Ornamental Cherry Tree Identification

Tree Size

• In some instances, an ornamental cherry grows much larger in the wild than it does as a cultivated tree or in cultivar form. The Japanese flowering cherry, for example, attains heights of 75 feet in Korea, China and Japan, but only grows between 15 and 25 feet high in most of its cultivar forms, such as Royal Burgundy and Kwanzan. Asian cherry trees typically remain small enough for yards with limited space, such as the Manchurian cherry, higan cherry, Mt. Fuji cherry, yoshino cherry and Sargent cherry. These species mature between 15 and 40 feet. Native types like the black cherry can grow as tall as 80 feet, with the chokecherry developing to a more manageable 30-foot-tall tree.

Flowers

• The flowers of the ornamental cherry trees – their main selling point – vary in how they emerge on the twigs. Some are in elongated clusters called racemes, while others grow in flattened arrangements at the ends of the branches, known as umbels. Colors are diverse, ranging from pure white to shades of red and pink. One constant is that the vast majority feature five petals. Ornamental cherry tree flowers may be aromatic, but some emit no fragrance at all.

Foliage

• The leaves of the ornamental cherry trees grow in an alternate fashion on the twigs. Only one leaf emerges at each growing node. These are simple leaves, with many species having serrated edges on the foliage. The green leaves come off the cherries in autumn, with some types providing showy fall color, such as the Sargent cherry.

Fruits

• The fruits produced by ornamental cherry trees, known as drupes, often attract birds to the tree. These cherries are typically bitter and inedible for humans, although you can utilize some types to produce jellies and jams. They can be as small as peas, such as the fruits of the chokecherry, or larger, ripening to be as wide as a half inch, like the cherries of the Sargent cherry tree. The fruits are shades of red, purple or black, according to the species of cherry tree.