When my dear wife Karen and I were shopping for the cherry tree to plant in front of our cherished Little Bitty in the Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood, we spied our share of pink blossoms and white blossoms.
And we debated the merits of each.
Having visited Washington, D.C., for our first Cherry Blossom Festival just a month or so before that trip through nursery aisles, we were fresh from the beauty of both.
A walk this week with Ellie B aka Dogamous Pyle brought me past a neighbor who has appeared to come up with a unique solution.
Hover over a gallery photo for a description. Click on a photo for an enlarged slide show.
In two spots at this house — which may be in Eastwood or may be in Lyncourt — there are trees that appear to be red at one half and white at the other.
I looked closely at the bottom of both, and they appear to have morphed into one root system.
Nice flora if you can work out the fauna.
Do you prefer the red/pink or the white blossoms, and why? Do you think this was planned, or is a happy accident? Do you like the hybrid look or not, and why?>/em>
Mark Bialczak 
I don’t know about grafting — sticking a plant in the soil and remembering to water it is about my gardening speed:-) — but I like the two colors. Here in Lexington people often plant a white dogwood and a pink or rose dogwood together (or perhaps they’re grafting???) and I love the look.
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No matter the practice, the look is pretty fine, Leigh. I agree.
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I’m not sure I like the graft either — and I prefer color in my flowers — we bought our current house just before spring. It had been professionally landscaped, and we couldn’t wait. Everything is white. Every single flower. BORING! So we’ve spent 14 years adding color.
For cherry trees, I like what I call the snowball variety. Sometimes, sigh, they’re white, but usually they are pink. And weeping cherry trees are wonderful too. OK. I like them all. Shut up, Elyse.
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Your opinion is always colorful, Elyse. Never stop yapping here, please and thank you. 🙂
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Oh, don’t ask me to choose! We had cherry trees behind my house as I grew up. Some of my fondest memories are up in the branches of those large trees, spoiling my dinner by stuffing myself with cherries:). Red or white, they’re still beautiful!
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That’s a great memory, Kay. Really fresh cherries, with a tinge of forbidden fruit. 😉
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Twins tired of dressing alike?
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Good one, Mouse! 🙂
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Very cool Mark! Have you ever seen fruit trees grafted with branches of other fruit trees? I have heard of them, but have never actually seen one. ❤
Here's something I found online https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=multi+grafted+fruit+trees+with+saturn+peaches&FORM=HDRSC2
Diana xo
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Frankenfruit trees, Diana. 😉
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Next to the green grass and green house, it all looks like Christmas colors to me!
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Ho Ho Ho ha! A little Santa and Paul mixed in, Kerbey. Christmas in May, I love it. 🙂
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I’m not sure I like that graft – maybe if they could find a blue one to add to the other side, it would balance things a bit. 🙂
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Yes, the flag effect. Betsy Ross-style. You betcha, CM.
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I agree – must be a grafted tree, but either way, it sure is pretty. I like both colored blossoms. And when they blow off in the breeze, it will be a shower of pink and white blossoms. How nice!!!
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The wind will bring a beautiful blitz, you are so right, SD. ❤
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Beautiful. I suspect they grafted another cultivar. I prefer the white. 🙂
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The white is pretty darn elegant, Joey. Agreed.
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Why do “or” when you can do “and”? Thanks for the great post, Mark, and have a wonderful Friday.
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Yes, the “both” is pretty special, my special friend Ann. Enjoy!
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so cool, i’m just going to go with the ‘it’s magic’ theory.
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Abracadabra works, sure, Beth!
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Mark, it’s a lovely little tree! Is Itty Bitty a “Tiny House”?
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The Little Bitty is just a normal small house, Lorraine, built way before the “Tiny House’ craze. 🙂
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How many square feet? I live in about a 900 Square foot house.
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You beat us by 100 square feet, Lorraine. Ours is 800, but we have a big screened-in porch for three seasons. 🙂
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Yes, I agree with Paul, it looks like a graft. I wonder how that fairs, ultimately since most grafts are a bit weakening. But that red flower is vivid and beautiful. Wow!
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Only in Central New York, Beth. Have a great weekend in sunny California, my friend.
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A little peculiar looking? Your guess is as good as mine Terp! Have a great weekend. Gatorette.
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Have a great weekend, Gatorette. No telling what we’ll see. 🙂
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Probably a graft of white onto red or vice versa when the plants were young Mark. I like Saki – whatever color she produces. 🙂
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Tricky nursery management, Paul. Above my pay grade. 🙂 Saki thanks you.
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