Ornamental Cherries Resources

Akane-gumo Sakura pages
This seems to be a private home page with many sakura photos as well as photos of other flowers, some organized by blooming season. If you put the page link into a Google search, you have the option to see the page translated. Forum user JT1 has provided specific links to various pages at Ornamental Cherries Resources Discussion.

Link location 那須の里山花図鑑
Submitted by JT1
Submitted date 19 Oct 2017; last confirmed 11 Jan 2018

Arthur Lee Jacobsen: Japanese Sato zakura in Seattle
Arthur Lee Jacobson's Plant of the Month page for April, 2005. The author of the book Trees of Seattle gives descriptions and rather small photos of several cultivars.

Link location Plant of the Month
Submitted by wcutler
Submitted date 26 Feb 2011; last confirmed 29 Oct 2015

Arthur Lee Jacobsen: Trees of the Rose Family in Victoria, B.C
This article was written by W. Herb Warren, edited and lengthened by Arthur Lee Jacobson. The article has descriptions but no photos of rose family flowering trees in Victoria - hawthorns, mountain ashes, crabapples, laurels, plums, peaches, apricots, almonds and cherries. Locations are given for several ornamental cherry cultivars.

Link location Article - Trees of the Rose Family in Victoria, B.C. by Arthur Lee Jacobson
Submittedby wcutler
Submitted date 14 May 2011; last confirmed 29 Oct 2015

Cherry Blossom Reports from Japan-Guide
This is a link to the 2012 "Official cherry blossom reports by japan-guide.com. It has links to reports with photos of cherry blooming in several Japanese locations. The sidebar has links to reports from other years and to hanami hotspots

Link location Cherry Blossom Report 2012
Submitted by wcutler
Submitted date 15 Apr 2012; last confirmed 29 Oct 2015

Cherry Cultivars of the Vancouver Area
This page on the VCBF web site, written by UBCBG's Douglas Justice, has brief descriptions of 54 cultivars in alphabetical order, with a blossom photograph accompanying each. Where there is a media player bar, you can click the arrow to hear the Japanese pronunciation.

Link location Cherry Cultivars | Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival
Submitted by wcutler
Submitted date 25 Feb 2011; last confirmed 29 Oct 2015

Coombes Eyewitness Handbooks - Trees
This is a book: Coombes, Eyewitness Handbooks - Trees, (1992, Dorling Kindersley, New York)
Ron B posted this book recommendation a few years ago. The book has close-ups of
P. 'Accolade'*
P. 'Amanogawa'*
P. avium*
P. avium 'Plena'*
P. cerasus*
P. incisa
P. jamasakura*
P. 'Kanzan'*
P. 'Kiku Shidare'*
P. maackii*
P. padus*P. padus 'Colorata'
P. padus 'Watereri'
P. 'Pandora'
P. sargentii*
P. x schmittii
P. serotina*
P. serrula*
P. 'Shirofugen'*
P. 'Shogetsu'*
P. 'Spire'*
P. x subhirtella 'Autumnalis'
P. x subhirtella 'Autumnalis Rosea'*
P. x subhirtella 'Pendula Rosea'**
P. x subhirtella 'Stellata'*
P. 'Tai Haku'*
P. 'Ukon'*
P. verecunda*
P. x yedoensis*

*Known to be in Seattle, outside of the arboretum and might therefore be expected to be seen in Vancouver parks, gardens and parking strips

**Listed by Jacobson in 1996 as a synonym of P. pendula 'Pendula Rosea' and in 2006 as a synonym of P. pendula.

Submitted by wcutler
Submitted date 14 May 2011; last confirmed 29 Oct 2015
Digital Botanical Library
I'm not sure what sigesplants.chicappa.jp is, but their pages are titled Digital Botanical Library, and they have some very detailed descriptions and photos of about 150 cherry cultivars.

This link goes to the Google-translated start of the three index pages that have cerasus entries.

Link location Google Translate
Submitted by wcutler
Submitted date 27 Apr 2011; last confirmed 29 Oct 2015

Flower and Garden in Japan and More, page by @ Hello MENO
This seems to be a private photo site, with a listing of many Japanese cherries, often with a slide show of several photos for each entry. You can sort on the index by any of the columns - particularly useful are the sorts by name and by the five blooming times.

