Kanzan Cherry Blossom, Large Trees

Prunus serrulata Kanzan: Bareroot Kwanzan Cherry Trees in Standard Sizes

Prunus Kanzan / Kwanzan cherry blossom trees are suitable for most average sized gardens. It is vigorous, upright and narrow when young, spreading with age up to about 8 metres across.
Kanzan carries attractive bronze young foliage that turns dark green as it matures. The young leaves contrast well with the masses of rich pink double flowers produced in late spring. In a final flourish, the leaves colour beautifully before falling in Autumn.
It can reach a height of about 9-10 metres.

Browse our variety of cherry blossom trees or our full range of ornamental trees.

Delivery season: Ornamental cherry trees are delivered bareroot during late autumn and winter, approximately November-March inclusive.
Choosing a size: Small trees are cheaper, easier to handle and more forgiving of less than ideal aftercare, so they are best for a big planting project. If instant impact is your priority, or if you are only buying a few plants for use in a place where it is convenient to water them well in their first year, then you may as well use bigger ones. All our bareroot trees are measured by their height in centimetres above the ground (the roots aren't measured).

Features:

• Height: To 9-10m
• Soil: Any decently well drained
• Use: Specimen, small garden, urban
• Colour: Rich pink flowers in April-May
• RHS Award of Garden Merit
• Bareroot delivery only: November-March

Growing Kanzan Cherry Trees

Suitable for any well drained soil, we recommend planting in full sun.

Notes on planting Prunus Kanzan trees:
Kanzan cherry trees prefer fertile, moist soil with good drainage. They like heavy clay, as long as the site doesn't become waterlogged in winter. They are good to grow on chalky soil.
Although they are tolerant of shade, we really recommend them for full sun. Cherry trees in the shade tend to become spindly and won't flower very well.
We don't recommend them for exposed, windy sites, where they will be blown out of shape by the wind.
Although your trees are hardy, late spring frosts can ruin their flower display. Avoid planting cherry blossom trees in frost pockets or North facing sites in colder areas.

Prepare your site before planting:
It is good to dig over the site where you plant a tree several months in advance. Kill the weeds first: for tough weeds like nettles, brambles and ground elder, you will usually need a weed-killer to get rid of them. When you dig the soil over, remove stones and other rubbish and mix in well rotted compost or manure down to the depth of about 2 spades.

Watch our video on how to plant a tree for full instructions.
Remember to water establishing trees during dry weather for at least a year after planting.

Tree Planting accessories:
Prepare your site for planting by killing the weeds and grass.
You can buy a tree planting pack with a wooden stake & rubber tie to support the tree and a mulch mat with pegs to protect the soil around the base of your tree from weeds and drying out.
We suggest that you use mycorrhizal "friendly fungi" on the roots of all newly planted large trees: if your soil quality is poor, we strongly recommend it.
You can also improve your soil with bonemeal organic fertiliser.

Did You Know?

Also known as Sekiyama at home in Japan, where it was bred in the Edo period from various Prunus species including the Oshima cherry, Prunus speciosa. Kanzan is the Japanese rendering of the Chinese ideogram Hanshan, Cold Mountain, which is the name of a legendary sage and a temple named after him in Jiangsu, China.

As the moon falls from a frosty sky, a crow cries
On the shadowy banks in the River Maple, fishing boats glitter with torches
Outside Gusu city, at Hanshan (Cold Mountain) Temple,
On my boat, the midnight bell rings for me.

~ A Night Mooring by Maple Bridge, Zhang Ji

It was brought to Britain in 1913, and has become one of the most popular cherry blossoms outside of Japan. Prunus Royal Burgundy is derived from it.

Standard trees are measured by their girth in centimetres 1 metre above ground level: their trunk's waist measurement. Unlike sapling trees and hedge plants, standards aren't measured by their height, which will vary quite a bit both between and within species.
So, a 6/8cm standard tree has a trunk with a circumference of 6-8cm and an 8/10 standard has a trunk 8-10cm around. This measurement makes no difference to the tree's final height.
On average, standard trees are 2-3.5 metres tall when they arrive, but we cannot tell you precisely how tall your trees will be before we deliver them.