Prunus - Kanzan - Ornamental Cherry

Best grown in moist, fertile, well-drained, sandy or clay loams in full sun to part shade. Best flowering in full sun. Tolerates summer heat and humidity. Tolerates some dry soils once established. Sometimes top grafted at the 4-6’ level to an understock.

Ornamental Cherry

'Kanzan' (obsolete spelling 'Kwanzan') is a Japanese word from classical poetry, meaning literally "boardering the mountain"

Syn.: Prunus 'Sekiyama'

'Kanzan' is frankly the showest of all ornamental cherries. It is rather common in British Columbia & around Puget Sound & western Oregon landscapes, & often seen on campuses in other regions of the United States.

Maximum Height 60'

The species is native to Central China where wild trees can grow to sixty or more feet, or twice the size in cultivation. Though originally a Chinese native, it is in Japanese cultivation that the species takes on significance.

The name also refers to a Zen hermit sage & eccentric Kanzan (Hanshan in China). He lived during the Tang dynasty & is regarded as an incarnation of the boddhisatva Monjushiri the Exquisite Auspicious One. In Chinese his name means "Cold Mountain" as he was a poet-monk who dwelt in a cave on a mountain so-named, or in a hut on the southern slope of Cold Mou, beside which grew, as he described in one of his poems, cherries that shone in the morning light as with crimson fire, & willows that trailed their slender branches.

Kanzan was one of the "four sleeping ones" who nap in Zen repose. The others being Jittoku, Bukan, & their pet tiger, very popular figures of sumi-e inkbrush drawing & Zen art generally. A portrait of Kanzan holding up his scroll of poems is shown on this page, by the Tokugawa Period artist Soga Shohaku (1730‚1781).

Prunus serrulata purpurescens 'Kanzan' is also known as 'Sekiyama' (Mountain Station) or 'Sekizan' (a famous Tendai Buddhist temple founded in 868 CE). Extremely flowery, the large (two-inch) pink double-flowers hang in clusters of two to five. The buds are opening in early April & in full bloom about mid-April. The flowers seem to be on the branches quite a bit longer than for most flowering cherries, & 'Kanzan' is probably the hardiest as well as the most ppular of the P. serrulata cultivars.

A sturdy tree with very dense clusters of double, bright pink flowers which hang in rather congested clumps from the ascending or spreading branches. The young leaves are coppery red when they first appear and there is some coppery yellow autumn colour. The tree spreads quite broadly and is one which some love and others detest: subtle it is not. It has a feeling of amplitude and bounty, that, perhaps, no other cherry can equal, and is far removed from the spare single flowers of the early forms. It flowers in May and is a sumptuous contribution to the final stages of the cherry season.

Pointed, serrated leaves emerge burnt umber to bronzed orange shortly after the blooms have already started. They harden to green before the blooms are finished. Their autumn color will again be in the vicnity of orangish brown.

As a mature tree it is vase-shaped & rounded, sometimes flat on top. Mature trees have winter interest because of the grey bark's horizontal lenticils that give it a split-bark appearance.

Though theoretically edible they're best left for the birds & squirrels.

Small black fruits are not showy & not numerous. They have one seed in a stone (pit or endocarp), & not much soft flesh (exocarp).

Fertilization for Young Plants

Young plants need extra phosphorus to encourage good root development. Look for a fertilizer that has phosphorus, P, in it(the second number on the bag.) Apply recommended amount for plant per label directions in the soil at time of planting or at least during the first growing season.

Fertilization for Established Plants

Established plants can benefit from fertilization. Take a visual inventory of your landscape. Trees need to be fertilized every few years. Shrubs and other plants in the landscape can be fertilized yearly. A soil test can determine existing nutrient levels in the soil. If one or more nutrients is low, a specific instead of an all-purpose fertilizer may be required. Fertilizers that are high in N, nitrogen, will promote green leafy growth. Excess nitrogen in the soil can cause excessive vegetative growth on plants at the expense of flower bud development. It is best to avoid fertilizing late in the growing season. Applications made at that time can force lush, vegetative growth that will not have a chance to harden off before the onset of cold weather.

Types of Pruning

Types of pruning include: pinching, thinning, shearing and rejuvenating.

Pinching is removing the stem tips of a young plant to promote branching. Doing this avoids the need for more severe pruning later on.

Thinning involves removing whole branches back to the trunk. This may be done to open up the interior of a plant to let more light in and to increase air circulation that can cut down on plant disease. The best way to begin thinning is to begin by removing dead or diseased wood.

Shearing is leveling the surface of a shrub using hand or electric shears. This is done to maintain the desired shape of a hedge or topiary.

Rejuvenating is removal of old branches or the overall reduction of the size of a shrub to restore its original form and size. It is recommended that you do not remove more than one third of a plant at a time. Remember to remove branches from the inside of the plant as well as the outside. When rejuvenating plants with canes, such as nandina, cut back canes at various heights so that plant will have a more natural look.