Flower

Flowering Cherries

While the briefness of their glory has to be acknowledged, cherries really are the hardy spring-flowering trees for temperate climate gardens. The Japanese recognise two main groups of flowering cherries: the mountain cherries or yamazakura and the temple or garden cherries, the satozakura. The mountaincherries, which tend to have simple flowers, are largely derived from the original Mountain Cherry (Prunus serrulata var. spontanea), Prunus subhirtella and Prunus incisa. The other major influences are Prunus sargentii, Prunus speciosa, Prunus apetala and possibly the widespread Bird Cherries (Prunus avium and Prunus padus). Regretfully, that complex parentage and those centuries of development and countless cultivars combined with Western misunderstandings of Japanese names and multiple introductions of the same plants under different names has led to considerable confusion with the names of flowering cherries.

1. Prunus subhirtella cultivars and hybrids.

2. Sato-zakura hybrids.

While most of the larger nurseries and garden centres take care to supply plants that are true to type, make sure on first flowering that your cherries match their label descriptions. Plants

Prunus subhirtella cultivars and hybrids

Although the flowers of Prunus subhirtella are usually small and fairly simple, they appear from early winter well into spring, depending on the cultivar. Not only that, the cultivars themselves are long-flowering, often being in bloom for three weeks to a month. It often starts to bloom in late April to early May and can carry flowers right through until mid September. It seldom produces a massive burst of bloom, rather sporadic clusters of flowers. This is just as well because the flowers are damaged by heavy frosts. The flowers of 'Autumnalis' are white to pale pink opening from pink buds; those of 'Autumnalis Rosea' are the same but with a deep pink centre.

'Falling Snow' is a cultivar with pure white flowers, while those of 'Rosea' are deep pink.

'Fugenzo' was one of the first, if not the first, Japanese cherry to be grown in European gardens. 'Taihaku' , also known as the great white cherry, has white flowers up to 5cm across. Although 'Ukon' mean yellowish, this cultivar has very distinctive pale green flowers and is one of the few unmistakable cherries. Its foliage develops purplish tones in autumn. The unusual flower colour contrasts well with the likes of 'Sekiyama'.

'Amanogawa' grows to around 6m tall, but only around 1.5m wide, and has pale pink single flowers with a freesia-like scent. It blooms in mid-spring and in autumn the foliage develops striking yellow and red tones.

'Shogetsu' flowers late and produces pendant clusters of white, double flowers that open from pink buds. This cultivar grows to about 6m tall and flowers in spring as the foliage develops. The young leaves are a deep bronze shade that contrasts well with white to very pale pink flowers.

'Kiku-shidare' is similar in flower to 'Sekiyama', but it has a weeping growth habit. The flowers can each have up to 50 petals.

It is a probable 'Sekiyama' × 'Shogetsu' hybrid and has flowers that show characteristics of both parents; the clustered blooms of 'Shogetsu' and the pink of 'Sekiyama'. The flowers are very fully double and the young foliage is coppery.

'Kofugen' has graceful semi-weeping branches and a fairly compact growth habit. Although possibly a Prunus × sieboldii cultivar, 'Takasago' is now more widely listed under the satozakura cherries. It bears clusters of semi-double pink flowers with bronze-red new foliage.

This tree, rather squat when young, but eventually 7m tall bears single white flowers in such profusion as to give the impression of double blooms. Opening from pink buds, the flowers are up to 5cm in diameter and among the later to bloom. 'Ojochin' means large lantern, which aptly describes the shape of the flowers.

Other hybrids, species and their cultivars

One of the most popular of all garden cherries, 'Accolade' is a Prunus sargentii × Prunus subhirtella hybrid that develops into a flat-topped small tree. In spring it is smothered in pendulous clusters of large, bright pink, semi-double flowers.

Yoshino cherry (Prunus × yedoensis)

Well-known as an avenue tree, this Prunus subhirtella × Prunus speciosa hybrid is smothered in white to very pale pink blooms in spring before or as the new leaves develop. When the flowers are spent they form drifts of fallen petals around the base of the tree. There are several cultivars, such as the pink-flowered 'Akebono', the pale pink 'Awanui' and a weeping form ('Shidare Yoshino' or 'Pendula').

