Weeping Cherry
Weeping Cherry
Pruning Weeping Cherry Trees and Other Grafted and Budded
Ornamentals
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What do the terms grafting and budding mean?
Budding is a form of grafting. Grafting is the art of
attaching a piece of one plant to another plant, creating a new
plant. Grafting is usually done because the desired plant is
extremely difficult if not impossible to propagate through other
means. Dogwoods, for example, are easily grown from seed,
however, it is next to impossible to grow a Pink Dogwood from
seed. The seeds from a Pink Dogwood will produce seedlings that
are likely to flower white.
The most common method for producing Pink Dogwood trees is to
remove a single bud from a Pink Dogwood tree and slip it under
the bark of a White Dogwood seedling. This process is known as
budding, and the seedling is known as the rootstock. This is
usually done during the late summer months when the bark of the
White Dogwood seedling can be easily separated from the tree,
and the seedling is about 1/4" in diameter.
A very small "T" shaped cut is made in the bark only, and the
bud is slipped in the slot. The actual bud itself is allowed to
poke out through the opening and then the wound is wrapped with
a rubber band both above and below the bud. By the following
spring the bud will have grafted itself to the seedling, at
which time the seedling is cut off just above the Pink Dogwood
bud, and the bud then grows into a Pink Dogwood tree.
Budding is usually done at ground level, and often times the
rootstock will send up shoots from below the bud union. These
shoots, often called suckers, should be removed as soon as they
appear because they are from the rootstock and are not the same
variety as the rest of the plant. Flowering Crabapples are also
budded and are notorious for producing suckers. When removing
these suckers don't just clip them off at ground level with
pruning shears, they will just grow back. Pull back the soil or
mulch and remove them from the tree completely at the point
where they emerge from the stem.
Most people clip them off a couple of inches from the ground,
and then they grow back with multiple shoots. This drives me
crazy! Get down as low as you can and remove them completely and
you will keep them under control. On older trees that have been
improperly pruned for years I take a digging spade and literally
attack these suckers hacking them away from the stem. Sure this
does a little damage to the stem of the tree, but when a plant
is let go like that I figure it's a do or die situation. The
trees always survive and thrive.
Other plants are grafted up high to create a weeping effect.
One of the most popular trees that is grafted up high is the top
graft Weeping Cherry. In this case the seedling is allowed to
grow to a height of 5', then the weeping variety is grafted on
to the rootstock at a height of about 5'. This creates an
umbrella type effect. In this case the graft union is 5' off the
ground, therefore anything that grows from the stem below that
graft union must be removed.
Many people don't understand this and before they know it they
have a branch 2" in diameter growing up through the weeping
canopy of their tree. Before you know it there are several
branches growing upright through the canopy and the effect of
the plant is completely ruined.
At my website, http://gardening-articles.com I've got a couple
of photos that show exactly what I'm talking about in this
article. You can clearly see the weeping effect that the
Weeping Cherry tree is supposed to have, but then up through the
middle come these branches that are no more than just suckers
from the stem, or the rootstock as it is known in the nursery
industry.
Looking closely at the photos you can see that these suckers
originate from below the graft union. This problem could have
been prevented if someone had just picked off these buds when
they first emerged on the stem of the tree. Then they would
have never developed into branches.
This tree can still be saved, but there will be a large scar on
the stem when the upright branches are pruned off. But under
the canopy of the weeping tree these scars will never show.
Another interesting plant that is grafted is the Weeping
Cotoneaster. In this case the seedling that is grown to serve as
the rootstock is Paul's Scarlet Hawthorn, and Cotoneaster
Apiculata is grafted onto the Hawthorn rootstock at a height of
5'. Years ago a nurseryman found through experimentation that
these two plants are actually compatible, and a beautiful and
unique plant was created. I have one of these in my landscape
and we love it.
Once again since the graft union is at 5', any growth coming
from the stem (rootstock) must be removed. In this case the
growth coming from the rootstock will be Hawthorn and will look
completely different from the Cotoneaster which is what the
plant is supposed to be. The easiest way to keep up with this
type of pruning is to keep an eye on your grafted plants when
you're in the yard. As soon as you see new growth coming from
below the graft union, just pick it off with your fingernail.
If you catch these new buds when they first emerge, pruning
them off is as easy as that. Walk around your yard and look for
grafted or budded plants, and see if you can find any that have
growth that doesn't seem to match the rest of the plant. Look
closely and you may find that the growth is coming from below a
graft or bud union.
