OhWhatAWednesday – Snow Fountain Weeping Cherry

I wanted one for years. We’d drive past Abraham’s and Judy’s home regularly and I would admire that which I did not have. We’re not talking about a fancy house, an expensive car, or a designer dog. The object of my admiration was…

A tree. Not just any tree. A Snow Fountain weeping cherry. I wasn’t even a gardener yet, but I knew I had to have one. If you are going to lust for a tree, it might as well be the Snow Fountain. Take a look at this beauty (yes, of course I got one). By the time this picture was taken, it was spring of 2008. My beloved cherry and I were celebrating our 4th anniversary.
The nature of a weeping cherry tree is to get wider, but not necessarily taller (like most husbands). Comparing the picture above to this one from spring 2004, you can see it has done exactly that. The height is about the same yet is getting wider. A common mistake is to not allow for the full size of a tree (height and width) when you decide where to plant it. Well, with this one, 50% of the error possibility is gone. It’s not going to get much taller.

And just what will the cherry demand from this relationship? It is touted to be a heavy drinker, but we’ve never given ours anything extra. It is also said to grow sprouts that don’t weep. These trees are usually grafted onto common root stock. Common sprouts come from the original root stock of the tree. Ours never has any of these sprouts though. Weeping cherries are rumored to prefer full sun. Ours is mostly an understory tree for a large maple, and gets only partial sun. It accepted our clay soil without griping; although I’m sure we amended the soil some. We do trim a few branches here and there when they become too long or unsightly. Our cherry knows it is loved and reciprocates.

It can and will be fickle though. Anticipate stunning spring blossoms, watch for them with a joyful heart. Then just when you are admiring the lovely blooms, whoosh, they will all blow away. Fortunately, it’s summer attire greens up beautifully, and it dresses up nicely in the fall with colorful leaves. Even in the winter, the weeping form is decorative.

Our weeping cherry has now shed its autumn colors. Though it has been done for a few weeks, I did not want to ignore it in this series that celebrates what looks good in my yard each Wednesday.

Check out the accompanying cherry french toast recipe. The weeping cherry tree doesn’t really provide us with any cherries for this recipe. It just seemed like a good opportunity to share this amazingly delicious treat with you.

This is an installment in the OhWhatAWednesday series, where I dare to take on the task of finding something in my garden that looks good each week through a Chicago winter.