Taiwan cherry (Prunus campanulata)

The Taiwan cherry is valued for its early-flowering habit and fiery autumn foliage. The flowers, which are usually a vivid deep pink, are heavy with nectar and very popular with birds. Introduced in 1947 by the British authority Collingwood Ingram, 'Okame' is a hybrid between the Taiwan cherry and the Fuji cherry (Prunus incisa). Himalayan hill cherry (Prunus cerasoides)

Not only does it produce pink flowers in winter, when little else is in bloom, it has attractive banded bark and the unusual habit of shedding its foliage in late summer then producing new leaves before winter. The variety rubea has deeper pink flowers in spring.

Cyclamen cherry (Prunus cyclamina)

Flowering on bare stems in early spring, the cyclamen cherry is a hardy small to medium-sized tree from central China. The flowers, which are rose pink, are followed by bronze new growth that retains its colour for some weeks before greening. Sargent's cherry (Prunus sargentii)

Kurile cherry (Prunus nipponica var. kurilensis)

Usually little more than a large shrub, this Japanese cherry can reach 6m tall under ideal conditions. The flowers, which are soft pink and open from early spring, are backed by red sepals that hang on for a while after the flowers have fallen, thus prolonging the spring colour.

Prunus × sieboldii

The original cross is a slow-growing small tree with semi-double 3 to 4.5cm wide flowers in spring. Flowering cherries are largely undemanding plants that thrive in almost any well-drained soil. By choosing a selection that flowers in succession, it's possible to have bloom from mid-winter to early summer.

Flowering cherries seldom need major pruning once established. Apart from the already mentioned silver leaf, there isn't really very much that goes wrong with flowering cherries that can't be tolerated. Virtually all of the fancier flowering cherries sold for garden use are budded or grafted, usually onto Prunus avium stocks. Graft height

When buying flowering cherries you may be faced with a choice of graft height. With weeping cherries choose the highest graft possible (usually 8ft [2.4m]), to allow the maximum length of flowering branch. Want to make your garden's summer flowers last all year? Ok, the easiest way is to bring your garden flowers indoor and dry them.

* First: Harvesting Flowers

It is best to cut your flowers in the morning hours after the dew has evaporated from the plants. There are definite developmental times which are best for cutting flowers for drying. In general, it is best to pick immature flowers (ones that are not completely open) since flowers continue to open during the drying process. If you pick a flower at the time that it looks perfect, it will continue to open while drying, leaving you with a flower past that 'perfect stage'. Most people pick flowers too late. If you really look at it, the flower is still fairly closed. Avoid harvesting flowers too mature in development. Such flowers will generally shed upon drying and will not hold up well in arrangements.

We offer specific picking and growing recommendations for each flower we grow. Just click on any dried flower name on any of our lists to obtain a wealth of specific information including pictures!

* Second: Preserving Flowers

With only a few exceptions, we air dry all our flowers. 1)How to Hang Flower Bunches

2) How Long to Hang Flowers to Dry

When dried, the stems should snap. You must test the flowers for dryness. Some flowers, such as delphiniums, keep their color better if dried quickly near sources of warm air such as a heater. Large, many-flowered blooms such as dill, fluffy grasses, and Queen Anne''s lace, should be dried upright, not hanging upside down.

3) How to Dry Flowers with Silica?

I dry many flowers at once using a 10- by 18-inch airtight plastic container. Yours need not be that big, but make sure that the flowers aren't crowded. Spread the flowers out, face up, on a 1-inch (minimum depth) bed of crystals. Drying flowers with single-petal structures, such as daisies, facedown is another technique, but my results have been identical using both approaches. To dry flowers facedown, create a small mound for the flower head, place the flower head facedown on it, and add silica over the flower until it is covered. Flowers can be almost touching, and because similar kinds of flowers dry at the same rate, you may wish to group similar blooms in the same container. Leaving flowers in desiccant too long makes them very fragile, so remove flowers right away once you've determined that they're dry enough.

