When to plant and prune Ornamental Cherry
Ornamental Cherry flowers from late March to early May and the dates below cover planting, flowering and the pruning window.
Planting, flowering and pruning by region
Ornamental Cherry is grown to the calendar rather than to the frost, so the same dates apply across the whole UK and every region below reads the same. Where a plant’s timings do follow the frost, Plot shifts them from the Midlands and Lowland Wales baseline using Met Office average frost dates.
| Where you are | Plant | In flower | Prune |
|---|---|---|---|
| South West Coast and Cornwall | early October to late December | late March to early May | mid April to early July |
| South Coast and Channel | early October to late December | late March to early May | mid April to early July |
| Greater London (Urban Heat Island) | early October to late December | late March to early May | mid April to early July |
| South East and Home Counties | early October to late December | late March to early May | mid April to early July |
| East Anglia | early October to late December | late March to early May | mid April to early July |
| Midlands and Lowland Wales | early October to late December | late March to early May | mid April to early July |
| Wales and West Coast | early October to late December | late March to early May | mid April to early July |
| Northern England | early October to late December | late March to early May | mid April to early July |
| Scotland Lowlands and Central Belt | early October to late December | late March to early May | mid April to early July |
| Scotland Highlands and Islands | early October to late December | late March to early May | mid April to early July |
| Northern Ireland | early October to late December | late March to early May | mid April to early July |
| Channel Islands and Isle of Man | early October to late December | late March to early May | mid April to early July |
Growing notes
Choose the cultivar by eventual shape as much as flower: compact kinds such as 'Kojo-no-mai' stay container-sized, while spreading Japanese cherries such as 'Shogetsu' throw a wide, low canopy. They cast only light shade, so spring bulbs grow happily underneath.
At a glance
- Spacing
- 450 cm between plants
- Eventual height
- 600 cm
- Eventual spread
- 600 cm
- Hardiness
- H6
- Sun
- Full
- Frost tender
- No
- Grows in a container
- Yes, 90 litres or more
- Balcony rating
- 2 out of 5
Feeding
Rarely needed in the ground; on poor soil apply a balanced feed over the root area in spring.
Pruning: what to avoid
Prune Prunus only from April to July. Winter pruning, the instinctive time for a deciduous tree, opens the wounds to silver leaf disease and bacterial canker, which can kill a cherry.
Pruning group
Prune ornamental cherries and other Prunus between April and July, in dry weather
Bare-root season
Bare-root stock is lifted and sold while dormant, from early November to early March. Container-grown plants can go in at other times of year, but bare-root is cheaper and establishes well.
What usually goes wrong
- silver leaf and bacterial canker after winter pruning
- blossom wilt
- aphids on young shoots
- suckering from the rootstock
- short-lived on heavy wet soil
Related guides
Timings cross-checked against RHS guidance for ornamental cherry.