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Prunus subhirtella 'Pendula plena rosea' |
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| Common name |
weeping Higan cherry |
| Family |
rosaceae |
| Life cycle |
tree (Z5-8) |
| Flowers |
pink (early spring) |
| Size |
25' |
| Light |
sun |
| Cultural notes |
ordinary garden soil (not too dry) |
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The tree we bought at a local nursery was grafted at about 6' height, and tagged Prunus double subhirtella. As weeping cherry trees go, this one grows tall and wide; from its habit and flower form, I gather it's probably the 'Pendula plena rosea' cultivar, but please tell me if I'm wrong. Lots of pink flowers during the first warmer flush in spring – in mid-late April most years, but as early as late March some years. It was the first tree we planted in our side garden. During the first few years, we made the mistake of trying to keep it small by pruning off upright branches. After I figured out that we were fighting its natural habit of rising up before weeping down, we allowed the tree to do its thing, only pruning off the branches that hang down far enough to obstruct the pathways through our side garden. In recent years, birds have nested in its center. Only one minor annoyance: whatever was used for its bottom end sends out superficial roots that sprout growth many feet away. We hack them down, which doesn't appear to hurt the mother tree a bit.
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| | In mid-November, its naked structure makes a striking silhouette against the clear Autumn sky |
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| | Yellow fall foliage |
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We left this plant behind in our Pennsylvania garden (and wish it well); we don't grow it in Houston. About my plant portraits
PlantLinks to other web pages about Prunus subhirtella 'Pendula plena rosea'
Visitors to this page have left the following comments| Dale Carns | Dec 07, 2008 | Hi, I came across your photo and information on the Weeping cherry. Its beautiful. Did you find out the exact variety of weeping cherry it is? Is it a Yae-shidare Higan otherwise known as "Plena Rosea". I planted one in my yard just last week and Im hoping it doesnt get too big! Thanks.
That's as good a guess as any as to the identity of the tree - although ours is bigger than most online photos of Yae-shidare suggest. Ours is easily 20 ft tall, and about as big around. It is grafted about 6 ft up. |
| Connie | May 25, 2009 | Did you have any problems with dieback in the first few years with this cherry? We planted one this year but the grafted part seems so weak. Do you have any advice for its first winter?
Ours has grown strongly ever since we planted it - but it was already a decent-sized tree to start with. I would think that, with a full season of growth, your tree should be strong enough to survive winter, but for more specific advice pertinent to your climate, you may want to give your local Extension a call. |
| rachel | May 26, 2009 | I just planted a Prunus subhirtella 'Pendula'. It is about 7 ft from the house. Is this far enough from the house?
It's a bit closer than I would choose to plant it (now that I've experienced its full habit) - but it will probably work. You'll find yourself pruning out branches that extend too far. |
| Derek | Jan 07, 2010 | Your tree is stunning!
How far do you recommend planting this tree from the foundation of the house? In the photo, how far is your tree from the house, and how old is the tree?
Thanks.
Yeah, it's really come into its own. Our tree is about 10 feet away from the house (I'm glad it's not closer!), and has been there for about a dozen years. It was already a reasonable size when we bought it (it has to be, because it's grafted about six feet up). |
| Sherry | Mar 27, 2011 | how fast does the Yae shidare grow. I have bought a 2 year old tree. When will reach full height?
Sounds like your tree is not grafted (otherwise age would be hard to define). That means that your tree will have different characteristics of growth and habit than mine, so it's hard for me to give pertinent advice. |
| Christopher | Apr 26, 2011 | Love your site, Rob-and that lovely weeping cherry! I'm purchasing a 5-7 ft. grafted Prunus subhirtella 'Pendula.' Should be here by May 5th. Living in the deserts of southern New Mexico (Zone 8a), I'm concerned about WATERING this tree. Most instructions say to give it the equivalent of 1" of rain per week. I exclusively use DRIP IRRIGATION, and wondered just what that might 'translate' to, in terms of the # of gallons needed, per hour (gph) - and over what kind of time?? Any advice on this, or watering in regions where you DON'T get much rain to count on ?? THANKS ! |
| mary | Mar 27, 2012 | We need the tree to be no higher than 15 foot. It will sit approximately 8 feet from our purple plum. it will be replacing a Linden . The Linden we had to cut away half the tree because it crowded the Purple Plum. I thought that the Prunus subhirtella Pendula Plena Rosea tree would fall under the Plum, not directly, but the with may spread , but still should not conflit with the Plum. The plum will not shade the cherry and there will be pleanty of sun for both. My worry is that some of these trees from what I am reading go beyond 15 foot, which would again be a problem. should I get a dwarf? what is that. someone told me higrafted. I want to get it right. what do you think of the whole plan?
