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Sargent Cherry - Prunus sargentii
Rose Family: Rosaceae
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With good fall foliage color, and
delicate pink blooms, Sargent Cherry is highly
recommended for the home and urban landscape. Growing at
a moderate rate into a 25 to 40-foot-high,
upright-spreading to rounded tree, Sargent Cherry makes
an ideal shade tree, spreading as wide as it is tall and
casting dense shade below. It is often grown with
several multiple trunks or upright branches originating
from the same position on the trunk ascending in a
graceful fashion. This structure could be somewhat of a
problem in ice-storms. Training to develop well-spaced
branches along the trunk may help reduce this problem.
In late April or early May the
one-inch-wide, pink to deep pink single blooms appear
before the new red-tinged leaves unfold. The small,
pea-sized fruits which follow are red, ripening to a
dark purple in June and July. The fruits are considered
inconspicuous due to their size and color but are easily
found by birds who quickly devour them. The three to
five-inch-long, dark green leaves take on various
shades of orange, bronze, and red before dropping in
late September.
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Flower color: pink, showy.
Fruit shape: oval
Fruit length: less than .5 inch
Fruit covering: fleshy
Fruit color: purple, black, red
Fruit characteristics: attracts birds; not
showy; fruit/leaves not a litter problem
Trunk/bark/branches: branches don't droop;
showy; typically multi-trunked; thorns
Pruning requirement: needed for strong
structure
Breakage: susceptible to breakage
Light requirement: full sun
Soil tolerances: clay; sand; loam; acidic;
slightly alkaline; well-drained
Drought tolerance: high
Aerosol salt tolerance: moderate
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Foliage: Leaf arrangement: alternate, simple, leaf
margin: serrate. Leaf shape: elliptic (oval), obovate,
venation: pinnate brachidodrome.
Leaf type and persistence: deciduous. Leaf blade length: 2 to 4 inches, 4
to 8 inches
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The USDA Forest Service cites the Sargent
Cherry as having "polished" cinnamon-brown,
attractive bark, but this image belies that
assertion.
This specimen is 48 years old.
Sargent Cherry works well as a street
tree (probably the best of the cherries
for street planting) in areas which can
accommodate the spreading canopy. It can
be planted along the entry road to a
subdivision or commercial landscape on
20-foot-centers or in the tree lawn
space between the curb and sidewalk. It
is also very effective as a specimen in
the lawn or landscape bed.
Sargent Cherry should be grown in
full sun on very well-drained, acid
soil. although it grows moderately fast
and can reach up to 60 feet tall in the
wild, it is relatively short-lived with
perhaps a 20-year lifespan, but provides
reliable service during this period.
Sargent Cherry requires little
maintenance once established and is
quite tolerant of drought and clay soil.
The cultivar `Columnaris' has a
narrow, upright or columnar silhouette
30 to 40 feet tall by 15 feet wide and
is very suitable for tight urban spaces,
and along streets. Propagation is by
seed, grafting, or budding. This
cherry is bothered by tent caterpillars,
aphids, borers, and scales. It is
probably less susceptible to disease
than most other cherries.
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