Carnations do not grow on trees. Yet, each spring I enjoy seeing a tree at work blooming profuse clusters of light pink carnation-like blossoms. They are very noticeable and pretty. Once I picked a few to enjoy at home, and found that because the flower clusters grow upward on a downward sloping stem, they face downward when the stem is placed upward in a vase. Because other people had encountered this anomaly and commented about it on the internet, I finally was able to identify this tree as a Kanzan Japanese flowering cherry tree.
The Kanzan Japanese flowering cherry tree, Prunus serrulata, is the most popular flowering cherry cultivar. This tree’s “double pink” blossoms of 28 or more petals are about 2.5 inches in diameter, and they appear in profuse clusters of 3 to 5 flowers. Hybridization many hundreds of years ago produced two rows of petals in the flowers, and made them sterile so that they produce no fruit. The tree is propagated by softwood cuttings and grafting, and has no invasive nature. The tree blooms in April in the Atlanta, Georgia area, along with the dogwoods and redbuds. It is a great ornamental that can be planted by itself, in mass plantings, or in groups.
The Kanzan Japanese flowering cherry is native to Japan, Korea, and China. The name Kanzan is an old Japanese word conjuring an image of a “native land or village of one’s birth that lay in a valley “. One may see the word Kwanzan used instead of Kanzan to reference this tree, but this is an obsolete spelling which sounds more African than Japanese, and should not be used.
To the Japanese, cherry blossoms are richly symbolic. The beautiful and short life of the cherry blossom can be an allegory for the important and short life of a feudal samurai who could be expected at any time to sacrifice his life for his master. During World War II the Japanese government manipulated the symbol of the cherry blossom to inspire soldiers to give their lives as kamikaze pilots. Today, if you are lucky
enough to visit Japan during the cherry blossom’s short spring blooming period, you 
will see people flocking to areas of beauty to contemplate the ephemeral nature of life. Many of these people, viewing the flower in this context, prefer seeing 5 petal blossoms of delicate and simple form, and consider the Kanzan flowering cherry blossoms almost gaudy.
The city of Tokyo, Japan donated 2,000 cherry trees to Washington, D.C. in 1910 but when the trees arrived they were found to be infested with insects and nematodes and were burned. In 1912 Tokyo sent 3,020 more cherry trees of 12 cultivars. The first “Cherry Blossom Festival” was held in Washington in 1934. Days after the attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan, four of the trees were cut down. In an effort to save the trees, the Japanese flowering cherry trees were then referred to as “Oriental” flowering cherry trees. The Cherry Blossom Festival resumed after the war, in 1947. Of the initial 12 varieties planted, today 70% are Yoshino cherry and 13% are Kanzan cherry.
The Kanzan Japanese cherry tree is sterile but it belongs to the genus Prunus which includes fruiting peaches, nectarines, plums, apricots, and cherries. The tree has an upright growth habit and may grow to a height and spread of 30 to 40 feet, growing 13 to 24 inches per year. It prefers full sun, but should get at least 6 hours of sunlight each day. It grows in most types of soils and climates, but it prefers moist, well-drained soil on a gentle slope. Soil on hillsides would tend to wash away from the shallow roots. The bark is thin, smooth and chestnut-brown, and it has horizontal lenticels. Leaves emerge with a redish tint, are glossy dark green in summer, and turn orange or bronze in autumn. They are 4 or more inches long, alternate, have serrated margins, and are ovate to lanceolate in shape. The tree forms a dense canopy casting shade below. The tree has minimal value for fall color because leaves with color are held only briefly before dropping. Though Japanese, these trees do not fit with the concept of a traditional Japanese garden which showcases plants and trees with year- round seasonal interest. The flowering cherry is more ephemeral.
The Kanzan Japanese flowering cherry has a limited life span of 15 to 25 years, due to susceptibility to disease and pests. It is attacked by aphids, borers, scales, spider mites, tent caterpillars, bacterial canker, crown gall, black knot, and mildew. Despite the ephemeral nature of the Kanzan Japanese flowering cherry blossom and the tree itself, the tree has great interest and beauty, and is a great tree to have and enjoy.
