Weeping cherries have become iconic. The sprays of blossoms that look like a fountain are unique.
They seem like something straight out of our favorite fairytales and it’s little wonder they often feature in them.
I guess it shouldn’t come as a surprise, given their otherworldly beauty, that they don’t actually occur in nature.
That’s right – weeping cherries don’t naturally grow that way. They’re produced using grafting and judicious pruning. Then, they’re shipped off to the consumer to plant and enjoy.
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Some of those weeping beauties want to stand up.
You’ve probably seen them. The ones that have a few errant stems poking out the top that just don’t seem to fit in with the rest of the tree.
We’re going to go over why that happens and what you can do to fix it. Coming up, here’s what we’ll discuss:
Don’t worry, your beloved tree will be back to weeping in no time. To start with, let’s go into a bit more detail about how these trees are made.
If you want to refresh your memory on Check out our guide on how to grow weeping cherries..
What Causes Cherry Trees to Weep?
Understanding what makes ornamental cherries weep will help us to figure out the best way to deal with the situation.
We need to talk about apical dominant.
The tip of the tallest, main shoot is the one that controls dormancy. It also controls the growth of lower stem buds. The hormone auxin is used to achieve this.
Some species show strong apical dominate, meaning that they consist primarily of a stem without much or any branching. Other plants display partial or even weak dominant. Sunflowers A strong apical dominate. Fuchsia Has weak apical dominant.
Prunus Ornamental cherries, for example, are on the partial to dominant end of the spectrum. This means that if you prune the main stem, growth hormone will be sent to lower branches.
The growers use this technique to force the tree to weep harder than it normally would. They cut off the main stem to encourage auxins in the lower branches.
There is also grafting.
Except for some hybrids, all modern weeping cherry cultivars except those that are grafted. There just isn’t a cherry tree in nature that naturally has the familiar weeping form.
The grower will do a horizontal graft on the stem of the rootstock to get that waterfall-like form that we all love. The rootstock tree would grow upright if allowed to naturally grow, rather than having another type of plant grafted on top.
Some grafted plants are not as successful. You can find out more about it here. The species will revert. This means that the rootstock sends growth outwards which overtake the scion.
Let’s talk about this phenomenon next, because it’s the most common reason for a weeping cherry to form upright growth.
Reversion
We have already mentioned that unless you grow certain cultivars, the plant you are currently growing was propagated using a technique called grafting.
And if your tree is producing upright growth in the canopy, it’s usually a problem with reversion. A grafted branch is trying its best to go back to the roots.
The grafts on these plants are higher, and not just at the root crown. RosesThere are multiple places where reversion may occur.
The graft union can be anywhere from the top to the bottom.
In most cases, you can see the graft inside the main mass. This will look like an oversized, knobby, roundish growth. If you see straight, round stems anywhere below the knob, it is due to reversion.
Reversed stems can be easily identified because they will have different leaves, and the blossoms may also differ from the rest. They may even blossom at a time different from the rest. These are typically much stronger than the weeping sections.
You can simply cut the stems if you catch them in time. You should cut them as close as possible to the point of growth.
Then, you’re going to need to keep a sharp eye on your plant and prune it regularly, because those growths are going to keep happening. Once the rootstock gets a taste of freedom, it isn’t about to give it up.
You will lose shape if you fail to do your duty and you allow too many stems to grow in a reverted position. The tree will then become an upright cherry. You’ll have to buy a new weeper if you want to start over.
Perhaps these growths have a new form? We call it sucking when reversion occurs at the base. We’ll talk about that next.
Suckers
Suckers and grafting go together. These are reversions which come from the roots and not the branches.
Trees that are heavily sucking often have been severely damaged. Suckers are sent out by plants to replace the weaker main branch.
Suckers can form due to storm damage, overzealous trimming, pests or diseases, droughts, or other stresses.
That means even after you remove the suckers – which you should do – it will likely continue to form new ones.
If it’s constantly forming a lot of new suckers, you might consider giving up on the tree. I know it hurts, but at a certain point, you’re fighting a losing battle.
Water sprouts are the least common upright growth and also a form that is related to stress.
Water Sprouts
In the canopy, water sprouts appear. When a plant becomes stressed (by severe pruning or storm damage), these sprouts form in the buds.
Water sprouts can be difficult to distinguish from reversion, but they should be treated in the same way: with the ol’ chop.
Not always, but often water sprouts form above the graft. If it happens above the graft union, it’s definitely water sprouts and not reversion that you’re dealing with.
This is typically the problem if you’re growing a specimen that isn’t grafted.
Sometimes, all we want is to have a good cry
Normally, unless you’re watching the Hallmark Channel, I’d say habitual weeping is a bad thing. But in this case, it’s the best!
We don’t want our cherry trees to turn from a fountain full of flowers into a bundle of sticks.
What is the problem you are facing with your Cherry? Do you have one that’s trying to revert back to the rootstock? Maybe yours sends up stress suckers. Comment below and share your experiences.
If you’d like to Learn more about the upright cherry tree Next, you can find guides on both flowering and fruits.