Michael J. McGroarty is the author of this article. Visit his
most interesting website, http://www.freeplants.com and sign up
for his excellent gardening newsletter. Article provided by
http://gardening-articles.com
About the Author
Michael J. McGroarty has more than 30 years experience in the
landscape gardening/nursery industry. He's spent the better part
of his life on his hands and knees in the dirt working with
plants and his hands-on experience allows Mike to write in a
manner than many gardeners find to be helpful and beneficial.
Transplanting a weeping cherry tree?
We inherited a weeping cherry (snow fountains, I think) when we bought our house and want to move it. What is the best time of year/season (we live in MA) to transplant? Will it survive in a (very big) container or do we have to put it in the ground?
We're putting a dogwood in its place - when is the best time to plant that?
Transplanting of deciduous trees is best done in late autumn/winter when they are dormant. This will cause the minimum amount of stress to the plant.
Before you dig it out give it a good prune, reduce the branches to about a third or less of their length. Dig out as much of the root ball as possible, carefully, you dont want to damage too many of the root hairs as these do all the work when the tree wakes up in spring.
Get the tree back in the ground or a very large pot as soon as possible, this will stop the root drying out. Soil needs to be packed firmly around the roots without any air pockets. Water in well, the plant doesn't need much water now but it helps settle the soil. Keep the soil moist, not too much water, the plant isn't using any right now but you dont want the soil drying out.
Mulch well, and fertilise with cow or sheep manure compost in spring.
You can use a big pot but the tree will never perform as well as it would in the ground. Half wine barrels are good for trees.
Hope this helps.
Weeping Cherry
Great Gardens: Weeping cherry trees
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History Of The Cherry Tree
There are only a few instances in the ancient historical record concerning cherry trees. This absence in the record perhaps resulted in the fragile nature and perishability of the fruit, unlike the fruit from the apple tree. There are strong suggestions that the cherry tree originated in the territories of Asia Minor near the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. Other suggestions that the cherry trees were used in the Greek and Roman cultures come from literary historians, and it appears that cherry wood from the trees of cherry was important in many professional applications for the ancients.
Among the fruit seeds that were sent in 1628 to the settlement at Plymouth, Massachusetts, by the Massachusetts bay Colony were cherry, peach , plum, filbert, apple, quince, and pomegranate and "according to accounts, they sprung up and flourished."
William Bartram found bird cherry, Prunus padus, growing near Augusta, Georgia in 1773 as reported in his book, Travels, when he was taking an inventory of plants growing in the South after the Spaniards abandoned and ceded the land to the English.
Luther Burbank, two centuries later, believed that the bird cherry should be incorporated into the parentage of future cherry hybrids, because it was the most cold hardy cherry known; with its heavy bearing characteristics and its immunity to most insect and disease problems of the cherry trees already in commercial pipelines, it was the hardiest cherry tree yet.
In 1847, Henderson Lewelling brought to Oregon in a covered wagon "cherry trees, apples, pear, plum, and quince."
Luther Burbank, in his extensive book, Fruit Improvement in 1922, combined characteristics from the Sand cherry tree, Prunus besseyi, with the American plum, Prunus chickasaw, and the Japanese plum, Prunus triflora, that ripened in California around mid-August. Burbank described the fruit as deep crimson in color, transparent flesh, rich sweet flavor, juicy and firm with a strong resemblance of the parental form of the American plum, Prunus chickasaw. This cherry-plum hybrid was able to withstand the cold and rigorous climatic conditions, even to the Dakotas.
Professor N.E. Hansen of the South Dakota Experiment Station developed and improved the Sand cherry, Prunus besseyi, that was marketed as the "Improved Dwarf Rocky Mountain Cherry," with fruit growing as large as the Richmond cherry. Luther Burbank argued in his 1922 book, Fruit Improvement page 149, that this Sand cherry tree was more truly a plum tree.
Cherries are usually marketed with the stem still attached to the fruit. When canned or preserved, the stems are customarily removed from the cherry. Hybridizers such as Luther Burbank concentrated on improving several characteristics that were important in marketing the fruit: the size, color, flavor, and sweetness. Burbank produced one cultivar so rich in sugar and it hung on the tree, instead of the rapid decay, after ripening on the tree as experienced with most cherry cultivars.
