Identification: Which single white? Fudan-zakura? Spire? Something else?

Discussion in 'Ornamental Cherries' started by Nadia White Rock, Mar 28, 2012.

  1. Nadia White Rock

    Nadia White Rock Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    unknown(Fudan-zakura???) cherries
     

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  2. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    Re: White Rock / South Surrey

    You might be right on the 'Fudan-zakura', though the timing (still has a lot of buds) makes me think maybe not. The tree shape is not what we've seen on our few on Nanaimo St, but the look of the flowers on the branch and the very short fat calyx tubes look right. The long single yellow pistil sticking out from the bud isn't quite right. Too bad we don't know how long it's been blooming, but it does seem like it's just coming out now, which is late for 'Fudan-zakura'.

    'Spire' is in the running. The timing, tree shape and flowers are right, except for the calyx tubes, which seem to be longer than on these. I might have to copy this to Ornamental Cherries to keep it in mind till we figure it out.
     
    Last edited: Mar 28, 2012
  3. Nadia White Rock

    Nadia White Rock Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    Re: White Rock / South Surrey

    I have the same doubts about Fudan-zakura, it is late, but looks like it. Young tree and maybe features are not developed yet?
     
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  4. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    I wouldn't expect it to be that one at all. General aspect is like 'Spire', do any details fit? Whatever it is notice how long the stamens are, that could be significant.
     
  5. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    Here are some 'Spire' photos, from taken by Anne Eng, Willy Su, and me. I'm noticing huge differences in the length of the the pedicels (stems) in some of my photos - I'm assuming they get longer as they age or the weather warms up.

    I can't tell if the stamens look the same here as in the White Rock photo.
     

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  6. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    Plants at the Edmonds Bank of America also have the smaller bunch of stamens etc. as in last photos. I have assumed the Edmonds planting was 'Spire'. Should be possible to tell whether a tree is that variety using the D Justice cherry booklet.

    Come to think of it, when I grew the 'Colt' rootstock for a time (to see what it looked like, in anticipation of occasions just like this one) it produced flowers of similar construction to the tree being asked about here. These flowers also smelled of melons. The tree in question does have a low-forking, leaning habit as though not trained and finished by a nursery before being sold. So it might have grown from the roots up without human guidance - as unrestrained rootstock sprouts often do.

    Rootstock sprouts that shot up through a friend's orchard cherry produced nice mahogany, peeling bark and pink flowers. It might have been quite attractive overall except its stalks etc. were hairy to the point of being homely. Recently I cut it back down, without having learned what it is. If the scion continues to deteriorate (yields and fruit size having fallen off markedly in recent years) I may cut that down and let the interesting stock grow back up, become a tree.

    Multiple other rootstocks are present in the urban and suburban landscape, often allowed to grow in place of the trees that were once grafted upon them. This needs to be kept in mind when trying to identify unlabeled specimens encountered in bloom. They will not be shown and described in treatments of ornamental cultivars.

    Next: I got a notion to Google Prunus canescens to see if that might be the tree asked about here and discovered that species appears to be the rootstock I was talking about having come up at my friend's. The Gisela rootstock is supposed to have been derived from a crossing of that species, although it is funny the sprouts I cut off were so like pictures of what is supposed to be pure P. canescens.
     
    Last edited: Mar 29, 2012
  7. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    The Edmonds Bank 'Spire' are these things on the side on 3rd in google street view? Too bad, not in bloom. :)

    We have a 'Colt' thread with lots of photos.
    Colt - Single white, early mid-season, dense thin upright straight branches
    I just saw our tree last week, not in bloom yet, but White Rock is ahead of Vancouver. It never occurred to me that this tree might be the same as that. What I remember from looking at the photos are the long pedicels (stems), but I first paid attention to the tree at the end of its blooming. Posting #7 in that thread shows photos when it was first coming out, with considerably shorter pedicels.

    So, Nadia, sticky bud scales? ('Spire')
    Or does it smell like melon or pear? ('Colt')
    Is it near enough to you that you can get photos of the leaves as they come out?
     
  8. Nadia White Rock

    Nadia White Rock Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    maybe 15-16 blocks, of course I would go and check scales and smell flowers. What other photos can help?
     
  9. Nadia White Rock

    Nadia White Rock Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    More pictures of this cultivar,and I found across the street the same but bigger tree. Flowers have strong nice smell, I am not sure about "sticky bud scales", I don't know what I suppose to feel. Maybe a little bit sticky, I never touched buds before...
     

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  10. Douglas Justice

    Douglas Justice Well-Known Member UBC Botanical Garden Forums Administrator Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society 10 Years

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    Sure looks like 'Colt' to me (particularly the larger tree). I'm looking forward to comparing these early bloomers on Wednesday.
     
  11. Nadia White Rock

    Nadia White Rock Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    I check today the Colt tree on Arbutus & 8 Ave, I am confident that they have the same smell.
     
  12. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    Nadia, did you go into town (that's about an hour's drive) just to smell that tree?
     
  13. Nadia White Rock

    Nadia White Rock Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    It is less than an hour. I smelled the tree and I checked other unknown to me cherry, like Stellata and Spire. Yae beni shidare is not in bloom yet. No single open flower. I am second week trying to find Rancho around Broadway and Granville and I cannot, I think location for these trees is not clear at all.
     

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