Prunus Snow Fountains - Cherry

The Prunus 'Snow Fountains' is an American variety of flowering cherry tree that forms a charming small tree with a regular weeping habit, carrying long, flexible branches that cascade down to touch the ground. From the month of May, an abundance of pendant clusters of delicate pure white flowers adorn the entire naked branches, like a shower of snow! Small leaves turn yellow and orange, heralding the arrival of autumn. Hardy and requiring no pruning, it is the perfect choice for a small garden as long as it enjoys plenty of sunlight and a normal to rich, not too dry and well-drained soil.

The 'Snow Fountains' cultivar, developed in 1985 by Lake County Nursery in the USA, shows particularly reduced growth, well suited for container cultivation. At maturity, it will not exceed 3m (9 ft 10 in) in all directions. With a naturally weeping habit, it develops a straight, tall trunk and trailing branches. Flowering occurs very early in spring, sometimes as early as March in the south of our country. In average climates, it generally takes place in April. The flowers, produced abundantly, open before the leaves, suspended by a short peduncle on well-defined branches. They emerge from white buds and then bloom into simple, bell-shaped, white corollas with no trace of pink. This flowering attracts pollinating insects that transform the flowers into small reddish cherries, sought after by birds but not edible for humans. The deciduous foliage consists of alternate leaves, 3 to 6 cm (1.2 to 2.4 in) long, ovate in shape, finely and deeply toothed along the edges. They are dark green in summer before turning yellow-orange in autumn.

This small tree, a symbol of renewal, is suitable for small gardens and can be planted in beds or as a standalone specimen, in free-standing hedges, and also in rows. 'Snow Fountains', not demanding, is content with a well-prepared ordinary soil, tolerates heat and the presence of limestone in the soil without excess. It can be grown in most of our regions, from north to south. For example, in a hedge or bed, it can be combined with other spring-flowering shrubs, simultaneously or staggered, such as Japanese apricot trees (Prunus mume), ornamental apple trees, Japanese quinces, flowering peach trees, Chinese almond trees, hawthorns... It naturally finds its place in a Japanese garden, in a sunny position.