Cold hardiness was considered to be very important in cherry tree hybridization and Burbank used the bird cherry, Prunus pennsylvanica, that had withstood temperatures of negative 60 degrees Fahrenheit near Hudson Bay as one parent of the cherry hybrid, since it was considered to be the most cold hardy of all cherry trees. In considering the many disease and insect problems that cherries experienced, Burbank suggested that hybridizers concentrate on breeding immunity genes into cherries to bypass "spraying and gassing." Burbank is greatly admired for his strong environmental stand by modern day conservationists.
The common wild black cherry, Prunus serotina, is found growing in most of Eastern North America. The small cherries are grown in great abundance and are reliably produced in large crops, even in the coldest regions of the United States. There are efforts to hybridize the desirable genes of this cherry into existing clones of commercial cherry cultivars. The problem with this native cherry tree is that all parts of the tree and fruit contain the deadly toxin cyanogens, which have caused death and illness to children from cyanide poisoning in the fruit, even though birds don't appear to be affected from eating the fruit.
Cherry trees in orchard situations grow 10 to 15 feet tall to manage the fruit harvesting properly, even though the can grow to 30 feet if not pruned. Cherry trees are very cold hardy down to negative 20 degrees Fahrenheit, and require approximately one thousand or more chill hours for an abundant fruit set. Pollination is not a great problem with cherry tree production. Rootstock selection for cherry trees is "Mazzard," Prunus mahaleb, or "Gisela" or the recent Geissen, German rootstocks.
The principal cherry commercial fruits grown in the United States are the sour cherries, Prunus cerasus L., that make up 99% of all production. These cherries are important in baking cherry pies and cherry tarts, as well as in frozen fruit packs or in canning.
The most famous sour cherry is the "Maraschino" cherry that is used in cherry pies, cakes, juices, jams, jellies, mixed drinks, ice cream, and a host of other ways. This cherry is bright red in color and commonly seen on grocery store shelves in clear glass jars and bottles.
Sweet cherry cultivars, Prunus avium L., are increasingly in demand and sold at U.S. markets. Bing cherries are well known as a fresh fruit item. This cherry is dark purple-red and is firm and has excellent shipping qualities. Other important sweet cherries are ‘Napoleon' and ‘Ranier,' a USDA release that is bright red with yellow undertones in the background. The Lambert cherry is good to use in canning as is the Stella. The Black Tartarian cherry is a sweet cherry commonly available from mailorder and internet catalogs.
Cherries are rated high in antioxidant levels that offer great health benefits such as treating Gout. Many internet sites promote fresh cherry consumption as being the miracle cure and fast recovery from attacks of Gout. Some internet sites offer concentrated cherry extracts and powders of dried cherries as a cure. Cherries offer other health benefits in their high content of Vitamin A, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin C, Niacin, and the minerals Calcium, Phosphorus, Iron, and Potassium.
Japanese flowering cherry trees are the most widely adapted and popular Flowering Tree growing in the United States today. The multi-colored flowers of Yoshino cherry, Prunux x yodoensis, and Kwanzan cherry are seen early in the season, and the buds open into clusters of abundant, long lasting flowers that dominate the landscape of our nation's capitol , Washington, D.C. Japanese flowering cherry trees Prunus serrulata ‘Kwanzan' were planted in Washington D.C. as a gift of the Japanese people to American citizens, largely through the efforts of President Taft's wife, the first lady. Thousands of these Japanese cherry trees were planted, and many tourists flock to the Capitol in the spring to experience that flowering extravaganza. Cherry blossom festivals, celebrations, and get-togethers are held yearly in cities throughout the country, when cherry trees are in flower to crown "Cherry Queens" and to schedule beauty pageants.
The most popular Japanese flowering cherry trees are Prunus serrulata ‘Kwanzan'; Akebono Cherry, Prunus x yedoensis ‘Akebono'; Weeping Japenese Cherry, Prunus subhirtella var. pendula; Takesimensis cherry, Prunus takesimensis; Usuzeumi Cherry, Prunus spachiana f. ascendens; Autumn Flowering Cherry, Prunus subhirtella var. autumnalis; Sargent Cherry, Prunus sargentii; Fugenzo Cherry, Prunus serrulata ‘Fugenzo' and Okame Cherry, Prunus ‘Okame'.
About the Author
Patrick A. Malcolm, owner of TyTy Nursery, has an M.S. degree in Biochemistry and has cultivated fruit trees for over three decades.
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Weeping Cherry