Japan is rightly considered the birthplace of the sakura tree. In this country, to this day, in places where sakura grows, picnics are held, they are planted in, and the very fact of its blossoming in its homeland is always a holiday. The Japanese sakura tree appeared in our country. Beautiful trees are often used in landscape decoration of plots. This cherry tree looks painfully beautiful during flowering, because it’s not for nothing that the Japanese associate its beautiful pinkish flowers with the beauty of the sky at sunset.
Japanese cherryMany people are interested in what time will sakura bloom in our latitudes? They don’t know for sure what month sakura blooms, even in Japan. Its flowering period is very closely tied to weather conditions, but can fluctuate by approximately one month, and in our climate these fluctuations are generally impossible to predict. But approximately this question can still be answered. Most often in Russia, sakura blooms in April or May. Many people believe that any sakura can be planted and grown, but this is not true at all. Only varieties of this tree brought from the northern island of Japan are suitable for growing in our harsh climate. The weather conditions there in winter are closest to ours. Let's try to figure out how to plant and grow sakura in your garden.
Sakura on your siteMany experienced gardeners claim that it is possible to plant and grow sakura, but only with proper care. And not all seedlings are suitable for this. As mentioned above, you should only buy cold-resistant varieties. In Russia, the so-called “Sakhalin cherries” are extremely popular. This tree looks like sakura, blooms wildly, the inflorescences have a pink tint, but it can withstand cold temperatures down to -50 degrees. Planting and caring for such a “sakura” will not bring more trouble than caring for an ordinary cherry. You can also plant hybrid varieties (Spire, Hally Tolivett and Shidare Yoshino). The flowers of the latter variety are milky white. All these trees can withstand temperatures down to -29 degrees. Of course, you can plant traditional sakura, but even if a specialist does it, no one can guarantee that it will take root in our frosts.
Caring for and growing sakura is not an easy matter, but since you have already made up your mind and bought a young tree, let’s look at how to plant it correctly. In order for a seedling to take root quickly, it is necessary to create soil that is as close in composition as possible to the soil in its homeland. To do this, you need to take compost, humus, mountain soil and field soil in equal parts. After this, you should prepare a planting hole 45-50 centimeters wide and 35-40 centimeters deep. The dug soil must be sifted and mixed with the prepared mixture. This way, adaptation will be as painless as possible for the seedling. Now we fill the hole two-thirds full, place the seedling in the center and fill it in a circle until we get a small mound (10-15 centimeters) around the trunk. We water it the first time, sprinkle a little more on top of the mound, and compact the soil at the roots again. Now around the embankment we dig a small ditch 10-15 centimeters deep and fill it with water. Necessarily 
drive a stick deep into the ground and tie the tree to it so that it does not wobble in the wind. At first, it is very important that the roots are in close contact with the soil. As you can see, it is possible to grow sakura even in our latitudes. The main thing is to choose the right variety and plant it correctly. Be sure to ask the seller how to water your tree, because depending on the variety, sakura can suffer from both excess and lack of moisture.
Transform your garden with delicate blooms. After the first spring, you will understand why this tree is sung by Japanese poets in an incredible number of songs and poems.
Sakura, or Japanese cherry, (Prunus serrulata) is an ancient symbol of Japan and a plant characterized by amazing splendor and graceful flowering. In fact, the name "sakura" hides several East Asian tree species, but they all have pink double flowers. Japanese cherry can reach a height of 25 m, the leaves are large, flowering occurs from March to June.
This day is celebrated with family, outdoors or in the park. In Japan, cherry blossoms bloom everywhere - near rivers, in the mountains, in the park. The festival of its flowering is called Hanami, and is a day off for all Japanese.
In the media, before the sakura blooms, it is covered on what day the holiday will fall and from where it will be most convenient to watch it. The process lasts from a couple of hours to several days. Hanami is very popular in the country, and some Japanese travel to cities to catch the cherry blossoms several times.
Japanese cherry trees grow quickly and can reach considerable heights. The width of its crown reaches about 10 m. Sakura differs from ordinary cherries in some biological features and requirements for cultivation.
Japanese cherry blossoms begin in early spring. The tree is not able to withstand low temperatures - temperatures below 15 degrees are fatal for sakura. Trees should be planted only on humus soils and in well-lit areas.
The main purpose of Japanese cherry is to decorate the site.
The main difference between sakura and ordinary cherries is that Japanese cherries do not bear fruit. Sakura is an ornamental plant, cherry is a fruit plant. Japanese cherries also have fruits, but they are sour, small and not as tasty. The berries of ordinary cherries are tasty and are actively used for food.
