Getting it to bloom

Why won't my Flowering Cherry 'Kanzan' bloom? (and how to make it flower)

Also called Kanzan cherry, Japanese flowering cherry (Prunus serrulata 'Kanzan').

More about flowering cherry 'kanzan'

About Flowering Cherry 'Kanzan'

Prunus serrulata 'Kanzan' · also called Kanzan cherry, Japanese flowering cherry · flowering

Kanzan is the most widely planted Japanese flowering cherry, famous for its showy double, pompom-like deep-pink blossom smothering upward-arching branches in mid-spring. A vigorous, vase-shaped deciduous tree, it bears no useful fruit but gives bronze-tinted young foliage and good autumn colour. Its stiff, congested branching makes it a bold but space-hungry ornamental.

Plant type: flowering

Watch for — Bacterial canker: Sunken, gummy bark lesions can girdle branches and cause dieback, a common flowering-cherry problem. Prune only in dry summer weather and remove infected wood promptly.

The reasons flowering cherry 'kanzan' isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming flowering cherry 'kanzan' traces back to one of these, roughly in order of how common they are:

Too little sun — most of these need full sun (or very bright light) to flower well; shade gives leaves, not blooms.
Too much nitrogen feed, driving lush foliage at the expense of flowers (very common with general or lawn feeds).
The plant has not been deadheaded, so it stops flowering once it sets seed.
Irregular watering — drought or waterlogging at the budding stage makes buds abort.
It is still too young or was checked by a transplant and is rebuilding before flowering.

Feeding flowering cherry 'kanzan' a high-nitrogen general feed and growing it in too little sun — you get a big leafy plant and almost no flowers.

The fix — how to get flowering cherry 'kanzan' to flower

Maximise sun. Give flowering cherry 'kanzan' the sunniest spot you have — for most bedding and fruiting plants, more direct light directly means more flowers.
Switch the feed. Move off high-nitrogen feeds and use a higher-potassium "bloom" or tomato-type feed as it comes into flower.
Deadhead regularly. Remove spent flowers often to keep it producing more rather than stopping to set seed.
Water consistently. Keep moisture even through budding and flowering — drought-then-flood swings make buds drop.

Light and feeding do most of the heavy lifting here. Dial in the spot with the light guide for flowering cherry 'kanzan' and get the feeding right with the flowering cherry 'kanzan' fertilising schedule — the wrong feed (too much nitrogen) is one of the most common silent reasons a healthy plant makes leaves instead of flowers.

Bloom season and what to expect

Flowering Cherry 'Kanzan' flowers across its growing season (mostly summer) and, kept fed and deadheaded, can bloom for many weeks or right up to frost.

Post-bloom care so it flowers again

Deadhead, keep feeding lightly, and many will rebloom; collect seed from the best plants at the end of the season if you want to grow them again.

For everything else this plant needs day to day, see the full flowering cherry 'kanzan' care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

Flowering Cherry 'Kanzan' blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my flowering cherry 'kanzan' flower?

Flowering Cherry 'Kanzan' blooms on the season's growth given enough sun, warmth and the right feed — there is no cold or photoperiod trick, just good growing conditions and a bloom-leaning feed. The most common reason it is not happening: Too little sun — most of these need full sun (or very bright light) to flower well; shade gives leaves, not blooms.

How do I make flowering cherry 'kanzan' bloom?

Give flowering cherry 'kanzan' the sunniest spot you have — for most bedding and fruiting plants, more direct light directly means more flowers. Move off high-nitrogen feeds and use a higher-potassium "bloom" or tomato-type feed as it comes into flower.

When does flowering cherry 'kanzan' normally bloom?