ASK DIARMUID

QMy blossom tree for the past two seasons has white flowers – but they used to be pink. Can you explain this and is there anything I need to do to get the colour back?

Patrick Butler

AThere’s

no obvious reason why the flowers have changed. Cherries are usually grafted on to a generic rootstock which has white flowers so sometimes suckers from this rootstock emerge and produce white ones. However, your tree looks young enough and there’s no evidence of suckers.

The most likely explanation is that the flowers have responded to some subtle environmental change, such as an increased or decreased temperature or varying light levels, or possibly some change in the soil chemistry.

This is only guesswork and sadly I know of no remedy other than learning to love your white cherry.