Accolade Cherry Trees

• Variety: Accolade, an early pink Flowering Cherry
• Latin name: Prunus 'Accolade'
• Sold as: Bareroot half-standard and standards of 6/8cm and 8/10cm girth. Pot-grown at 150/175cm in a 10 litre pot, and in a 12 litre pot
• Mature size: 5 to 8m tall
• Flowers: Semi-double, to 4cm across, light pink from deeper pink buds, in early April
• Leaves: Turning orange and red in autumn
• Shape: Small and spreading
• Best soil and site: Moderately fertile soil, chalk included. Full sun
• Hardiness: H6, hardy through the British winter
• RHS Award of Garden Merit: Yes (1993)
• Delivered: Bareroot, November to April. Pot-grown, all year when in stock. Collection from Castle Cary also available

Accolade is a small, spreading Flowering Cherry that opens semi-double, light pink flowers from deeper pink buds in early April, and turns orange and red in autumn. It grows 5 to 8 metres tall in moderately fertile soil in full sun, and holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit.

Accolade Cherry Trees

Prunus Accolade, is a petite, pink flowering cherry tree, well suited to a small garden. It blooms heavily in early spring, with rich pink buds opening into variably pink-white, fragrant, semi-double flowers. In a mild year, you can see a few flowers appearing in Autumn and Winter before the full show in Spring. Like most cherry trees, the autumn colour is rich and vivid, with plenty of red and orange on display.
A slender tree, with a fairly sparse canopy that doesn't cast much shade, it can reach a height of about 5-8 metres.

Browse our cherry blossom trees or our range of ornamental trees.

Delivery season: Cherry blossom trees are delivered bareroot from late autumn to early spring, November to April.
Choosing a size: Small trees are cheaper, easier to handle and more forgiving of less than ideal aftercare, so they're best for a big planting project. If instant impact is your priority, or if you are only buying a few plants for use in a place where it's convenient to water them well in their first year, then you may as well use bigger ones. Our standard trees are measured by the girth of the trunk in centimetres, one metre above the ground, not by their height.

Growing Accolade Cherries

It'll grow on most well drained soils, preferably rich ones, and although it's a hardy tree, we recommend planting it in sheltered, sunny places, where it'll flower best.

History & Trivia

It was bred from Prunus sargentii and Prunus x subhirtella around 1950 by Knap Hill Nurseries in Woking.
It has won several awards, including an Award of Garden Merit for being attractive & easy to grow.

Standard trees are measured by their girth in centimetres 1 metre above ground level: their trunk's waist measurement. Unlike sapling trees and hedge plants, standards aren't measured by their height, which will vary quite a bit both between and within species.
So, a 6/8cm standard tree has a trunk with a circumference of 6-8cm and an 8/10 standard has a trunk 8-10cm around. This measurement makes no difference to the tree's final height.
On average, standard trees are 2-3.5 metres tall when they arrive, but we cannot tell you precisely how tall your trees will be before we deliver them.

Planting Companions

The weeping Kiku-shidare-zakura flowers early too, and its hanging branches set off Accolade's spreading crown. For more trees on this scale, browse our small garden trees and our trees for ornamental interest. Dust bareroot roots with Rootgrow as you plant.

Why Ashridge?

Ashridge has sold trees since 1949 and is a Which? Best Plant Supplier 2025. Your Accolade Cherry comes bareroot, lifted while dormant, or pot-grown for planting in any month. Bareroot trees are guaranteed for 12 months, and so is a potted tree delivered leafless between November and March.

Frequently Asked Questions

How big does an Accolade Cherry grow?

5 to 8 metres tall.

When does Accolade flower?

In early April, which makes it one of the earlier Cherries. In a mild year you may also see a few flowers in autumn and winter before the main show.

Are the flowers single or double?

Semi-double. The flowers are up to 4cm across, opening light pink from deeper pink buds.

Does it colour in autumn?

Yes. The leaves turn orange and red before they fall, so you get a second season from the tree.

Where should you plant it?

In full sun, in moderately fertile soil. It grows in chalk, clay, loam and sand, and we recommend a sheltered place, where it flowers best.

When should you prune it?

In mid-summer, if at all. It is in pruning group 1, which needs little pruning; cut in mid-summer where silver leaf is a problem.

When are the trees delivered?

Bareroot trees are delivered from November to April, while they are dormant. Pot-grown trees can be delivered and planted in any month when you find them in stock.