ft |
| Autumn | Pink | Mar–Apr | Zones 5–8 | Full sun | 23 ft × 23 ft |
| Floweringthis page | Pink | Apr | Zones 5–8 | Full sun | 26 ft × 23 ft |
| Kwanzan | Pink | Apr–May | Zones 5–8 | Full sun | 26 ft × 20 ft |
| Mount Fuji | White | Apr | Zones 5–8 | Full sun | 16 ft × 23 ft |
| Okame | Pink | Mar–Apr | Zones 6–9 | Full sun | 20 ft × 16 ft |
| Pink Cloud | Pink | Apr | Zones 5–8 | Full sun | 23 ft × 20 ft |
| Snow Fountains | White | Apr | Zones 5–8 | Full sun | 13 ft × 13 ft |
| Weeping | Pink | Apr | Zones 5–8 | Full sun | 20 ft × 20 ft |
| Yoshino | Pink | Apr | Zones 5–8 | Full sun | 26 ft × 26 ft |
Good to know about Flowering Cherry
Curated from university extensions, botanic gardens and other primary sources, with the source named on every note. A note reports what its source says; where that differs from a fact above, the fact above is this entry's stored value, and its mark says whether it has been checked.
Safety
Leaves, stems and seeds hold cyanogenic glycosides, toxic to dogs, cats and horses. Wilted or damaged foliage is the most dangerous, releasing cyanide. per ASPCA and NC State
Worth knowing
Where you plant it is a disease decision: full sun with good airflow dries foliage and cuts brown rot, leaf spot and canker, while sharp drainage avoids root rots. per NC State and University of Maryland
How long it lives
Sources differ: NC State gives 15 to 20 years, Maryland 20 to 25. Either way it is short-lived, roughly 15 to 25 years. Plant it as a temporary specimen. per NC State and University of Maryland
Weak wood, thin bark
Its wood is weak and splits, its bark thin and easily damaged. Those wounds and frost cracks are the entry points borers and bacterial canker exploit. per NC State
Black knot galls
Black knot fungus makes hard black galls that girdle branches. Prune them out 6 to 8 inches below the swelling in winter and destroy the prunings. per Wisconsin and Penn State
Modest wildlife value
A larval host for the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, and birds eat its (not abundant) fruit. Grown mainly for bloom, not as a top pollinator plant. per NC State
Holes aren't one disease
Holes in cherry leaves aren't one problem. Gummy ooze points to bacterial canker; whitish spore felt on leaf undersides points to the leaf spot fungus. per Penn State and Wisconsin
What pairs well with Flowering Cherry
Good companions share its growing conditions and add something it lacks: an earlier or later bloom, a lower carpet in front, or structure through winter.
Perennial Sunflower
Shares full sun and moderate water; blooms in late summer, extending the bed's season; both offer pollinator forage, in different months; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds.
Sneezeweed
Shares full sun and moderate water; blooms in midsummer, extending the bed's season; both offer pollinator forage, in different months; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds.
Joe Pye Weed
Shares full sun and moderate to high water; blooms in midsummer, extending the bed's season; both offer pollinator forage, in different months; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds.
Ninebark
Shares full sun and moderate water; blooms in late spring as this one finishes; both offer pollinator forage, in different months; shorter at 6.5 ft, an understory layer.
Weigela
Shares full sun and moderate water; blooms in late spring as this one finishes; both offer pollinator forage, in different months; shorter at 5 ft, an understory layer.
Lavender
Shares full sun and low to moderate water; blooms in early summer, extending the bed's season; both offer pollinator forage, in different months; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter.
Hybrid Tea Rose
Shares full sun and moderate water; blooms in late spring as this one finishes; both offer pollinator forage, in different months; low at 4 ft, to carpet the ground beneath it.
Tulip Tree
Shares full sun and moderate water; blooms in late spring as this one finishes; both offer pollinator forage, in different months; a soft color beside the pink.
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Design a garden with this
Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.