Ideal for small gardens, award-winning Prunus 'Amanogawa' is a small, narrowly columnar deciduous tree boasting profuse, semi-double pale pink flowers hugging closely the erect branches in mid to late spring. Sweetly fragrant, the cherry blossoms stand upright at the side of the branches. Opening from pink buds, the large saucer-shaped blooms, almost 2 in. across (4.5 cm), count up to 6-15 petals. They fade to almost white as they mature and display a purplish pink heart just before shedding. Emerging bronze-green, the leaves turn to mid-green before turning red and orange in fall. Healthy, hardy, and easily propagated, it is a popular tree for very small gardens.

A flowering cherry of great beauty, award-winning Prunus 'Shirofugen' is a small deciduous tree of vase-shaped habit with a flattened crown and gorgeous blossoms. Pink in buds, large fragrant double flowers, 2 in. across (5 cm), counting up to 25-30 petals, open white with a tinge of pink on the reverse of the outer petals and then change again to deep pink before the shedding of the petals. Blooming in late spring, the blossoms are held gracefully in pendulous long-stalked clusters of 3-7 flowers, closely packed along the branches. Emerging coppery-red, the leaves turn bronze green and turn orange in fall. A healthy, vigorous ornamental cherry that has been prized by Western gardeners for over a century and 5 times that in Japan.

Ideal for small gardens, award-winning Prunus 'Shirotae' is a small deciduous tree with a remarkable spreading flat crown and slightly arching branches. In mid to late spring, it gets covered with abundant and beautiful, pure white, semi-double flowers, which are among the largest of the flowering cherries. Resembling rambling roses, the cup-shaped blossoms, 2 in. across (5 cm), count up to 5-11 petals, some with a faint pink tinge which fades to pure white as the blooms open. They exude a pleasant almond fragrance and contrast nicely with the foliage of pale green young leaves. As the season progresses, the ovate leaves turn dark green by summer before turning red and orange shades in the fall. Healthy, vigorous, and remarkably shaped with its branches gracefully dipping close to the ground, 'Shirotae' is one of the most gorgeous white-flowering cherries.

A popular American flowering cherry, Prunus x yedoensis 'Akebono' (Yoshino Cherry) is a small deciduous tree boasting masses of large, soft pink, semi-double flowers along its bare branches in mid-spring. The slightly fragrant flowers gradually fade to white as they open fully, adding beauty to the incredibly showy canopy of blooms. The spring and summer foliage of glossy, dark green leaves turns golden yellow with orange highlights in the fall, before shedding to the ground. As the leaves fall, they reveal the beautiful bark marked with prominent lenticels. 'Akebono' features an upright habit when young, but becomes more spreading with age, making it ideal for planting along walks and over patios.

One of the most popular flowering cherry trees grown in Japan, Prunus x yedoensis 'Somei Yoshino' (Yoshino Cherry) is a small deciduous tree of great beauty. Blooming in early or mid-spring for 2 to 3 weeks, its bare branches are smothered with generous clusters of slightly almond-scented, single, pale pink flowers which fade to white as they age. They give way to small, shiny, black fruits which are quickly devoured by birds. As the flowers wane, the ovate, and dark green leaves emerge and create a fresh summer canopy. Easy to grow and dramatic looking with all the flowers coming out at once and falling at once. 'Somei Yoshino' has been widely exported from Japan and planted extensively in places like Washington, D.C.’s Tidal Basin (Potomac Park).