Cherry Blossom Varieties: Explore the Blooming Beauties

The cherry blossom is a common garden plant that comes in various varieties. The classification of cherry blossoms is generally based on their blooming time. Through technical improvements and cultivation, different varieties of cherry blossoms bloom all year round. They are classified into early cherry, middle cherry, late cherry, and autumn-winter cherry. However, the best time to view cherry blossoms is still in the spring. Let’s take a look at the specific varieties of cherry blossoms.

What are the specific varieties of cherry blossoms?

Early Cherry: Blooming period is generally from mid-to-late February to early March

Chun Han Cherry

Also known as “Chu Mei Ren”. The flowers bloom before the leaves. The spring buds are light purple-brown; the flower buds are red; the flowers are pink, with five petals.

When in full bloom, the flowers attract bees and butterflies with their scent. The flowering period is from mid-to-late February to early March.

Ying Chun Cherry

Ying Chun Cherry is beautifully compact with small, cute flowers. As it is usually propagated by sowing, the flowers of different plants have a variety of colors, including light purple, pink, and white. The young leaves are green and red-brown.

He Jin Cherry

A natural hybrid of Oshima Cherry and Han Fei Cherry, it belongs to the Rosaceae family. The flowers and leaves bloom together; the spring leaves are green; the flower buds are red; the flowers are pink with five petals. He Jin Cherry has a very long flowering period, with an effective viewing period of up to 18 days, making it the cherry blossom variety with the longest flowering period.

Fei Han Cherry

Fei Han Cherry is a large cherry tree. The flowers bloom before the leaves and are extremely dense. The petals, five in number, are bright pink.

Middle Cherry: Blooming period is generally from early March to early April

Somei Yoshino

Somei Yoshino makes up nearly 80% of the cherry blossoms planted in Japan. When in full bloom, it presents a grand sight. Moreover, Somei Yoshino grows vigorously, with spread-out branches and a graceful shape.

Shirotae Cherry

Shirotae Cherry, a horticultural variety of the mountain cherry, blooms synchronously with its leaves. Its flowering period is about five days later than Somei Yoshino, and it is often used as a transition variety between middle and late cherry blossoms in cherry blossom gardens.

Red Rich Cherry

Red Rich Cherry is an exception among cherry blossoms that can be enjoyed single-flower. It has about 15 to 18 petals, each about 2 centimeters long and a deep red-purple color on the outside.

Yae Beni Shidare

Yae Beni Shidare is a weeping cherry blossom and is a rarity among cherry blossoms. It has large double pink flowers. When in full bloom, Yae Beni Shidare presents a grand sight.

Si Chuan Cherry

Si Chuan Cherry is a variety selected from the seedlings of October Cherry. It blooms before the leaves appear.

Late Cherry: Blooming period is generally from mid-March to early May

Kan Ran Cherry

Kan Ran Cherry is an early-blooming variety among the late cherry blossoms.

Kwan Zan Cherry

Kwan Zan Cherry is the largest variety of cherry blossoms, with a diameter of up to 6 centimeters.

Yujin Cherry

The Yujin Cherry is a very rare green variety of cherry blossom. The double flowers, which are 5 centimeters in diameter, are a pale yellow-green color with a reddish-purple tip.

Jun He Tai Xiang

Jun He Tai Xiang is known as the “King of Fragrant Cherry Blossoms” due to its strong fragrance which can spread far and wide.

Song Yue Cherry

Song Yue Cherry’s flowers are concentrated at the end of the branches and hang down in clusters, making it an excellent choice for a garden or landscape tree.

Kenroku-en Kiku Cherry

The Kenroku-en Kiku Cherry is the latest blooming cherry blossom variety, blooming about a week later than Kwan Zan Cherry and Yujin Cherry.

Autumn-Winter Cherry: The usual defoliation period is between October and November

October Cherry

October Cherry is a rare double-flower variety in cherry blossoms that blooms continuously from autumn to spring.

Winter Cherry

After the October Cherry begins to fade in winter, the Winter Cherry begins to bloom. Although the flowers are sparse, it is still very valuable to see flowers in winter.