4) How to Use Sand to Dry your Flowers?

To dry with sand, place an inch or two of sand in a container; scoop away a small amount of sand to form a depression on the surface; place the flower head upright in this depression and press the sand in and around the outside of the flower to support it. Flowers dried with sand are fragile so be very careful when removing them from the sand. Notice that flowers must be stored in a strong carton to protect the petals from breaking.

5) Using a Microwave Oven to Dry Flowers

The latest and fastest method to dry flowers is to use a combination of silica gel and a microwave oven.

With the use of a microwave, you can now dry your flowers very quickly. Flowers should be gathered at their peak or else they will turn brown. Leave a 1/2 inch stem on the flower, and place it face up on a 1/2 inch layer of drying agent. Carefully sprinkle enough agent to cover the flower, and place it in the microwave along with a small bowl of water. Do not remove the flowers from the agent immediately, but set them aside for several hours. Listed below are some times for drying flowers in a microwave.

By using air drying and other methods also, many flowers can be preserved for year-round enjoyment. Plan now to include some flowers in your garden for drying, and check nearby fields and road sides throughout the summer and fall for more dried plant materials.

* Third: Care of Dried Flowers

* Last: Storing and Enjoying Dried Flowers

We recommend wrapping the flowers in newspaper and placing them in a cardboard box. Do not store the box containing the dried flowers where it is unusually damp (some basements) or very dry (some attics). Also, a lot of people think you should never store dried flowers outside (it would be way to cold). Actually, if your home is heated by forced air, the preferred place to store dried flowers would be in a outside building away from the dry heat.

In general, dried flowers should remain out of direct sunlight while you enjoy them in their final state. We also suggest not to place dried flowers in the path of forced air heat registers. This extremely dry air is very hard on dried flower structure (causes shattering).

Suggestion for use of dried flowers would include wreaths, swags, sheaths, bouquets, and sprays. Simply hanging dried flowers in a room can be very appealing. Finally, I should to say that drying flowers can be addictive! You'll soon see why dried flowers are often called "everlastings".

What are Bach Flower Essences?

Pioneered by Dr. Edward Bach in the 1930's, a flower essence is a liquid preparation imprinted with the etheric pattern of a particular flower. There are energy frequencies that are particular to the red Rose that are different from all other flowers. The vibrations that make up a Rose are faster than many other flowers (Rose is considered a very high-vibration flower), and these vibrations are woven together in a particular way. The water, being made up of vibrational energy itself, retains some of the vibration of the flower that was soaked in it. Dr. Bach also thought that these energetic states can be transformed, and that one of the transformational methods he discovered was the use of the vibrational patters of flowers - it was then that Flower Essence Therapy was born.

Through years of research and study, Dr. Bach developed a system of therapy using the vibrational patterns of flowers, imprinted into spring water, to transform the emotional vibrational patters of human beings. He showed through numerous case studies that flower essences, properly selected and applied, can be effective in treating the negative energies which underlie most disease states. Further, one need not have an illness or disease to realize the benefits of flower essences - flowers can be used to assist in transformation of any negative emotional state, be it temporary and transitive, or a more ingrained long-term pattern. (Flower essences do not transform positive states into negative ones, as flowers are not thought to contain negative energies themselves).

Dr. Bach categorized the original 38 flower essences he discovered into 3 categories to assist in their application. Impatiens - As the name of the flower implies, this essence addresses a tendency toward impatience; these individuals have difficulty with the flow of time. Many find Impatiens to be a relatively 'fast acting' flower essence, feeling more at ease within minutes of essence use.

Gentian - Those in need of Gentian flower essence are too easily discouraged when setbacks occur. Clematis - The Clematis flower essence type is a dreamy one; there is insufficient interest in the immediate moment of daily life. Agrimony - The Agimony flower essence type tends to hide more deeply rooted pain or ailments behind a cheerful façade, both inwardly and outwardly. Agrimony flower essence can help them find inner peace, by allowing the connection to true inner conditions, acceptance of these conditions, and subsequent transformation.