This month, we’ve chosen one of the most conspicuous and widely planted cherry varieties: ‘Kanzan’, a cultivar originating from Japan, but named after a Chinese mountain.

Usually just known as ‘Kanzan’, this is one of the later flowering cherries, often not coming into full flower until mid April. But when it does, you’re sure to notice them planted in streets, parks, estates and gardens all over London.

‘Kanzan’ has some of the most abundant blossom of any tree which appears in great clouds of bubblegum pink just as the leaves start to open too. Those leaves are an attractive bronze colour which just adds to the spectacle.

‘Kanzan’ is an old favourite, and most trees tend to be older. It has fallen out of favour in recent years, perhaps because other cherry varieties are considered more elegant, and the almost shocking pink of ‘Kanzan’s blossom seems over the top to some.

But ask people which is their favourite flowering cherry, and ‘Kanzan’ is the one that brightens up the spring for many.