Winter Cherry Identification

The Winter Cherry is the cultivar ‘Autumnalis’ of the hybrid Spring Cherry (Prunus x subhirtella) which originated in Japan but is unknown in the wild. Another of its cultivars is known as Jugatsu-zakura which means Cherry of the 10th month (October). The cultivar ‘Autumnalis’ was introduced to Britain in 1900. It has white flowers from October to mid spring. This variety is often called the Autumn Cherry. It is very frequent in gardens and parks.

Winter Cherry Identification is by its white flowers from autumn to spring, its toothed leaves and bark.

Winter Cherry in August.

Tree in flower in December

The leaf is small and double-toothed.

The bark is grey-brown with horizontal lenticels (breathing pores)

The white flowers appear in autumn before the tree has lost its leaves and flowers continue to appear throughout the winter until spring.
Close-up of a flower. The Wild Cherry has 5 petals but these flowers are semi-double which in this case means between 5 and 10 petals. The petals are notched. This flower was photographed in early November.
Buds in December with flower buds ready to open. The flowers of this cultivar appear all winter, before the leaves appear in mid April.

Flower buds opening in December.