Welcome Spring with the Okame Cherry Tree
Why the Okame Cherry Tree Deserves a Spot in Your Landscape
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If you've dreamed of growing a flowering cherry tree but worry about finicky care requirements, let me introduce you to the Okame cherry - a resilient beauty that breaks all the stereotypes.
This small, deciduous tree thrives in zones 5-9 and stands out as one of the easiest cherry trees to grow, making it perfect for both seasoned gardeners and enthusiastic beginners. Visit the USDA to look up your gardening zone.
What makes the Okame truly special? Unlike many flowering cherries that struggle in challenging conditions, this tree is refreshingly adaptable.
It handles heat and humidity with ease, tolerates drought better than most cherry varieties, and welcomes a wide range of soil types - yes, even clay!
It's a hybrid cross between Prunus incisa and Prunus campanulata(you might also see it listed as Prunus x incam, x incamp, or simply Prunus 'Okame').
The hot pink blooms of an Okame cherry tree can last up to three weeks in early spring.
A Show-Stopping Spring Display
The Okame is an early riser in the cherry world, greeting late winter or early spring with a breathtaking display of fragrant, hot pink blossoms that blanket every branch for up to three weeks.
Pollinators adore these flowers, and you will too. While extreme temperature swings can occasionally affect bloom timing, the tree's reliable performance year after year makes it a standout choice for spring color.
Beauty Beyond the Blooms
After the floral finale, attractive dark green foliage emerges to provide cooling shade through summer.
Come autumn, the leaves transform into a stunning tapestry of bronze, red, and orange that rivals any fall favorite.
Even the bark adds interest - its reddish-brown color and distinctive horizontal lenticels (those charming little marks that help the tree breathe) provide winter appeal long after the leaves have fallen.
The Perfect Size
Growing 15-25 feet tall and 15-20 feet wide, the Okame cherry starts with an elegant vase shape before developing an upright, rounded crown that fits beautifully in smaller yards and urban gardens.
Give it full sun and moderately fertile, well-drained soil, and it will reward you for decades - the Okame typically outlives popular varieties like Kwanzan and Yoshino, thriving for up to 40 years with proper care.
You can see the Okame cherry's charm on display at some iconic locations: a handful grace the famous Tidal Basin in Washington, DC, while an impressive collection of 200 trees puts on an annual show at National Harbor in Maryland, just a few miles away.
Learn more about DC’s trees at the National Park Service and National Harbor websites.
The Bottom Line
If you want the magic of a flowering cherry without the drama, the Okame cherry is your answer! Beautiful, reliable, and wonderfully low-maintenance. 🌸
Read on to discover how to grow and care for this gorgeous spring flowering tree, and find out what those mysterious shoots are at the base of the tree.
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How to Plant and Grow the Okame Cherry Tree
Ready to plant your Okame cherry? Let's walk through the essentials to help your tree settle in beautifully and thrive for years to come:
Location: Choose a planting site with full sun (6+ hours of sunlight per day) and moist, fertile, well-drained soil. Okame cherry trees will tolerate light shade as well as clay or sandy soil.
Planting Time: The best time of year to plant an Okame cherry tree is in spring or fall, allowing the roots to establish before the onset of extreme hot or cold weather. Water the tree deeply after planting.
Watering: Keep your Okame cherry happy with consistent moisture. Think "evenly moist, never soggy." Water at the base of the tree (not the leaves!) and pay extra attention during dry spells. While the Okame is more drought-tolerant than most cherries, regular watering promotes the best growth and most spectacular blooms. For detailed watering guidance, check out our article "How to Water a Tree".
Mulching: Apply a layer of mulch around the base of the tree to help retain moisture, suppress weeds, and regulate soil temperature.
Fertilizing: Cherry trees are light feeders, preferring a low-nitrogen fertilizer applied in late winter, 2-3 weeks before blooming. Over-fertilization can cause disease and insect problems.
Pruning: Prune trees in the spring, when flowering has finished. To ensure the long-term health and resilience of your Okame cherry tree, consider hiring an arborist who can expertly handle fertilization and pruning, provide proactive care, and address potential issues promptly.
Creative Ways to Showcase Your Okame Cherry
The Okame cherry's stunning spring display deserves to be seen! Here are some beautiful ways to incorporate this tree into your landscape:
Make It the Star Plant your Okame as a standalone specimen or focal point where it can truly shine. Position it in the front yard near a large living room or dining room window. Imagine sipping your morning coffee while those hot pink blooms steal the show!
Frame an Entrance Flank a gate or driveway with matching Okame cherries to create a welcoming, symmetrical entrance that announces "you're home" in the most beautiful way.
Create Drama with Repetition Line a long driveway or fence with a row of Okame cherries for a breathtaking spring statement that draws the eye and defines your property with seasonal color.
Try a Small Grouping Mass three or five Okame cherries together for impact. Odd numbers create the most natural, pleasing arrangement.
Play with Contrast Want those pink blooms to really pop? Plant your Okame in front of an evergreen backdrop like Baby Giant arborvitae (Thuja plicata x standishii 'Virginian™') or American holly (Ilex opaca). The deep green provides the perfect canvas for those vibrant flowers.
Perfect for Streets With their modest 15-25 foot height, Okame cherries make excellent street trees that won't tangle with power lines - beauty without the utility headaches.
What Are Those Weird Shoots at the Base of My Tree?
Don't worry! Those vigorous stems sprouting from the bottom of your Okame cherry are completely normal! They're called suckers, and they appear because your tree was grafted.
The Grafting Story: Most Okame cherries are created by grafting - attaching a cutting from a beautiful, flowering Okame (the scion) onto the roots of a hardy rootstock tree.
This clever technique gives you the best of both worlds: stunning blooms and excellent heat and cold tolerance from the Okame, plus disease resistance and vigor from the rootstock.
You might even notice a slight bulge where the two parts meet - that's the graft union, and it's perfectly normal.
Managing Suckers: These fast-growing shoots emerge below the graft union and will look different from the rest of your tree because they're coming from the rootstock, not the Okame portion.
The fix is simple: prune them off at the base using sharp, clean pruning shears. Clean cuts heal better and keep diseases at bay, so make sure your tools are nice and sharp before you start snipping.
Suckers growing from the root stock of a cherry tree.
Are Okame Cherry Trees Toxic to Dogs?
The leaves, stems, blossoms, and fruit pits of the Okame cherry tree are toxic to both people and animals, including dogs and horses.
Wilted cherry leaves are particularly potent. If you suspect your dog, horse, or other pet has ingested any part of an Okame cherry tree or is showing signs of illness, such as vomiting, difficulty breathing, or lethargy, it's crucial to contact your veterinarian immediately.
The Okame cherry tree does produce an insignificant round red fruit - the fruit itself (without the pit) is non-toxic, but it has a bitter, inedible taste.
Learn more about which common indoor and outdoor plants are toxic to dogs in our article “Keep Your Fur Friends Safe: Which Plants are Toxic to Dogs?”.
Is the Okame Cherry Tree Messy or Invasive?
Here's some great news: the Okame cherry is refreshingly well-behaved!
This tree produces tiny, inconspicuous fruits that you'll barely notice, so no worrying about stained driveways or constant cleanup.
Its naturally tidy, vase-shaped growth habit and compact size make it a perfect fit for smaller gardens, urban lots, and tight spaces where every square foot counts.
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Falling in love with flowering cherries? Discover more stunning varieties in our articles about the Kwanzan cherry and the Yoshino cherry. Each brings its own unique charm to the spring landscape! 🌸🌳