Mature Height/Spread: The Higan cherry will grow 20 to 40 feet tall and 15 to 30 feet wide. The habit may be upright-spreading, rounded or weeping, depending on the cultivar.

Growth Rate: Some of the most heat, cold and stress tolerant of all the cherries, they are longer-lived than most.

Ornamental Features: Bloom occurs from early to midspring, depending on the cultivar. The showy flowers are white or pale to deep pink, single or double, and appear before or with the leaves. In summer, leaves are dark green, turning yellowish in the fall.

Landscape Use: Higan cherries are mainly used as lawn specimens, street trees and in groupings. Wide-spreading and weeping cultivars make good shade trees.

They prefer moist, fast-draining, well-aerated soil, and require full sun. Pruning is seldom necessary except to remove dead or diseased wood, or crossing branches that appear awkward or rub against each other. To avoid reducing the following year’s flower display, prune crossing or rubbing branches immediately after flowering. Prune dead or diseased wood any time of year.

Problems: This species is not as seriously affected by diseases and insects as some other Asian cherries. It is more prone to problems, however, in dry soil. Irrigate during drought conditions. Problems include borers, scale, aphids, leaf spot and twig cankers. Leaf loss can be severe when weather conditions favor disease development.

Cultivars and Varieties:

* ‘Autumnalis’ – Multiple trunks, upright branches and a rounded canopy, often growing wider than tall. Pinkish white double flowers cover the tree in early spring; flowers may also appear in autumn when warm. Grows quickly when young; slows down with age. Not suited to Coastal Plains.

* ‘Pendula’ (Weeping Higan Cherry) – Graceful, weeping habit makes this tree a striking specimen in a large-scale landscape. Pink or white single flowers cover branches in early spring. Buy this tree in flower to be sure of flower color. Not well-suited to Coastal Plains.