The show stopper
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| The Prunus mume that is blooming now. I think this one is Matsubara Red. I will keep looking to make sure. |
I knew that the tree is Prunus mume and the fruit is known as ume by the Japanese. And that they are known as Chinese plums and Japanese apricots, but really are neither! And I know that they are unassuming trees when in leaf, but you can pardon them for that given their wintertime display. I needed to brush up on the history and cultivation so here it is.
Some background
This particular flower, meihua, plum blossom, is the National Flower of the Republic of China, according to Wikipedia. The tree's characteristics are its resiliency and long-life, very good characteristics for trees and people. One tree in China is claimed to be over 1600 years old.Wikipedia also has quite a bit on the use of the fruit - juices, alcohol, pickles, and sauces. Our tree has not produced any fruit yet. The fruit is not a plum or an apricot, but more closely resembles an apricot. Check this list to see how many species epithets there are for what we call plums and apricots.
Depending on who you believe, the Prunus mume originated in China. It has been in cultivation there around 1600 years or so. It At some point the Japanese cultivated them as well. The British obtained some cultivars in the mid 1800's.
Growing Prunus mume in Fremont
Getting back to our tree in Fremont, in mid December, flower buds started forming on the branches. By 17th of December, the first flowers popped open. The leave were still attached and you really couldn't see the flowers very well. So I pulled off some of the leaves every time I passed by and luckily a very cold wind blew off all the rest of the leaves. And now January 13th, the tree looks like this. Last years wood still has flower buds that haven't opened. The bees are happily pollinating the flowers. Even last evening after sunset the bees were still working the flowers.
What are its requirements?
I haven't found any California directions yet, but here are some from Camellia Forest.The Prunus mume will grow to 15-20 feet although there are some shorter contored varieties.
It prefers sun, but will tolerate some shade. Ours gets blazing sun for most of the day and then some afternoon shade in the summer.
Given the newer recommendations to plant trees in native soil, even if that soil is clay, I planted mine in our clay soil. It has been quite dry this year and I have watered it once a month when I remember. I have fertilized infrequently and will remember to fertilize in April and June this year! I have seeded some lupines in the area in the hopes that they will fix some nitrogen and share it with the tree.
How to propagate it?
Seed, grafting, or rooting. You can graft onto purple plum.
What is blooming and in what order?
I haven't found out yet, but here is a list of blooming trees.
History
An interesting paragraph in Garden and Forest, May 3, 1893
Notes on the Forest Flora of Japan XII
TREES of the Rose family in the flora of Japan are not numerous as compared with that of eastern America and among them there is not one of first rate value as a timber tree. Horticulturally they are more important and Japanese gardens owe much of their interest to species of Prunus. Although the most popular garden tree in Japan Prunus Mume is probably not Japanese at all but a native of Corea, where last summer, Mr Veitch found it planted as a shade tree along the borders of the high roads. This is the tree which all foreign writers upon Japan speak of as the Plum although it is really an Apricot. In cultivation Prunus Mume produces white, rose-colored red, and often double flowers which appear before the leaves in February and March and are revered as harbingers of spring. It is planted in nearly every Japanese garden of any pretensions and is one of the most universally used pot plants. Care and labor are often expended in producing dwarfed contorted or pendulous branched specimens which sometimes command what seem exorbitant prices. The portrait of one of these Apricot plants growing in a pot was published in vol iii page 333 of this journal.
Notes on the Forest Flora of Japan XII
TREES of the Rose family in the flora of Japan are not numerous as compared with that of eastern America and among them there is not one of first rate value as a timber tree. Horticulturally they are more important and Japanese gardens owe much of their interest to species of Prunus. Although the most popular garden tree in Japan Prunus Mume is probably not Japanese at all but a native of Corea, where last summer, Mr Veitch found it planted as a shade tree along the borders of the high roads. This is the tree which all foreign writers upon Japan speak of as the Plum although it is really an Apricot. In cultivation Prunus Mume produces white, rose-colored red, and often double flowers which appear before the leaves in February and March and are revered as harbingers of spring. It is planted in nearly every Japanese garden of any pretensions and is one of the most universally used pot plants. Care and labor are often expended in producing dwarfed contorted or pendulous branched specimens which sometimes command what seem exorbitant prices. The portrait of one of these Apricot plants growing in a pot was published in vol iii page 333 of this journal.
Some useful references
Missouri Botanic Garden has a little on what blooms when.
SF Gate, Varieties of Flowering Plums
Botany Boy has a beautiful video
Lots of scholarly articles are available as well.
Nice blog.... keep-up the good work... May I share a blog about the Huangdao Sakura bloomimg in https://stenote.blogspot.com/2018/07/huangdao-sakura-blooming.html
ReplyDeleteWatch also the video in youtube https://youtu.be/f5gtHdUEUYU