A mess of cherry blossom

 

Prunus 'Shirofugen'. Beanacre, 25 April 2023.

25 April 2023, early morning sunshine. I pulled over by the row of cherry trees outside the hotel at Beanacre (near Melksham, Wiltshire) and took some messy pics while the rush hour traffic thundered past me. Later, in work, I inadvertently walked cherry petals all over the carpet near my desk.

Here, just starting to blossom, is the fabulous late variety Prunus 'Shirofugen', also known as 'Fugenzo' or 'Fugenzō'. It used to be a fantastic sight here, (https://michaelpeverett.blogspot.com/2010/05/prunus-shirofugen.html) but two of the trees have now died and this one, the last, is heading the same way.

Prunus 'Shirofugen'. Beanacre, 25 April 2023.

Prunus 'Tae-haku'. Beanacre, 25 April 2023.

Blossom on epicormic shoots on one of the big specimens of Prunus 'Tae-haku': not a good sign. Below, after shedding petals.

Here's an old post showing this tree at its best: https://michaelpeverett.blogspot.com/2010/04/prunus-continued-from-last.html .

Prunus 'Tae-haku'. Beanacre, 25 April 2023.

A sapling: a Sargent Cherry (Prunus sargentii), I'm guessing. Nice too see some youth among all the moribundity. Ornamental cherry trees, unfortunately, are not very long lived. Fifty years is about the norm, I believe (without checking).

Prunus 'Kanzan'. Beanacre, 25 April 2023.

The blossom on the other varieties was either nearly over or barely started, but Prunus 'Kanzan' was right at its peak.

Cherry-blossom aficionados are often a bit sniffy about 'Kanzan' -- Collingwood Ingram loathed it -- but today I thought about what a remarkable variety it is. It arose in the Edo period (1603 - 1867) and is thought to derive in a complex way from the Oshima Cherry (Prunus speciosa) among others, somehow acquiring deep pink petals along the way. 

I'm not sure when it was introduced in the UK. Some sources say 1913 or "the 1900s", but Naoko Abe says "late nineteenth century". So take your pick. I've also read that it reached the USA in 1903.

Despite its very double flowers, 'Kanzan' evidently retains some fertility as it is a parent species of both 'Pink Perfection' and 'Royal Burgundy'.

Prunus 'Kanzan'. Beanacre, 25 April 2023.

Prunus 'Shirotae'. Beanacre, 25 April 2023.

Prunus "Shirotae", overhead. An early variety, but still looking good if you don't peer too closely.