Fuji Cherry - Prunus Inscisa

[MJL]

Hey Folks,

I am after some advice please. I purchased this small tree on a whim at a club event some month's back. In short, I am not sure how to proceed.

It is pot bound and needs a repot. I will put it into a larger plastic pot or colander and drop into the ground. But do I trim it first and I really don't know what to do with shape. Lastly, if I do trim it - can I take cuttings and if so, I am assuming from the brown wood of last year's growth ...not the new green growth? Here's some photo for those with more experience with these Genus. I'd love some guidance on design and cuttings, if possible please.

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[TimS]

Hi Mark, my thoughts are to just slip pot it into a bigger pot, and if you get excited you can put it in the ground too, but you probably won’t get a huge amount of root growth/ benefit from that before late winter next year when you would go back in and cut the pot bound roots back.

Trimming the shoots is fine, but you are cutting flower buds off too so you won’t get much in the way of flowers depending how hard you cut back. You could pinch the tips out, or do a light cut back as an alternative.

I’ve not tried cuttings of cherry, but what i’ve read indicates it’s unlikely to root. Having said that, the same advice was given about flowering apricot and i’ve had no difficulty whatsoever rooting those. I took them in late winter before bud swell though. That was last year’s growth only, nothing too old or thick. If you’re pruning anyway then you may as well try; they’ll just go in the bin anyway!

The only cherry propagation i’ve had success with was seed growing, but that hadn’t flowered in 3 years so

[KIRKY]

Agree with Tim, slip pot it at this time of year. Trim to shape only Cherries don’t really like being cut back hard. i have struck Cherry cuttings before, success rates are not that high. I took mine in Winter a few years ago still going strong been flowers the last three years now.
Cheers
Kirky

[MJL]

Thanks Tim and Kirky, appreciate the responses. I'll try some cuttings, nothing to lose.