Tibetan cherry

Tibetan cherry: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Medium-sized tree with a rounded, open crown, 6–8 m tall and 5–6 m wide.

Bark

Glossy mahogany to reddish brown, with pale horizontal bands; peeling in thin, papery strips.

Leaves

Narrowly lance-shaped, 5–10 cm, finely toothed, like willow leaves; yellow in autumn.

Flowers

Small and white, in small clusters, with the young leaves in April–May; not showy.

Fruit

Small red cherries in summer, popular with birds.

Roots

Fairly shallow: do not plant it right next to a patio or paving.

Flowering: April–May · Plants: March–April and October–December · Pruning: July–August

Why grow it?

• The glossy mahogany bark gleams all year, but especially in winter when the tree is bare.
• A medium-sized tree that fits into an ordinary garden.
• Small white flowers in spring for bees and cherries in summer for birds.
• Yellow autumn colour to round off the season.
• Fully hardy and not fussy about soil.

Tibetan cherry: where does it grow best?

• Sun to partial shade; ideally where the low winter sun falls on the trunk so that the bark gleams.
• Any well-drained soil: sand, loam or clay, acid to chalky.
• Normally moist; it does not tolerate waterlogging.
• Plant it where the trunk is easy to see, for example from the house or along a path, and allow for a crown 5–6 m wide.
• Young trees sheltered from strong winds.

Light

Sun and partial shade

Soil type

Sand, loam or clay

Acidity

Not fussy

Moisture

Normal

Size

8 m tall, 6 m wide

Hardiness

Hardy (to -25 °C)

Goes well with

• Himalayan birch: White trunks beside the mahogany ones: a classic pairing for a winter garden.
• Snowdrop: White at the foot of the trunk in February, when the bark looks its best.
• Winter heath: A winter-flowering ground cover that also tolerates chalky soil.
• Red-barked dogwood: Red stems in winter, another splash of colour for the winter garden.
• Christmas rose: Flowers in winter in the light shade beneath the crown.

Tibetan cherry: when and how to plant it?

Plant in March–April and October–December.

1. Plant from October to December or in March–April, when the soil is neither frozen nor waterlogged. Bare-root trees only while dormant.
2. Dig a hole twice as wide as the root ball, loosen the bottom and mix in some compost.
3. Drive a sturdy stake into the hole on the windward side before setting the tree in place.
4. Plant the tree at the same depth as it grew in the nursery; the graft union stays above the soil.
5. Backfill, firm, tie the trunk to the stake with a tree tie and give a good can of water.
6. Spread a layer of mulch around the base, but not against the trunk.

Care

Watering

For the first two summers, water generously every week in dry spells. After that it usually looks after itself.

Feeding

Some compost around the base in spring; more is rarely needed.

Polishing the bark

Now and then rub the trunk with your hand or a soft cloth to remove loose strips, algae and moss. Do not pull off bark that is still attached.

Stake

Check the tree tie every year so that it does not cut in, and remove the stake after 2–3 years.

Clear circle

Keep a grass-free circle around the trunk: less competition for water and no damage from the mower.

Tip: Plant it where you can see it from the house and where the low winter sun falls on the trunk. Keep the trunk clear of low branches so that the glossy bark stays on show.

Tibetan cherry: when to prune it?

Pruning months: July–August.

When: Only in summer, in July–August, in dry weather. It needs little pruning.

How:

• Remove dead, diseased and crossing branches.
• On a young tree, gradually remove the lower side branches to create a clean trunk and show off the bark.
• Remove shoots from below the graft union and water shoots.
• Saw with a clean, sharp saw just outside the swollen collar at the base of the branch.

Caution: Never prune in autumn or winter: that is when the silver leaf fungus and bacterial canker enter through the wounds. In summer the wounds close quickly.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Seed

In summer, take the stones from ripe cherries, clean them and sow them in autumn in a pot left outdoors; they germinate in spring after a cold winter.

Grafting

Nurseries often graft it onto the rootstock of another cherry; this is tricky for gardeners.

Tibetan cherry: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −25 °C.

• Fully hardy, to about −25 °C: no protection needed, even in severe Belgian winters.
• Winter is when it looks its best: the bare, glossy trunk catches the low sunlight.
• Protect the trunks of young trees from rabbits and deer with a tree guard.

Diseases and pests

• Silver leaf: The leaves take on a silvery sheen and branches die back, caused by a fungus that enters through pruning wounds. Prune only in summer and cut affected branches back well into healthy wood.
• Bacterial canker: Leaves riddled with small holes, as if peppered with shot, and sunken patches oozing gum on the branches. Prune in summer, remove affected branches and clean your tools.
• Cherry blackfly: Curled leaves at the tips of young shoots in spring, with small black aphids. Ladybirds usually deal with them; otherwise hose them off.
• Moss and algae on the trunk: A dull green film on the bark. Polish the trunk with a soft cloth or your hand.

Through the year

• January: At its best: the bark gleams in the winter sun. Polish the trunk.
• March: Plant. Compost around the base.
• April: Plant. Flowers with the young leaves, bees on the blossom.
• May: Flowering. Watch for cherry blackfly.
• June: Water young trees in dry spells.
• July: Prune in dry weather. Cherries for the birds.
• August: Last pruning in dry weather. Water in dry spells.
• October: Plant. Yellow autumn colour.
• November: Plant, bare-root too. Check the tree tie.
• December: Plant in mild weather. Polish the trunk.

Good for wildlife

Bees

Nectar and pollen for honeybees and wild bees.

Birds

Berries, seeds or insects as food, or a place to nest.

Did you know?

• The name serrula means ‘little saw’ and refers to the finely toothed leaf edges.
• The tree was brought to Europe from western China in 1908 by the British plant hunter Ernest Wilson.
• The pale horizontal bands on the bark are lenticels: small openings through which the trunk exchanges air.