Link location 日本で見られる桜の種類と品種の目次 – Flower and Garden in Japan and more… (khaawsflowerpicture.com)
Submitted by wcutler
Submitted date 28 May 2021; last confirmed 28 May 2021

Flowering Cherries at Keele University Arboretum
Flowering Cherries at Keele University Arboretum has a list of Keele's University's 150+ varieties of cherry trees and links to about a third of them, many with a decent photo of the tree and blossoms. The university is in the North Midlands [of England], about an hour from Manchester and Birmingham.

Though the link is coded to go directly to the page, it lookslike you have to click on Our Trees on the sidebar, then Flowering Cherry Collection.

Link location http://www.keele.ac.uk/university/nathist/trees/cherries/index.htm
Submitted by wcutler
Submitted date 26 Feb 2011; last confirmed 29 Oct 2015

Hillier Manual of Trees and Shrubs
Hillier Manual of Trees and Shrubs, by Hillier Nurseries, John Hillier, Allen J. Coombes, was recommended by Ron B as an all-around reference book to have along on walks. I finally found a copy in a library and it weighs a ton, but there's supposed to be a pocket edition.\n\nThe order is a bit confusing: it seems all Prunus species are listed first, and after explaining that it includes almond, apricot, bird cherry, etc, it says "for Japanese cherries, see the end of the entry", but then it lists 'Accolade' first. The Sato-Zakura group cherries are all listed last. Prunus entries run for about 9 pages.

This was at one time available to me on Google Preview, which is the link supplied here. If you're unable to see the Prunus pages, you will still be able to see what the manual looks like

Link location Hillier Manual of Trees and Shrubs
Submitted by wcutler
Submitted date 26 Feb 2011; last confirmed 29 Oct 2015

How to distinguish similar species
This Japanese page defies an English naming and any link to the top level. The link goes to a page that distinguishes oshima-zakura, o-yama-zakura, yama-zakura and kan-hizakura. Some others are included on this page: 葉と枝による樹木検索図鑑-類似種の見分け方 他：サクラ類の検索表

Link location 葉と枝による樹木検索図鑑−類似種の見分け方 他：オオシマザクラ-オオヤマザクラ−ヤマザクラ−カンヒザクラ
Submitted by JT1
Submitted date 11 Apr 2018; last confirmed 5 Jun 2018

Japan Flower Association Cherry Picture Book - Sakura Zukan
You can browse 380 varieties of ornamental cherries. The selection list has a small thumbnail and the names translated to English, if you view the page in English, which is the link that is given. Clicking anything on the line gives you a popup with a larger photo and brief description. The Japanese page untranslated is 桜図鑑 | 公益財団法人　日本花の会

There are three tabs on the page. The first offers search by blooming date, size, colour and/or number of petals; the third is the browse list, which is the URL given here.

Link location Google Translate
Submitted by wcutler
Submitted date 30 Apr 2018; last confirmed 30 Apr 2018

Japan Mint
Every year, during cherry blossom (Sakura) time around the middle of April, the premises of Japan Mint along the entire Yodo Riverside Lane, a full length of 560m, is opened to the public for one week for cherry blossom-viewing (Sakura-no-toorinuke).

This Japanese Mint site is in English; it has small blossom photos with a brief description for 128 cultivars planted on their grounds, listed alphabetically.

Link location Chart of Cherry Blossoms : Japan Mint
Submitted by wcutler
Submitted date 26 Feb 2011; last confirmed 29 Oct 2015

Japanese Flowering Cherries - A 100-Year-Long Love Affair - Arnold Arboretum
This article in Arnoldia – Volume 69, Issue 4, by Anthony S. Aiello on Nov 15, 2012, is a short engaging history of ornamental cherries in the US, with good photos and pictures.

Link location Japanese Flowering Cherries —A 100-Year-Long Love Affair - Arnold Arboretum | Arnold Arboretum (harvard.edu)
Submitted by wcutler
Submitted date 7 May 2021; last confirmed 7 May 2021

Oregon State University's Landscape Plants web site
Select Prunus under Volume 3 for cherries and plums. There are varying number of pages of information and photos on many cultivars, including a common name list, plant habit, spring flowering, flowering branches, flower buds and flowers, trunk, bark, and general info. The photos are generally large enough and clear enough to be useful.

The site also has some background information on scientific plant names, glossary of technical terms and a page on plant identification: examining leaves.

Thanks to Ron B for the link.

Link location Oregon State University, LANDSCAPE PLANTS, Vol. 3
Submitted by wcutler
Submitted date 26 Feb 2011; last confirmed 29 Oct 2015

Oriental Flowering Cherries by Paul Russell
This 75-page circular from the US Department of Agriculture, written in 1934, contains info on the history and cultivation of Japanese cherries, and descriptions of many of the cherries we know in Vancouver. There are some drawings and black and white photos.