Despite the peculiar taste of sakura fruits, they are used as food by the inhabitants of Japan. The fruit of the Japanese cherry is called sakumbo, and its color can be pink or red. Different plant varieties have fruits that differ in taste.
Sakura leaves are also used as food. They are pickled or salted like tomatoes. Sweets are wrapped in Japanese cherry leaves. The taste of the leaves is sour, spicy or salty-sweet. Another way to use them is as an addition to rice. Sakura fruits can be used to make jam and wine.
Modern varieties of sakura are created by crossing it with cherries (Cerasus yedoensis), (C. Lannesiana) and (C. Incisa). The most famous varieties:
Which must be carefully prepared - dried and washed. Planting is carried out in summer, but can also be done in spring or autumn. If you decide to purchase a seedling, you should choose healthy planting material. Its planting occurs in April. The best arrangement of seedlings is 2x3 or 3x3 meters.
It is recommended to plant sakura on a slope. It is important that the place is lit, but the lighting is moderate so that the tree does not get sunburn. The acidity of the soil should be neutral, the best option is loamy soil.
With proper care, sakura takes root well in Russia. Moreover, its flowering occurs in April-May. Only those tree varieties that grow on the northern island of Japan can be planted in Russia.
Sakura requires not only watering, but also periodic spraying of the leaves. Particular attention should be paid to watering in hot summers. During the first three years after planting, while the root system is not yet fully strengthened, watering is carried out once a week. If it rains, there is no need to add moisture.
Japanese cherry trees will not bear fruit if they do not have enough nutrients. The tree requires the addition of organic matter, nitrogen and potassium. The following amount of minerals is added per m2 of soil:
Sakura is pruned to prevent thickening. It is produced in the spring, before the juice begins to flow. Dry and excess branches are removed, and after the work is completed, the cut areas are treated with garden varnish.
Pruning work must be carried out carefully so that gum does not begin to stand out. To prevent the appearance of a sticky substance, the plant needs good drainage and proper watering.
If you do not protect the cherry from pests, the flowers will be damaged and the plant itself will develop slowly. In some cases, sakura branches begin to split. To prevent this, growths on the branches should be removed, and the cut areas should be treated with healing preparations.
Sometimes cherry trees suffer from drying leaves. This is a fungus that a mixture of sulfur and coal can help get rid of. A pest, for example, the ringed silkworm (Malacosoma neustria), can also provoke the appearance of fungus. The pest must be controlled by removing the branches on which it laid eggs. It will be necessary to collect caterpillars, as well as use insecticides.
Sakura is one of the most beautifully flowering trees on the planet. To grow an elegant plant you will have to work hard, but the result is worth it. Nowadays, everyone has the opportunity to admire cherry blossoms on their property, and not just residents of the Land of the Rising Sun.
Sakura cherryThe aesthetic beauty of Japanese cherry has made it popular not only in Asia, but also in most European countries. Today there are 16 species and approximately 400 varieties. This diversity allows you to choose a specimen that is resistant to the climate of almost any region.
When choosing a specific variety for your garden, you should pay attention not so much to aesthetic features, but to resistance to the natural conditions of your region. An excellent solution would be frost-resistant species. In our country, the most popular are Kanzan and Kiku-Shidare.
Known as small-serrate cherry, it is an upright branched tree, up to 10 m high. It can reach 5-8 m in diameter. Its crown is funnel-shaped, the branches grow quickly and droop slightly. The leaves are large, oval, bronze-colored in spring, glossy green in summer, 8-10 cm in size. In autumn they change color to yellow-orange.
The Japanese Kanzan cherry is considered to bloom profusely. The flowers are densely double, bright pink, and appear in May. Inflorescences of 2-5 flowers are located along the length of the branch. It has quite tasty fruits, slightly smaller in size than a simple cherry. Loves quiet, sunny places and moderately moist sandy-clay soil. Considered frost resistant.
Also called weeping cherry or Japanese bird cherry. A small tree with drooping, arching branches and an irregular crown. 3-5 m high and up to 4 m in diameter. A plant with an average growth rate and an annual growth of 20-35 cm. Japanese cherry sakura Kiku-Shidare has large elliptical green leaves in summer and yellow-purple leaves in autumn. It begins to bloom at the end of March.
Dense inflorescences are located throughout the branch, hanging down to the ground. The fruits of Kiku-Shidare are edible and quite tasty, with sourness, the size of a small cherry. This variety is self-fertile and can be planted individually or in groups. Prefers soils rich in nutrients and light, moderately moist places. This Japanese cherry tree is frost-resistant.
It should be noted that sakura grows quite quickly and takes root well. But you should carefully select a place to plant it. A hill or a gentle slope that is well accessible to the sun and is located in the southwestern, northwestern or eastern part of the site is suitable.
