The Kwanzan Flowering Cherry, otherwise known as the Prunus Serrulata ‘Kwanzan’ or Pomegranate, Carthaginian Apple, Granada, is a rather well known shrub plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its average maintenance and moderate growth, this shrub will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its green colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
This is why all the topics you need to know in order to achieve this will be covered in this Kwanzan Flowering Cherry Care Guide. Ready? Let’s go!
The fundamental caring guidelines for every Kwanzan Flowering Cherry can be summed up into the following:
- Water: The Kwanzan Flowering Cherry wants regular watering to enhance fruit production but as a landscape plant, too much water will be a problem.
- Light: Keep your Prunus Serrulata ‘Kwanzan’ in an environment where it can receive full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Kwanzan Flowering Cherry in soil with well-draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of sand, chalk, and loam.
And that’s practically it! If you keep these three factors in check, your Kwanzan Flowering Cherry will likely have all it needs for it to survive and even thrive.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Kwanzan Flowering Cherry belongs to the Rosaceae family, to the genus Punica and the species Granatum, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Prunus Serrulata ‘Kwanzan’ (PROO-nus ser-YOO-lay-tuh).
Some of the more popular Rosaceae plants are Red Delicious Apple, Snow Fountains® Weeping Cherry, Yellow Banksian Rose, Crown of Rays Goldenrod, Bradford Callery Pear, Potentilla Fruticosa ‘Hachapp’, Malus ‘Golden Delicious’, Wall Cotoneaster, Malus ‘Braeburn’, Malus Domestica, Flowering Quince, Ninebark ‘Diablo’, Potentilla Fruticosa ‘Gold Star’, Prunus Cerasifera ‘Krauter Vesuvius’, Thundercloud Myrobalan plum, Prunus Persica Var. Nucipersica ‘Snow Queen’, Rosa ‘Korberbeni’, Rosa ‘Golden Showers’, Rosa X ‘Joseph’S Coat’, Rosa X ‘New Dawn’, Spiraea Japonica ‘Conspiyet’, Alchemilla Mollis ‘Thriller’, Fire Bush ‘Kasan’, Spiraea × arguta ‘Grefsheim’, Fuji Apple, Wild Roses, Laurel Cherry, Prunus Salicina ‘Ozark Premier’, Alyssum Serpyllifolium, Armeria Pseudarmeria ‘Dreamland’ Plant Patent #30,601, Prostanthera Cuneata ‘Badja Peak’, Chocolate Cosmos, Skimmia Japonica, Rosa X ‘Radyod’ Plant Patent #14700, Photinia melanocarpa, Cecile Brunner Climbing Rose, Bing Sweet Cherry and Forsythia X ‘Courtasol’.
As with other Punica’s, the Kwanzan Flowering Cherry is a deciduous plant, which means it will shed its leaves annually once autumn comes.
Growing Region
The Kwanzan Flowering Cherry is a plant native to Turkey to Afghanistan.
You might be wondering why your Kwanzan Flowering Cherry’s native region is important. Well, if you know where your plant originally came from, you’ll know which environment conditions it prefers, and with it, knowledge on how to replicate it at home.
With this in mind, the Prunus Serrulata ‘Kwanzan’ will be most used to the heat zones in the 1 – 12 region, as the plant hardiness level falls between 8b, 8a, 9b, 9a, 10b, 10a and the ideal climate zone is between 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, H1, H2.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Kwanzan Flowering Cherry is a relatively moderate grower, which makes things somewhat easy for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But what exactly does this mean for your Kwanzan Flowering Cherry? How large a pot should you consider, how tall, how wide can it get? Let’s jump in…
The Prunus Serrulata ‘Kwanzan’ can grow up to 6′ – 20′ (180cm – 6m) in 6′ – 20′ (180cm – 6m) and 4′ – 15′ (120cm – 4.5m) in 4′ – 15′ (120cm – 4.5m).
Also, expect it to grow in a wonderful spreading shape, which is something worthwhile to remember when making your garden landscape plans.
Water
In terms of watering, the Kwanzan Flowering Cherry is a fairly complicated plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a not so straightforward watering schedule and somewhat regular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Prunus Serrulata ‘Kwanzan’ wants regular watering to enhance fruit production but as a landscape plant, too much water will be a problem.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively low to average needs in terms of water.
Watering
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Kwanzan Flowering Cherry in soil with well-draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has good drainage, and moist properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
In our experience, the famous ‘thumb’ or ‘finger’ test is what works best for the Kwanzan Flowering Cherry since with it, you will be able to give it the right amount of water, every time – regardless of the environment or placement where you do decide to keep it.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Kwanzan Flowering Cherry prefers to have soil with good drainage, and moist properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of sand, chalk, and loam.
This is why most experts agree that the Kwanzan Flowering Cherry requires soil with clay, loam (silt), and sand, which will give you the right conditions it needs.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably alkaline, acid or neutral soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the Kwanzan Flowering Cherry requires full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this shrub will do well as long as you keep it in full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Prunus Serrulata ‘Kwanzan’ in little to partial shade (only 2-6 hours of direct sunlight a day), to full and direct sun (more 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).
Season
Being a deciduous plant, the Kwanzan Flowering Cherry will shed its leaves annually once autumn comes.
But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the summer (early, mid, late), and during the fall.
Flowers
You can expect your Kwanzan Flowering Cherry to flower around the spring, summer and the fall months from April to June (spring), from July to September (summer), and from October to December (fall).
In particular, this shrub is well known for its showy flowers around the plant enthusiast community.
The Kwanzan Flowering Cherry produces some beautiful pink, or orange,red/burgundy, gold/yellowpink, and white flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Kwanzan Flowering Cherry have a beautiful green color during most of the year.
In particular, they have a opposite, alternatewhorled, organization in its leaves.
You can expect the leaves from your Prunus Serrulata ‘Kwanzan’ to be around (3-6 inches) in size.
Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance
The Kwanzan Flowering Cherry is well known for being able to attract birds, so keep that in mind when choosing your plant, as you’ll likely end up finding one or another in your garden.
Additionally, it has a special tolerance for drought conditions, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Prunus Serrulata ‘Kwanzan’ will be fine.
Garden
Does your Kwanzan Flowering Cherry have any garden recommendations? Does it serve any gardening purposes? Here’s how you can get the most out of your new plant.
Most Prunus Serrulata ‘Kwanzan’ owners agree that this shrub will look great in most asian/zen and cottage gardens of all types.
Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of city and courtyard, and in mediterranean garden styles.
In particular, the Kwanzan Flowering Cherry’s best location within your garden is in patio and containers, beds and borders, hedges and screens, and in wall-side borders, others use it for landscaping in a windbreak, wildlife garden, mass planting, coastal exposure, specimen, urban garden, or a woodland garden.
Companion Plants
Kwanzan Flowering Cherry’s do well with some other plants beside it. One good companion plant is the Buxus, which will pair up nicely with your leafy friend.
Others consider that a nice Syringa will work well too, so choose whichever you find works best for you!
Conclusion
So that’s it! These are the main plant care requirements that you need to keep in mind in order to have a healthy Kwanzan Flowering Cherry in your garden or home.
