Snow Fountains Weeping Cherry

The Snow Fountains Weeping Cherry is a small-statured, weeping deciduous cherry coveted for their beautiful blooms. Prunus x ‘Snofozam’ features cascading branches that will eventually droop to the ground, giving it the appearance of a fountain of snow when covered with pure white flowers in early spring. The foliage is lush dark green throughout the growing season but will display shades of yellow, orange, and red in fall.

Snow Fountains Weeping Cherry is a hybrid cherry. Its proper nomenclature is Prunus x subhirtella, the Higan Cherry, a cross between Prunus itosakura and Prunus incisa, two of Japan’s native cherry trees. Prunus incisa is known as the Fuji Cherry because it’s abundant around Mount Fuji. Prunus itosakura, also known as the thread cherry, has appeared in historical documents dating back to Japan’s Heian period (795-1185). Prunus itosakura has the longest life among cherry trees thanks to its firm trunk, resistance to snow and wind damage, and it does not rot easily. This species has many large and long-lived trees in Japan for these reasons. For example, Jindai-zakura is estimated to be 2000 years old. It still stands today at the Jissoji Temple, a Nichiren Buddhist temple located in Hokuto City, in the Yamanashi Prefecture of Japan. Cherry trees are often considered sacred and have become a landmark symbolizing Shinto Shrines.

Snow Fountains is a cultivar with a basal graft, meaning it is top-grafted. This means its height is determined by the graft height, which is typically 6′, although it can be shorter or taller. Grafting is the method by which tissue from one plant is inserted into another plant so that vascular cambium is lined up and the plants can grow back together. Two plants are chosen, one for its roots and one for its shoots. Grafting is done for many reasons, such as to produce desirable traits in plants, to produce hybrids, to dwarf plants, to repair plants, and to produce hardy/sturdy plants.