Prunus avium – Sweet Cherry / Cherry Blossom (میٹھا چیری درخت)

Prunus avium – Sweet Cherry / Cherry Blossom (میٹھا چیری درخت)

– Ornamental blossoms followed by edible cherries, – Early spring flowering tree with elegant form, – Rare but growable in specific cooler areas of Pakistan

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🌿 Botanical Name: Prunus avium (PROO-nus AY-vee-um)

🌿 Family: Rosaceae (roh-ZAY-see-ee)

🧊 Hardiness Zone (USA): 5–8

📏 Height: 30 to 50 feet as a mature tree; upright to rounded canopy

🍃 Foliage:

Deciduous; broad, serrated green leaves that turn orange, red, or gold in autumn; new leaves appear just after flowering in spring

🌸 Flowering Period (Lahore/Punjab):

March – profuse white to pale pink blossoms appear in early spring before foliage; lasts 1–2 weeks; a major visual highlight in temperate hill stations like Murree and Swat

🌼 Companion Plants:

• Malus floribunda (Crabapple) – for multi-colored flowering trees

• Cercis siliquastrum – purple-pink blooms in similar spring window

• Forsythia – yellow spring shrub to contrast white cherry blossoms

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  Fruition photos are from Chitral- May 2025

  
  

🏡 Garden Usage:

Ideal for parks, large lawns, avenues, or as a feature tree in cool-climate gardens; appreciated for both blossoms and edible fruit in colder zones

🍈 Fruition:

Produces clusters of small, round, glossy red to dark red edible cherries by May–June; fruits are sweet, juicy, and attract birds and children alike

🌱 Soil:

Prefers deep, well-drained loamy or sandy soil; sensitive to waterlogging and heavy clay

⚖️ pH Value: 6.0 to 7.0 (slightly acidic to neutral)

💧 Water:

Moderate; requires regular watering especially in summer during fruit development; avoid standing water

🌡️ Temperature:

Not ideal for Lahore’s climate—requires winter chill (below 7°C for 700+ hours) for proper dormancy and fruiting

✅ Best grown in northern hill regions like Murree, Swat, Abbottabad, and Kashmir

🚫 In Lahore, flowering may occur, but fruiting is unreliable due to lack of chilling hours

Photos of Fruit - Chitral- May 2025

☀️ Location Preference (sun or shade): Full sun required for good flowering and fruiting

🌾 Propagation: Usually grafted onto compatible rootstocks for orchard planting. Can also be grown from seed, but seedlings are slow, unpredictable, and not true to type. Cold stratification (chilling) required for seed germination over 2–3 months

🐛 Pesticides:

Susceptible to aphids, leaf spot, cherry fruit flies, and bacterial canker; spray neem oil, copper fungicide, or insecticidal soap as needed

🌻 Fertilizers: Apply a balanced fertilizer in early spring; avoid high nitrogen after flowering to reduce excessive leafy growth

🦋 Attractiveness to Wildlife:

Flowers attract bees and early pollinators; fruits loved by birds

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💡 Tip:

Cherry blossoms are a springtime dream—but in Lahore, they're better appreciated in cool pots for ornamental use or planted in containers that can be shifted during winter. For fruiting success, stick to northern hills.

🌼 May you enjoy seeing, planting, or dreaming of this Sweet Cherry Tree (میٹھا چیری درخت) as it showers blossoms or bears fruit in your garden or your travels.