Why This Doesn't Work: Ornamental Fruit Trees

Ornamental Cherries:lovely but not worth it.

One of the most beautiful sights of spring is when the cherry trees bloom.  And when the sun comes out and illuminates those intoxicating pinks and whites, it's impossible to not be captivated.  My daughter asked, "Mom, why don't you spotlight the cherries on your blog?"  And while I agree that these trees have lovely blooms, I believe they should not be welcome additions to your landscape and therefore, not worthy of "What's Hot Now."

Here's why:

Short-lived.  When you plant a tree, you are investing in the future.  Trees take a long time to reach maturity and are valued because of the time and effort that goes into its health and beauty.  And while ornamental fruit trees are beautiful, they generally only live 15-25 years.

Suckers and Water Shoots.  These trees require annual pruning, immediately after their bloom time is over.  (If it is pruned in the summer, next year's blooms will be lost in the pruning process.)  Suckers, which come from the root zone, and water shoots, which grow on branches, are opportunistic growth.  Often with water shoots, which are vertically held on horizontal branches, they are not well attached to the branches and if left to grow, it will increase the likelihood of untimely breaks within your tree, compromising the aesthetics and creating an unsafe environment. So unless you have an arborist on staff, you'll need to hire someone or get on a ladder to clean it up yourself.  (I don't recommend the latter.  Be safe, everyone.)

Brittle Wood.  A couple of years ago, we had a late season snow in the PNW.  Really, it was just a dusting, but the added weight to the ornamental fruit trees, which were in bloom, was far too much for them to take.  Some of the largest branches of these trees broke off.  Those that survived had massive chunks that had to be pruned off, leaving many trees deformed.  And more than a few trees had to be felled because of extreme damage.  Not so surprisingly, many of the other trees survived the snow without incident.

Insects and Disease: Oh, let me count the ways.  Aphids, borers, scale, mites, leaf spot, cankers, and the PNW regular, powdery mildew.  Enough said.

Is it worth it?  If given the option, would you plant that ornamental cherry or would you plant a saucer magnolia?  Or if you want something smaller, how about a forsythia or even a dogwood?

I'm all for lovely blooms on trees.  But spring is short and life is long.  Plant trees that will outlive you as well as give you joy.

Why This Does Not Work: Unsafe Berberis

One of the most important principles in landscape design is right plant, right place.  This means that the designer (or whoever is selecting plants) chooses a plant that fits the light, soil, and size of the place it is intended.  But here is another consideration.  Don't put a plant with razor sharp thorns along a public stair railing.

This is one of my favorite plants: Berberis or commonly called barberry.  It's a great shrub, sometimes deciduous, sometimes evergreen.  I suspect this is Berberis darwinii, the evergreen cultivar.  It has tiny flowers that pop against the foliage in the spring and tiny red berries in the fall that persist into the winter.  Berberis has some of sharpest thorns in the plant world and at 1 1/2-2" long, could easily impale a person or animal.  This is a great shrub for a hedgerow, since the thorns enable it to function like a fence, but it creates a great refuge for birds to safely nest.

However, it isn't a good idea along a high school stairway, growing through the railing and trailing over the handrail.  Sometimes, things just scream out, "What were they thinking?"  Most likely, they weren't.