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Prunus subhirtella 'Autumnalis'



Archive entry 16.12.07 Archive entry 22.11.09 Archive entry 30.10.11 Archive entry 07.10.12 Archive entry 06.10.13



The Autumn Cherry is a delightful part of the winter scene. It flowers from autumn through to spring without a break. My trees are getting rather shaded now, but that gives me an excuse to plant some new ones.
The last of my original trees came crashing to the ground in 2018 and it is time to plant a new one in a sunny position where it can be astonishing.

Trees and Shrubs Online says of the species:

"Native of Japan; introduced to Kew in 1895, and since proved to be one of the most beautiful of the cherries. It flowers from the end of March until mid-April, before the leaves appear."

And of the cultivar 'Autumnalis':

"A small, spreading tree up to about 25 ft high and as much or more in width. Flowers semi-double, pink in the bud, opening almost white, about {3/4} in. wide, the stamens pinkish darkening to crimson as the flowers fade, giving a bicolour effect. They usually start to appear in November, and the main display is usually before the hard weather sets in, and sometimes again in the early spring.’Autumnalis’ was apparently first distributed commercially in this country by the Daisy Hill Nursery around 1910, but a tree imported direct from Japan was planted at Borde Hill in Sussex some ten years earlier and must have been the largest in the country until it was smashed by a falling tree in the early 1960s; in 1933 it was 25 ft high and 42 ft in spread. It was at first grown under the name P. miqueliana.’Autumnalis’ received an Award of Merit when shown from Borde Hill in 1912 as “P. miqueliana”, and an Award of Garden Merit in 1924."

Writing in the Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society in 1997, Keith Rushforth says:

" Prunus subhirtella 'Autumnalis' was introduced in 1901 by the nursery form of T.Smith of Newry, Northern Ireland, and also by Stephenson Clark at Borde Hill, W Sussex. Smith first put it into commerce in 1911. In 1912 it was exhibited and given an Award of Merit, receiving an early AGM in 1924."



4th December 2005



28th October 1981 22nd November 2008 20th November 2009
My previous garden.



7th December 2012 13th January 2014 2nd February 2014



References:

  • International Dendrology Society, Trees and Shrubs Online, https://www.treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/prunus/prunus-subhirtella/ (accessed 28.12.2023).
  • Rushforth, Keith - 'Prunus x subhirtellis 'Autumnalis' and 'Autumnalis Rosea', JRHS, vol.122, part.1 p.805 1997).