Question about flowering cherry trees

Elle Collins

I bought two flowering cherry trees last spring, a prunus royal burgundy and a prunus shogetsu. Down near the base of both there is a distinct kind of curve and a spot where you can see that something was cut from the tree at some point. Apparently this means they are grafted trees; trees which have been propagated by having been grown from another tree.

I’ve come across the opinion on the internet that this is an occasional practice in propagating flowering cherry trees, but that this is a fault in the tree and significantly reduces its lifespan (which is relatively short anyway with flowering cherries)

Can anyone confirm or deny this opinion please?

Sonnenblumen

Grafted trees are a very popular method of growing a wide range of trees and although vunerable during the early stages, ie grafted joint can be broken with strong winds etc, but as the tree develops this should not be a problem. Some trees are grafted near the head or just below crown which is a much more vunerable area.

Quite common with certain specimens from Europe and wheras base grafts are standard for dwarf growing apple trees etc.

The rounded bit can look a little conspicuous (always reminds me of old women bunions) at first but tend to be less so with growth.

Elle Collins

Thanks sonnenblumen. So presumably it's not a method that seriously shortens the life of a tree? I hope not because I've become very attached to my trees and would hate to have to replace them.