In gently sloping lowlands, the plant may freeze. Please note that the ornamental cherry tree needs to be protected from strong winds by a fence or other trees. Sakura are planted at a distance of 1.5-2 m from each other. Warm early spring is the best time for planting. If planting sakura is scheduled for autumn, it is better to plant it in October.
An important condition for a well-developed flowering Japanese cherry tree to grow is well-chosen planting material. It is recommended to buy 70-centimeter-year-olds with well-developed roots.
Planting holes should be prepared in advance. You need to add a mixture of humus and top fertile soil layer, and before planting, fertilize it with a 3% solution of superphosphates and potassium phosphate. After planting, the tree is watered and the soil is mulched. The soil is processed carefully so as not to damage the roots.
Decorative cherries will delight you with their blooms for many years if you take care of them seriously.
During dynamic growth and during the formation of buds and ovaries, the tree needs additional watering. The rest of the time, maintain normal soil moisture.
Japanese cherry reacts sharply to a lack of potassium, nitrogen and phosphorus. If the soil is poor, organic fertilizers are applied - 8 kg per square meter. Potassium and phosphorus are added per square meter at 18 grams.
In the spring, dry and some old thick branches are cut off so as not to thicken the crown. The pruning area is treated with garden varnish to prevent the formation of gum.
In the spring after flowering, treat the crown with nitrophen (200 g per 10 liters of water). To avoid the appearance of aphids, it is recommended to treat the trunk with nettle tincture (1000 g of fresh or 400 g of dried nettle, pour 10 liters of cool water, leave for 24 hours). You can also use a decoction of wormwood (boil 500g of the plant for 10-15 minutes in 200 grams of water).
Before the onset of frost, the grafting site and trunk are tied with covering material, the trunk and large branches are tied with agrofibre.
The oriental beauty Sakura takes pride of place among perennial flowering tree plants. It is praised by poets and artists, and in its homeland of Japan it is considered a symbol of youth and beauty.
Japanese sakura tree. Features, planting and care
Sakura is an ornamental plant, a close relative of our cherry (plum subfamily, species - finely serrated cherry). This tree does not bear fruit; it is grown for flowering. Sakura grow on the territory of the Korean Peninsula, China, and the Himalayan Mountains, but the largest number of both the trees themselves and their varieties grow on the Japanese islands.
Sakura feels very good in the neighborhood with her relatives. Often, parallel rows of cherry blossoms are intertwined with branches to form a kind of arch. During the flowering period, the flowering arch makes an indelible impression. The sakura tree grows up to about 8 meters (although there are specimens over 20 meters high).
Bark of tree smooth, with small horizontal cracks. The color of the bark is gray, with shades of green or red. Sakura wood is very elastic due to its high resin content. Sakura leaves are oblong in shape with serrated edges. During the flowering period, tree branches are covered mainly with white or pink flowers.
Sakura flower. Usually, sakura flowers consist of five double petals, but in Japan varieties have been bred with flowers with up to fifty petals with a diameter of about 6 centimeters - which makes them similar to peony flowers. Sakura flowers come in different colors: most often they are white and pink, but there are flowers in yellow, red and even green.
Imagine how sakura blossoms. She, like our cherries, bloom before leaves appear, and therefore it seems that the dead branches are covered with luxurious flowers (due to which associations with rebirth and renewal arise). Some types of sakura do bear fruit; sakura berries are called “sakurambo”.
The fruits resemble miniature cherry, have the same color. The seed is large, covered with a thin layer of pulp, which has a strongly sour taste. Sakurambo are sold in special miniature boxes at a very high price. No other tree looks like what sakura looks like during the flowering period. Flowering time depends on the location of the tree and its type.
Sakura trees, growing on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa, bloom in January. There are varieties of sakura that bloom in the winter months, others bloom in late spring, and there is a variety that begins to bloom in late autumn. How long sakura blooms depends on weather conditions - the cooler it is, the longer it blooms. Rainy and windy weather greatly reduces flowering time.
Sakura is a close relative of both cherry and plum trees, and is also related to pear, peach and apple trees. All of them belong to the plum subfamily (Prunus), the Rosaceae family.
Sakura is represented by 16 species and 400 hybrid varieties. Sakura include the following types:
Thus, the most common varieties of sakura are Someyoshino (distinctive feature of very large white flowers) and Shidarezakura (pink flowers).
In order to grow sakura from seedling You should adhere to a number of rules and recommendations:
Sakura should be planted at higher elevations. They prefer non-acidic soil; drainage is a must. In the first years after planting, sakura needs to be wrapped for the winter from freezing temperatures. If cultivated varieties of sakura are propagated by cuttings and grafting, then wild varieties are propagated by seeds. So, in principle, you can grow sakura from seeds at home.
