13 - Friday, April 6, 1990 - North Shore News

When planting flowering cherry
make sure it suits the location

JUST AS ‘‘fall” is an apropos name for the season of fall-
ing leaves, the word ‘‘spring”’ is just as appropriate a term
for this season of the year. ‘Spring has sprung...’’ and all

that.

All winter long we look for signs
of its coming. You have seen those
front page pictures of the first
crocus to emerge from the snow or
the first cherry blossoms of the
year. The next thing we know, it
springs upon us and is gone before
we know it.

Most of our flowering cherries
are similar in that the first warm
days bring the flowers out in a
tush and the cold, wet, windy
days, which inevitably follow,
knock them off just as quickly.

There zre two ways of looking at
this. Either the cherries are consid-
ered fess desirable because the
flowers are so short-lived, or more
valuable because of this same
ephemeral quality.

Those who value these trees
Must outnumber those who do not,
as the Japanese flowering cherries

are by far and away the most wide-
ly planted flowering street tree in
the Pacific Northwest.

There are a few streets in the
Greater Vancouver area that are
literaily ankle-deep in drifts of
cherry blossoms at certain times of
the year.

The first thing to remember
when you're thinking of planting a
flowering, or even fruiting, cherry
is its location. It must have good
drainage and ample sun (pretty
definitive terms, eh?).

If you can dig an 18-inch-deep
hole in your chosen spot, fill it
with water and it takes more than
10 minutes to drain, do not plant a
cherry. If you must, mound the
soil up in the area high enough to
prevent the roots from standing in
water once it is planted.

The amount of sun is less crit-

ical. Although four hours of direct
sun in the summer is considered
the minimum required to provide a
proper bloom set, I have seen some

beautiful specimens planted in a
woodland setting.

Next, make sure the tree suits
the location. There are many dif-
ferent varieties to choose from.
Some, such as prunus serruiata
‘Amanogawa’, grow almost
straight up and have a very narrow
profile. Others, such as p.s.

Energy-saving products
awarded at Home Show

EN ITS ongoing efforts to promote
awareness of energy efficiency.
B.C. Hydro participated in this
year’s B.C. Home Show with its
Power Smart contest.

A prize of $5,000 worth of
energy-saving products was
awarded to the winner, who can
employ the winnings to improve
the energy efficiency of his or her
home or apply the funds towards a
down payment on a new Quality

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Featuring 2 booth stacked with
volumes of information and cus-
tomer service representatives to
answer energy-related questions,
‘the display was a resounding suc-
cess,’’ stated energy consultant,
Shell Busey.

By means of a unique ‘‘pass-
port’? promotion, over 30 energy-
efficient displays were on hand to
promote energy-related products.
From these products, the contest
winner chooses the product or ser-

PAVERS FOR DRIVEWAYS

vice that will best benefit his or her
energy needs.

This year’s winner, Elliot
Glassman, was especially ap-
preciative of his prize, as he is
beginning construction of a new
home.

HOLLAND

|

HERITAGE

been!

Pree

COLORED, INTERLOCKING CONCRETE
AND PATIOS

‘Shirofugen’, can spread to widths
of forty feet and are table-topped
in appearance.

Here are a few of the more

over the

garden gate

Geoff Tobiasson

commonly grown varieties:

P. x hillferi ‘Spire’ — A fast-
growing, narrow form, reaching 25
feet in height and eight in width.
Single, light pink flowers appear in
April along with its bronzy, new
leaf growth,

P. sargentii ‘Accolade’ — A
large-scale tree for the large-scale
landscape, expect this one to attain
a height of 40 fect and a spread of
40 to 50. Semi-double, blush-pink
flowers are one-and-a-half inches
wide and appear in late March or
early April.

P. serrula — The 30- to 40-foot
Himalayan or Birchbark cherry is
aptly named for its peeling bark.
Though not noted for its
nondescript flowers, the gleaming
polished bark is reward enough.

P. serrulata ‘Amanogawa’ — As
mentioned above, this tree seldom
gets more than four feet wide in its
20-foot height. It is most suited to

CONCRETE
PLANTERS

Do-lt-Yourself Pavingstone Demonstration
this Saturday 7th April 10:00am & 11:30am

Qualified professionals will

narrow nooks and_ crannies.
Semi-double, blush pink flowers
appear in early to mid-May. It's
best to protect this one from snow
damage by tying the boughs up
over winter.

P. s. ‘Kwanzan’ — This is the
most common of the Japanese
flowering cherries. Huge two-
and-one-half inch, deep pink
flowers appear just as the coppery
foliage emerges in mid-April. It
grows in an open vase shape to
heights of 25 feet and widths of 15
to 20.

P. s. ‘Shirofugen’ — The ‘White
Goddess’ produces fragrant, two-
and-one-half inch, sheil-pink to
white fiowers, in late May. It has
one of the longest blooming
periods, with flowers sometimes
lasting more than a month. This,
combined with the exquisite grace
of its spreading habit, make this
one of my personal favorites.

P. s. ‘Shirotae’ — The ‘Mt. Fu-
ji’ cherry does appear to be
snowcapped when in full bloom.
The large, double, fragrant flowers
are snow white from beginning to
end of the flowering period which
is mid-March to early April. This
20- to 25-foot tree is also a great
spreader; its lower branches appear
to be almost horizontal.

P. subhirtella ‘Autumnalis’ —
This single pink cherry is the one
most often seen on the front page.
It’s not so much that it is coming
into bloom early as much as it is
late. This tree will flower during
warm periods from the end of Oc-
tober to early March. Heights and
widths are 20 to 25 feet.

CEDAR FENCING.
AND DECKING

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