How to prune yoshino cherry

Early summer, immediately after flowering (April to May in temperate climates). Remove any dead or diseased branches back to healthy wood at the branch collar. Thin crossing branches if they cause rubbing. Do not attempt to reshape the natural arching form through heavy pruning — Yoshino's graceful habit is its key ornamental feature and responds poorly to hard cutting back.

Rarely; corrective removal as needed, post-flowering. Yoshino cherry (Prunus × yedoensis) is a graceful flowering cherry prized for its pale blush-white blossoms. It needs very little pruning — mainly the removal of dead, diseased, or crossing branches. Like all ornamental Prunus, pruning should happen in early summer after flowering to reduce the risk of fungal diseases entering dormant-season wounds.

Remove any dead or diseased branches back to healthy wood at the branch collar. Thin crossing branches if they cause rubbing. Do not attempt to reshape the natural arching form through heavy pruning — Yoshino's graceful habit is its key ornamental feature and responds poorly to hard cutting back.