Kiku Shidare Weeping Japanese Cherry Trees

• Variety: Kiku Shidare, the weeping Japanese Cherry with chrysanthemum flowers
• Latin name: Prunus 'Kiku-shidare-zakura'
• Also sold as: Cheal's Weeping Cherry
• Sold as: Bareroot standards, 6/8 and 8/10cm girth, and half-standards. Pot-grown half-standard, 10 litre
• Flowers: Fully double, rich pink, up to 3.5cm across, in late spring
• Leaves: Bronze when young, then glossy green
• Habit: Weeping: the branches arch out from the trunk
• Mature size: The RHS gives 2.5 to 4m tall and wide
• Time to full size: 20 to 50 years
• Position: Full sun. Exposed or sheltered
• Soil: Any moderately fertile, well-drained soil, chalk and clay included
• Hardiness: H6, hardy through the British winter
• Delivered: Bareroot, November to April. Pot-grown, all year when in stock. Collection from Castle Cary also available

Kiku Shidare is a small weeping Japanese Cherry whose branches arch from the trunk to the ground, hung in late spring with fully double, rich pink flowers like small chrysanthemums. At 2.5 to 4 metres it is one of the smallest flowering Cherries, and you can buy it bareroot or pot-grown.

Kiku Shidare Weeping Japanese Cherry Trees

Kiku shidare is a Japanese cherry blossom tree (Zakura) with an exceptionally compact and weeping habit that makes it one of the smallest ornamental cherry trees, suitable for almost any garden. The soft pink, extremely double blossoms, with rows of slightly pointed petals, are likened to chrysanthemums. They come out in force in April and May, while the young leaves are still small and richly coloured, so that all you can see from a distance is a low dome of flowers that trail down to the ground. In autumn, the leaves turn into a warm muddle of purple-red and orange.

It's ideal for the centre-piece of a lawn and looks superb near a pond: the best example that we have seen was planted directly above the pond's artificial waterfall, so that the stream of water emerged from the hanging branches. Children love playing under the canopy when it's in flower, and we suggest that you treat yourself on a bright spring day by taking a blanket outside, spreading it underneath your tree, lying down and gazing up at the sky through a dome of cherry blossom.
It'll reach a height of about 4 metres.

Browse our variety of flowering cherry trees or our full range of garden trees.

Delivery season: Kiku-shidare cherry trees are delivered bareroot from late autumn to early spring, November to April, and pot-grown in any month when in stock.
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 Kiku-shidare Cherry Trees

Suitable for any fertile, well drained soil, we recommend planting in full sun. The pot-grown half-standard will live for a few years in a large container designed for trees, and then wants the ground.

Only prune dead, diseased or damaged wood.

History & Trivia

Most trees sold as Cheal's Weeping Cherry in the UK are in fact Kiku Shidare, but the two trees are so similar that they almost can't be told apart.
The only real difference is how the branches emerge from the trunk: Kiku Shidare is a few degrees perkier than Cheal's Weeping, which makes for a very slightly nicer shaped canopy.
The Japanese name means Chrysanthemum (kiku) Weeping (shidare) Cherry (zakura); Chrysanthemum refers to the exceptionally large number of petals.

Old sources may list it as Prunus serrulata Rosea.

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

A weeping tree shows best beside a spreading one, and the pairing our reference gives for Kiku Shidare is Accolade, which opens its pale pink flowers earlier. Both are among our trees for small gardens, and there are more shapes and seasons in our trees for ornamental interest. Dust bareroot roots with Rootgrow as you plant.

Why Ashridge for Flowering Cherries?

Ashridge has sold trees since 1949 and is a Which? Best Plant Supplier 2025. Your Kiku Shidare 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 Kiku Shidare grow?

The RHS gives it 2.5 to 4 metres tall and wide, reached in 20 to 50 years, which is the smallest size of any Japanese Cherry we grow.

Is Kiku Shidare the same as Cheal's Weeping Cherry?

In practice, yes. The trade has sold this tree for decades as Cheal's Weeping Cherry, and the name means chrysanthemum weeping Cherry.

When does it flower?

In late spring. The flowers are fully double, rich pink and up to 3.5cm across, along the whole length of the hanging branches.

Can it grow in a pot?

The pot-grown half-standard will live for a few years in a large container. After that it wants the ground, where it makes a tree up to 4 metres.

When should you prune a weeping Cherry?

It needs little pruning. If you must cut, the RHS advises midsummer, which lowers the risk of silver leaf disease.

What soil does it need?

Any moderately fertile soil with decent drainage, in full sun. The RHS lists chalk, clay, sand and loam.

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.