Prunus - Taihaku - Great White 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.

Scientific Name: Prunus serrulata 'Taihaku'
Common Names: Taihaku cherry; Great white cherry, Prunus serrulata 'Tai Haku'

April is usually the month for Taihaku which grows in most soils and aspects. Every garden should have one. We think Taihaku is an honorary native tree . It was extinct barring one specimen found in Sussex in 1923. Every Taihaku alive in the world today comes from that single plant. As with all cherries any pruning or remedial work should be done in summer to reduce the risk of bacterial canker.

25ft x 15ft (7.6m x 4.6m) in 20 years, ultimate height 30ft (9m).
Time to maturity: 10-20 years

Partial Shade & Chalky Soil

The Great White Cherry is a reasonably compact single flowered tree that is ideal as a specimen or as an avenue planting. The flowers are white, huge, single and perfectly balanced. When flowering it can be hard to see the tree for the flowers! This large-sized variety produces single pure white flowers. Coppery-red young leaves contrast dramatically with the rather large blossoms; its name means "great white cherry." Autumn color is yellow and orange. Plant hunter Collingwood Ingram is credited with reintroducing this variety. Ingram found a tree in a garden in Sussex, England, that had been sent long before from Japan. He was able to identify it from an 18th-century Japanese print as a variety long extinct in its native land.

None Known

None Known

Softwood cuttings, Budding, Grafting

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.

Thought to have been lost to cultivation, this cultivar was identified in Sussex garden from an old Japanese print.