The document is available online via the HathiTrust Public Domain Access.

Link location The oriental flowering cherries / by Paul Russell. v.313(1934).
Submitted by wcutler
Submitted date 16 Aug 2013; last confirmed 29 Oct 2015

Ornamental Cherries in Vancouver - a field guide
Ornamental Cherries in Vancouver is a handy field guide to carry around, describing the 54 cultivars we knew about in 2014. Each cultivar description includes a photo of the tree and blossoms, and one or two Vancouver locations. This book is available at the UBCBG Shop in the Garden, VanDusen's Garden Shop, GardenWorks shops and Chapters/Indigo at Broadway and Granville. It's a fund-raiser for the VCBF, and is priced at only $25 plus tax (or $28.40 total on the festival's website)

Link location Ornamental Cherries - 2014 Edition | Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival
Submitted by wcutler
Submitted date 25 Oct 2013; last confirmed 29 Oct 2015

RHS Grower Guide - AGM Ornamental Cherries
This 68 page Flipbook from the Royal Horticultural Society includes details of all Award of Garden Merit winning cherries including information on choosing the right tree for you and dealing with pests and diseases. There are descriptions with a blossom and habit photo for 40 cultivars, including several not known to us in Vancouver. There is a button to view in full screen, and an icon to further zoom in on a page.

Link location RHS Grower Guide – AGM Ornamental cherries Pages 1 - 50 - Flip PDF Download | FlipHTML5
Submitted by wcutler
Submitted date 28 May 2021; last confirmed 28 May 2021

True cherries (Prunus, subgenus Cerasus)
This is a Flickr photos collection of albums of cherry cultivars in the UK, posted by Steven Falk. He writes: "Many of the trees featured here are from labelled collections such as Batsford Arboretum and Keele University. Others are mostly from my local patch of Warwickshire, which I have attempted to name." He has 100 cultivar albums, all with several photos.

Link location Collection: True cherries (Prunus, subgenus Cerasus) (flickr.com)
Submitted by wcutler
Submitted date 04 May 2023; last confirmed 04 May 2023

Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival Website
There is a lot to see here, including a gallery of blossoms and locations that have appeared on some of the other pages.
The Festival - check here for timely information on festival events, particularly Tree Talks & Walks.
Discover Blossoms - Blooming Now - featured blossom photos at the top, tree photos of Festival Favourite locations below.
Discover Blossoms - Cherry Cultivars - this has brief descriptions of 54 cultivars in alphabetical order, so if the Identification postings in this forum are too much to read, here's the place for what finally got decided.
Blooming Now - during the blooming season, a sample of the festival's favourite locations are highlighted when they're in bloom, with a link to the UBC forum posting.
Discover Blossoms - Blossom Maps - the Finder map that comes up shows markers for 500 Festival Favourite locations. On a desktop computer, there is a link to Use old map, which includes blue markers for another 3000 locations, with various ways of Searching the data, and the ability to add a marker.
Cherry Scouts - here's a description of what the Cherry Scout program is about, and an invitation to join the scouts
Scout Corner - information of interest to official and unofficial cherry scouts.
News - Blog - Yesterday's news and more - some helpful articles on what to look for when you're looking at our trees, and photos previously featured on the Blooming Now page.

Link location Home - Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival (vcbf.ca)
Submitted by wcutler
Submitted date 26 Feb 2011; last confirmed 04 May 2023

Vancouver Sakura Diary
This Japan-Guide site has a lot of information and photos of the Vancouver cherry scene, though some of the tree names are different from what we're using. Of particular interest are the Beginner's Guide to Cherry Blossom Viewing, The Best Hanami Spots of Vancouver, Cherry tree species (blossom and tree photo and brief info, with links to fuller information and locations for each cherry listed) and the photo collection at Vancouver Sakura Diary 2001 (with "more" showing images and locations from 2002), which shows photos with descriptions as the season progresses).

Link location Vancouver Sakura Diary
Submitted by wcutler
Submitted date 26 Feb 2011; last confirmed 29 Oct 2015

Wikimedia Commons: Species of Sakura
I can't really recommend all of the links on this page, but the collection of 112 photos on the page itself seem mostly to have been added by a knowledgeable person, though it's not clear who that is.

Link location Category:Species of sakura - Wikimedia Commons
Submitted by wcutler
Submitted date 22 Apr 2013; last confirmed 29 Oct 2015