Ours is grafted about 6 ft up, and grows to at least 17 ft high, with at least that much spread, too - so I think it would be too big for the purpose you describe. I've seen smaller specimens of what looks like the same or a similar variety in neighbors' yards – not sure if those are just younger, grafted lower, or have a more naturally dwarf habit. I would ask around at reputable nurseries in your area. |
| Linda | Apr 21, 2012 | We have been searching for a smaller-size weeping cherry and just purchased a "pink weeping cherry - 3 ft graft" and the tag states Prunus subhirtella pendul that will grow 4'H by 6'-8' W. However, all I can find on the internet is that the Prunus subhirtella grows 20-25'. Can you please explain, and thank you.
I believe the vigor of the grafted tree depends in large part on the rootstock used. So it's possible that your lower-grafted tree will remain smaller. |
| Janet | Jul 14, 2012 | What time of year is best to prune this tree? I would like to encourage the upright branching, right now all the branches bend downward and I would like it to grown taller than the six foot height that it is. Thank you for your help.
Late winter/early spring is probably best to prune for shaping the tree. I just lop off branches that hang too low, usually by early summer. |
| Bill | Oct 07, 2012 | I have a prunus subhirtelia pendula planted about 3 ft from my house can the roots damage my foundation
Very unlikely. But your tree will not be able to shape itself into the its attractive form, and even with pruning to keep branches away from the house will eventually need to be removed. If it's still small enough to move now, I would place it in a more suitable location. |
| Catherine | Jun 12, 2013 | I have a Prunus subhirtella pendula (plena rosea?). We planted it about 10 years ago. It is planted in a good location, and has grown beautifully. The problem? NO BLOOMS! :( It is planted by 4 apple trees and 1 plum tree. Does my cherry tree need another cherry tree for cross pollination? Thanks :)
Nope, no cross-pollination required for flowers. I'm afraid I don't know why yours fails to bloom – I assume it gets plenty of sunlight? |
| Catherine | Jun 12, 2013 | WOW! You are QUICK! :-) Yes, it gets plenty of sunlight. Full sun. It is totally healthy, growing quickly, but we haven't seen it bloom (unless we missed it - it's quite far from the house, in the backyard). We're in central Wisconsin. I do have a green thumb, but this has stumped me. ??
The cherry blossoms are hard to miss (and so is the mass of petals left behind after they drop), so I doubt you've missed the bloom. I'm afraid I have no other ideas on inducing flowers. Hopefully they'll just show up next spring! |
| karen | Jul 05, 2013 | Help!!..I bought a Prunus subhirtella Pendula Alba(White weeping cherry) but when i go it home i noticed on the side of the pot it's marked as "Double pink"...its grafted at 6'... its definitely a weeping cherry but how can i find out which it is..& how big could it get?? I only wanted one to about 9-10'
I don't think you can really find out until it blooms next year. The place where you bought it would be the best resource right now, if you trust them to be forthright with you. |
| Jim | Jan 06, 2014 | Iam trying to find a place to purchase a DWARF weeping cherry tree with pink blossoms(??Pendula Rosea??) |
| pat b | Apr 09, 2015 | do deer eat cherry trees? have a deer problem
I would imagine they do, so you'd have to protect a young tree until it can fend for itself. |
| Juanita | Apr 21, 2015 | I received a bare-root 5' Weeping Cherry 'Pedula Plena Rosea' from Nature Hill's today, and noticed that it was bottom grafted. I wonder if you might know how I would train a bottom-grafted type? And second, the buds all along the trunk from the bottom up through the top branches are swollen, but we are still experiencing morning lows as low as 25F and days in the 50's and 60's. Should I still go ahead and plant now or wait? Thanks
I don't know anything about training a bottom-grafted weeping cherry – ours was grafted about 6 feet high. It should be OK to set it out now. |
| George | Jun 03, 2019 | Our rosea is grafted about 5 ft high. But, how does it grow to 25' x 25'. There are no branches that would form one or more upward leads. They are all weeping branches. We just planted it in early April of 2019 and I am perplexed. Thank you for any answers or suggestions you can give.
With our tree (which we have now left behind in Pennsylvania), as it matured, the leaders became sturdy enough to start growing more upright; the younger growth was always floppy and drooped down. So over time, the whole thing got taller, while maintaining an overall weeping habit. |
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