Seeds should be sown in summer as soon as they are collected. Regardless of the method of planting sakura, you should care for it as follows:
Sakura the most susceptible to fungal infections, in particular – coccomycosis. Treatment and prevention are carried out only a few weeks after the end of cherry blossoms. During the flowering period, you cannot spray the tree - this will kill the bees that pollinate the trees.
Also, the tree may be subject to aphid invasion; in order to prevent aphids from getting on the sakura, the trunk should be treated with ordinary petroleum jelly (this will prevent ants carrying aphids from climbing the tree). In general, sakura at home is very beautiful and not very difficult.
Sakura is one of the most famous flowers in Japan and belongs to the rose family (Prunus).
A huge number of subspecies of cherries in Japan are called in one word - sakura.
One of the subgenera of cherry blossoms is Prunus Rosaceae, and is a broad-leaved tree that blooms in spring with flowers in shades of white and ruby; is the most popular in Japan since ancient times.
I am often asked what sakura is and does it bear fruit?
Let's figure it out together.
So, sakura is part of the group of trees and shrubs united by one word “genus”. Genus name Prunus. This genus includes WARNING! plums, cherries, peaches, apricots and almonds. There are about 430 species of trees and shrubs of this genus, common only in the northern temperate regions of the globe.
Members of the genus can be deciduous or evergreen. Some have thorny stems. The flowers are usually white to pink, sometimes red, with five petals and numerous stamens. The fruits (if present) are fleshy with one relatively large and hard seed (stone).
The genus Prunus is so diverse in its subspecies and species that experts sometimes say it is impossible to classify all members of this plant genus.
Included in the genus Prunus are almonds, apricots, cherries, peaches, and plums, all of which have varieties developed and bred for commercial purposes (fruit and nut production).
But there are also a number of species - hybrids and varieties grown and bred as ornamental plants. A striking representative of this group of plants is the Japanese cherry, that is, sakura (Prunus serrulata).
In the classification of sakura, 5-7 main groups are identified, such as Oshimazakura, Edohigan, etc. But in these main groups there are about seven dozen species, designated according to regional characteristics. In addition, some varieties were bred specifically to improve (intensify) flowering.
Many varieties were grown for decorative purposes and DO NOT bear fruit.
During the Edo era, a type of sakura was developed - Yoshino Somei, or Yoshino cherry, which spread throughout the Meiji era throughout the country and beyond.
The Yoshino cherry is classified as a natural hybrid and is today widely cultivated as an ornamental cherry in temperate climates throughout the world. The fruits of the Yoshino cherry - spherical drupes - are a source of food for small birds (robins and thrushes). The main use of Yoshino cherry is its decorative function.
Edible (fruiting) cherry varieties usually come from cultivars of related species: Prunus avium (cherry) and Prunus cerasus (sour cherry).
Currently, more than 600 species of sakura have been recorded in Japan, including specific species and hybrids.
In ancient times, sakura growing in the mountains was a common sight. It is still called Yamazakura, or mountain sakura.
During the Heian era, cherry becomes synonymous with flowers, and gradually begins to occupy a special place among all other spring flowers.
In the Muromachi era, poems began to be dedicated to cherry blossoms, thereby attracting more and more people's attention to it.
The most popular flower in Japan still does not have a specific status. Is the cherry blossom a national symbol?
For example, earlier, in the Meiji era, sakura was depicted on the emblem of military uniforms and high school students. Today, sakura is depicted on the coats of arms of the police and self-defense forces. The 100-yen coin also features a cherry blossom.
The financial year in Japan, as we know, begins in April, during the cherry blossom season.
Cherry trees are usually planted around schools in Japan.
Every year the Japan Meteorological Agency along with the weather forecast. Flowering begins in Okinawa in January and reaches Kyoto and Tokyo in late March and early April, before reaching Hokkaido only a few weeks later. The Japanese follow these forecasts very closely to plan their holidays. hanami.
Hanami is a centuries-old tradition. This is a picnic under cherry blossoms. They say that this custom arose during the Nara period (710-794) and then picnics were held under blooming plum trees, and not sakura. But during the Heian period (794-1185), the plum was replaced by the cherry, and sakura became synonymous with hanami.
The custom initially extended to members of the elite of the imperial court, but gradually it also included samurai, and during the Edo period the holiday became nationwide. Ordinary people also took part in it. To support this tradition, Tokugawa Yoshimune ordered cherry trees to be planted in the cultivated areas so that people would come when they were in bloom and have a good time.
