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Vietnam War Memorial Cherry Tree Walk

Cherry blossom trees on Cherry Tree Walk Bowral NSW

The Bowral Vietnam War Memorial Cherry Tree Walk is a memorial walkway that begins from Bowral Swimming Centre and winds for 5 km through Rivulet Park, Foley Park, Venables Park, and Shepherd Park.

This beautiful scenic walk is a lovely spot to picnic or stroll.

Originally planted in 2000 to bring comfort to the families of local veterans, each magnificent Tai-Haki Japanese Cherry Blossom tree along the walk was intended to honour our community members who have served their country.

In previous years, some of these trees began to show signs of being affected by phytophora - or root rot - so a clever approach was needed to preserve the trees for generations to come.

Council's efforts to source an exact replacement for the trees affected by root rot revealed that this particular variety, Prunus serrulata, is no longer grown as a preferred species by nurseries. This generated the idea of grafting branch cuttings from the original trees onto rot-resistant root stock.

Flemings Nursery in Victoria were contracted to future-proof the majestic trees and grafted hundreds of branches from the original trees onto rot-resistant F12 root stock to keep Cherry Tree Walk blooming beautifully for years to come. Four of the new Cherry Blossom trees were planted in winter of 2023, with a total of 90 to arrive over the next five years.

Trees which are dead or in severe decline will be removed in preparation of replacement trees being planted in Winter 2024. A further 30 trees are ready for planting on the Thursday 1 of August 2024 in preparation of Vietnam veterans day on the Sunday 18 of August 2024.