The brief period when Sakura, or cherry blossoms, burst into bloom is celebrated for its fleeting beauty. These ornamental members of the Prunus genus are cultivated specifically for their lavish spring flower display, which typically lasts about a week for an individual tree. The intense, short-lived nature of the bloom makes the spectacle compelling, but the tree’s appearance changes dramatically once the last petals fall. The beauty of the cherry tree does not vanish with the flowers; it transitions into different phases of its annual cycle.
The Visual Aftermath of Petal Drop
The immediate aftermath of peak bloom is a dramatic visual shift from a cloud of pink or white. As the petals detach, they create a phenomenon known as hana-fubuki, or “cherry blossom snow.” These delicate, five-petaled structures drift down, covering the ground and floating on water surfaces, creating a temporary, pastel-colored carpet.
This petal drop causes the tree’s canopy to appear sparser. Small remaining structures, which are the sepals and the base of the flower, sometimes give a faint reddish or pinkish tint to the otherwise bare-looking twigs. This stage marks the end of the flower-dominated aesthetic. The tree is now preparing to shift its energy from reproduction to growth before the summer months.
Transition to Green: The Emergence of Foliage
The transition to a leafy canopy begins almost immediately, sometimes overlapping with the final days of the petal drop. This stage is known in Japanese as hazakura, which translates to “leaf cherry.” The tree quickly replaces the visual softness of the flowers with the structure of new leaves.
In popular varieties, such as the Yoshino cherry (Prunus × yedoensis), the leaves emerge after the flowers have peaked, making the switch to green quite sudden. Other cultivated varieties present a more complex color palette early in the season. New foliage on cultivars like ‘Kanzan’ or ‘Ukon’ may appear in bronze, reddish-purple, or bronze-green hues before they mature.
These new leaves expand rapidly into the characteristic mature foliage, which is generally a deep, glossy green. The leaves are typically oval with serrated edges and a pointed tip. This dense canopy is the appearance the ornamental cherry tree will maintain throughout the summer, providing shade and performing the necessary photosynthesis.
Appearance of Fruit and Seeds
Following successful pollination, the tree’s reproductive cycle continues with the development of small, spherical fruits. These fruits are technically classified as drupes, which are fleshy stone fruits containing a single seed. The cherries produced by ornamental varieties are distinct from the large, sweet cherries grown for consumption.
They are much smaller, often no bigger than a pea or a small marble, and their color darkens to a deep red or black as they ripen in the summer. Ornamental cherries are selectively bred for their flowers, and their fruit is generally too bitter or tart for human palates. These tiny drupes provide a valuable food source for local birds and wildlife, which helps to disperse the seeds.