# Strawberries and Cream Tree
The Strawberries and Cream Tree is a graft-chimaera cherry tree in Backwell, North Somerset, England, formed of the wild cherry (*Prunus avium*) and the Japanese ornamental cherry cultivar *[Prunus serrulata](https://www.edgepedia.org/prunus-serrulata)* 'Kanzan', which flowers pink on one side of its crown and white on the other from a single trunk[1](https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/grafting) • [2](https://www.amusingplanet.com/2020/08/graft-chimera.html). It stands on a small traffic island on Rodney Road in Backwell, is thought to have been planted in the late 1950s, and is one of only two cherry-Kanzan graft hybrid trees known in England, the other standing in Portchester, Hampshire[2](https://www.amusingplanet.com/2020/08/graft-chimera.html).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Type | Graft-chimaera between wild cherry (*Prunus avium*) and *Prunus serrulata* 'Kanzan'[1](https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/grafting) |
| Location | Small traffic island, Rodney Road, Backwell, North Somerset; GPS 51.41453, -2.74506[2](https://www.amusingplanet.com/2020/08/graft-chimera.html) • [3](https://sv.aroundus.com/p/166214864-strawberries-and-cream-tree) |
| Age | Planted in the late 1950s; about 65 to 70 years old[4](https://ancienttrees.app/bristol/strawberries-and-cream-tree) |
| Blossom | Pink 'Kanzan' flowers on one side of the crown, white wild-cherry flowers on the other, opening at the same time[4](https://ancienttrees.app/bristol/strawberries-and-cream-tree) |
| Name origin | Given by local children, who saw the pink and white blossom as resembling the English strawberries-and-cream dessert[3](https://sv.aroundus.com/p/166214864-strawberries-and-cream-tree) |
## How a graft chimaera forms
Grafting joins a rootstock, the root system and lower stem of one plant, to a scion, the upper stem, leaves, flowers and fruit of another, by fusing their cambium layers so that xylem and phloem connect across the union[1](https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/grafting). In a normal graft the rootstock stays below and the scion grows the flowers and fruit. In rare cases the rootstock tissue continues to grow through the scion, producing a graft-chimaera: a single plant formed of two genetically distinct species, with no crossbreeding[1](https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/grafting).
In the Backwell tree, a 'Kanzan' flowering cherry was grafted onto wild cherry rootstock, and instead of one partner outgrowing the other, tissue from both grew on together as a single tree[4](https://ancienttrees.app/bristol/strawberries-and-cream-tree). The wild cherry tissue produces the white blossom and the 'Kanzan' tissue the pink blossom, both opening at the same time on the same trunk[2](https://www.amusingplanet.com/2020/08/graft-chimera.html) • [4](https://ancienttrees.app/bristol/strawberries-and-cream-tree). Grafted ornamental cherry trees are common across the UK, but the Backwell tree stands out for displaying both colors on one tree[1](https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/grafting).
## History and naming
Nobody knows who planted or grafted the tree. It went into council land on Rodney Road in the late 1950s as an ordinary-looking street tree, and the children of Backwell gave it the name that stuck, after noticing that its pink and white flowers resembled the two-toned look of the traditional English strawberries-and-cream dessert[4](https://ancienttrees.app/bristol/strawberries-and-cream-tree) • [3](https://sv.aroundus.com/p/166214864-strawberries-and-cream-tree).
## Condition and protection since 2025
**Recent stress.** At the request of Backwell Parish Council, North Somerset Council's tree officer visited the tree in 2025 and judged it to be struggling, probably because of a long period of very dry weather affecting many trees across the district[5](https://www.backwell-pc.gov.uk/author/publicbackwell-pc-gov-uk/page/7/). Planned assistance included a layer of bark mulch to retain soil moisture and feed the soil as it breaks down, a moderate crown lift over the highway, and removal of dead wood[5](https://www.backwell-pc.gov.uk/author/publicbackwell-pc-gov-uk/page/7/).
The tree also stands near a housing development of roughly 800 homes approved for land near Rodney Road, which Backwell Parish Council had opposed[5](https://www.backwell-pc.gov.uk/author/publicbackwell-pc-gov-uk/page/7/) • [6](https://somersetdaily.co.uk/backwell-faces-massive-housing-surge-amid-community-outcry/). Protective fencing was placed around the tree in the triangle area to keep construction traffic off its roots, and the fencing does not block the view[7](https://www.backwell-pc.gov.uk/important-update-rodney-road-development/) • [4](https://ancienttrees.app/bristol/strawberries-and-cream-tree).
## Visiting
The tree stands on public council-owned land beside Rodney Road in Backwell and can be seen at any time, free of charge[3](https://sv.aroundus.com/p/166214864-strawberries-and-cream-tree) • [4](https://ancienttrees.app/bristol/strawberries-and-cream-tree). April is the best month, when the pink and white blossom opens together; outside blossom season the tree's distinguishing feature is invisible[4](https://ancienttrees.app/bristol/strawberries-and-cream-tree). Nailsea and Backwell railway station is about a 9-minute train ride from Bristol Temple Meads, with Rodney Road a short walk from the station[4](https://ancienttrees.app/bristol/strawberries-and-cream-tree).
## Other graft chimaeras
The Backwell tree belongs to a small family of documented graft chimaeras. Broom laburnum (+ *Laburnocytisus* 'Adamii'), first recorded in Paris in 1825, combines a laburnum and a broom and bears yellow laburnum flowers, purple broom flowers, and some mixed dark yellow-pink flowers[1](https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/grafting). The bizzaria (*Citrus medica* + *C. aurantium*), described in horticultural literature from 1674, produces three kinds of fruit: Florentine citron, sour orange, and a fusion of the two[1](https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/grafting) • [2](https://www.amusingplanet.com/2020/08/graft-chimera.html). Graft chimaeras remain rare, which is what makes the Backwell tree a noted botanical curiosity rather than a routine product of cherry propagation[1](https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/grafting).
## References
1. [Putting in the hard graft, Kew](https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/grafting)
2. [Graft Chimera, Amusing Planet](https://www.amusingplanet.com/2020/08/graft-chimera.html)
3. [Strawberries and Cream Tree, Aroundus](https://sv.aroundus.com/p/166214864-strawberries-and-cream-tree)
4. [The Strawberries and Cream Tree, Ancient Trees](https://ancienttrees.app/bristol/strawberries-and-cream-tree)
5. [Backwell Parish Council, North Somerset Council archives](https://www.backwell-pc.gov.uk/author/publicbackwell-pc-gov-uk/page/7/)
6. [Backwell Faces Massive Housing Surge Amid Community Outcry, Somerset Daily](https://somersetdaily.co.uk/backwell-faces-massive-housing-surge-amid-community-outcry/)
7. [Important Update – Rodney Road Development, Backwell Parish Council](https://www.backwell-pc.gov.uk/important-update-rodney-road-development/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Life and health › Plants and algae › Cultivars and cultivated forms › Plant hybridization › Graft hybrids and chimeras › Notable woody-plant graft chimeras*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license