Gift that became an obsession — Cherry Blossom

Someone gave me Cherry Blossom as a birthday gift and I barely knew what it was. Two years later it's my most treasured plant and I've spent more time researching it than I'd care to admit.

The key discovery was formative pruning in the first five years to build a clear leader — once that clicked, the plant transformed. multi-decade investment that improves year on year is what gets mentioned every time anyone visits. I keep it in a wildlife garden with native species which works perfectly. bare winter silhouette revealing branch structure and bark is when I understand why this plant has such devoted followers. verticillium wilt causing branch dieback on susceptible species is the one ongoing challenge but it's worth the effort.