I do have a question about one of my examples. Also called 'Ama no gawa', this tree is also called the pencil or 'Lombardy' cherry because of its upright, slim habit. The blossom clusters are held upright on thick stems. The palest pink semi-double blossoms open from pink buds and are said to be fragrant. These trees are listed as flowering either fairly early or mid-season, peaking as early as late March (so I called it mid-season), but this year they are blooming in the West End in Vancouver at the same time as Shirofugen, the last cherries to bloom. These photos were taken April 18 and 20. I have a question about the structure of the two trees below. One has a sort-of upside down taproot shape (well, that's what I always think of when I see trees like this before they have leaves or flowers), with a central trunk leader and vertical branches forming off that, and the other seems to have more equal branches without a main leader. Is that a significant difference? Is the second example not Amanagowa?
Both trees look like 'Amanogawa' to me (not, of course, the 'Shirotae' in the first picture). The differences in the two trees could easily be due to the health or vigour of either understock or scion, or to soil fertility and depth, moisture and shade conditions. The growth pattern of this cultivar is characterized by strongly erect shoots and a supression of secondary (i.e., lateral) branches. Typically, 'Amanogawa' will produce multiple shoots from low on the stem and these will grow (and grow and grow). In age, the tree will become somewhat vase shaped. Eighth Avenue in New Westminster is a great place to see the variation.
Tall, pillar-like tree; blossoms too high for short women to pick. All blossoms appear to be growing upwards, like candles. In bloom April 30, 2008. Is it Amanogawa?
Yes, they are. Below is a picture of the venerable 'Ama-no-gawa' trees in front of the county courthouse (or should I say covnty covrthovse) in Mt. Vernon, Washington. I was on my way to a Mariners game last weekend and stopped here expressly to photograph them. I should have stayed in Mt. Vernon. It was a bit windy, so the detail is not too sharp. I've always wondered how old they are. Judging from the size of the Austrian pines near them and assuming all of the courthouse trees were planted at the same time, I'd guess about 60 years. Anybody know?
Have no data on the cherries but note also the huge Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Gracilis'. If you go around to the parking lot north of the building there is also a Dawson magnolia in the opening between the buildings northwest of the parking - if it is still there, I'd think at some point its growth would exceed the space and either be subject to pruning or to removal. And there is also the Washington State Champion Liriodendron tulipifera at nearby 1003 Cleveland St, measuring 94' x 19'7" x 79' in 1993 (Van Pelt, Champion Trees of Washington State, 1996, University of Washington Press, Seattle).
R. Van Pelt (private discussion) thinks one in Washelli Cemetary, Seattle is locally unsurpassed. Jacobson, Trees of Seattle - Second Edition lists it as being 36 1/2' x 5'4" x 32'. Neither Bob nor I have measured the largest of the Mt Vernon trees, but lately I've been thinking I should. Jacobson has been talking about setting me up with a device for measuring heights, up to now I have been taping trunks and crown spreads, estimating heights.
I'm pretty sure this is the unsurpassed Amanogawa. I never would have figured it out if I hadn't seen the Mt Vernon courthouse trees and been told what they are. This is on the east side of Aurora, northwest of the Pacific Lutheran Mausoleum, built in 1966. Speaking of Mt Vernon Amanogawas, after seeing the courthouse ones, I found catty-corner from the Liriodendron (I posted photos of that in Pac NW) two more Amanogawas (I think) in front of the library.
The Mt Vernon courthouse trees are in bloom April 26, 2009, but not fully; they don't look as good as in Douglas's photo below, so I haven't posted them, but there are two large ones on both sides of the entrance and the small one. I did get to see the library tree, but only noticed one. And the trees in the parking lot catty-corner from the courthouse are very fully covered in blossoms. Too bad the location is so strange for them (here's the better looking one), but the fact that they're in the open with sun all day and not next to a building probably helps.
