Street cherries

One thinks of Japanese cherries as delicate beings whose ethereal beauty is to be contemplated in the setting of a quiet garden. But at least one species of Japanese cherry can be used on the streets. Prunus serrulata, most commonly known in its variety 'Kwanzan', has a vase-like shape that permits it to fit nicely between street and sidewalk. A group of Kwanzan cherries was planted just last week on West Third Street at Muhlenberg Place as part of Plainfield's Arbor Day observance.(1) Kwanzan cherries also line both sides of Randolph Road near Muhlenberg Hospital. A young Kwanzan cherry in front of the early 18th Century FitzRandolph farmhouse at 1366 Randolph Road is pictured below.

Neither the longest-lived nor the most trouble-free of street trees, Kwanzan cherries are nonetheless outstandingly beautiful in flower. The tree pictured below is at 1115 Prospect Avenue.

Plainfield residents look forward to the annual display of Kwanzan cherry blossoms at the public library, one of the glories of spring in central New Jersey.

Another small tree with showy flowers that has recently been used as a street tree in Plainfield is the eastern redbud, Cercis canadensis. Several were planted on East Ninth Street two years ago. The tree pictured below is at 127 East Ninth Street.

A redbud at 1441 Evergreen Avenue shows how magnificent these trees can be at maturity.

Redbud varieties are available in various shades of pink and magenta. There are even white redbuds for seekers after novelty. The most unusual redbuds I have seen are on Grove Avenue in Edison at the corner of Adams Street. The residents there are apparently redbud fanatics; they have 8 redbuds on their small suburban lot. Two of the 8 are weeping redbuds, pictured below. I have read about weeping redbuds, but those two in Edison are the only weeping redbuds I have ever seen in the flesh.

(1) Planting design by April Stefel, CLA. Quite handsome and worth a visit.

Copyright Gregory Palermo