Hardy deciduous tree grown for its striking, glossy, mahogany-coloured bark. A beautiful, almost compulsory, element in a winter garden but a little anonymous at other times of year although its yellow autumn foliage isn’t unpleasant. Very successfully arranged in curved avenues in Wisley and Anglesey Abbey.

H x S: 7m x 4m

Aspect and soil: best in sun but copes with part shade, in any moist but well-drained, moderately fertile soil.

Use: as a single specimen but best in small groves underplanted with shrubs with colourful stems and evergreens such as Helleborus argutifolius, evergreen grasses and winter-flowering bulbs.

Cultivation: no specific ongoing care other than pruning dead, diseased or damaged branches when the tree is dormant.

Wildlife: —

Hazard: —

Hardiness: H6

Prunus serrula bark, Anglesey Abbey, 8 February 2019

Prunus serrula avenue at Anglesey Abbey, with Cornus and Galanthus

Prunus serrula and cornus

Prunus serrula underplanted with Hamemelis Pallida, Wisley, 9 January 2020