I'll keep this general, in case others want to contribute from other Hawai'i locations, though the only other location is supposed to be Waimea on Hawai'i island. The ones here are from the town of Wahaiwa on Oah'u. This seems to be the only place that's high enough that it gets the requisite cold followed by warmth that the flowers require, and there are only a few cherries that can deal with the very short period of cold in this area. The original cherries in town are supposed to be from Okinawa, and the next group as well. It seems the rest of the cherries in town were seedlings from these original imports. I can't find the article that said they were Prunus campanulata, which is kanhi-zakura, Formosan cherry. I think I read that there was another kind as well, but I can't find that. These all look similar enough to me for a species cherry. The flowers are around 2cm in diameter, larger flowers than on 'Okame', the P. campanulata hybrid that we have in Vancouver. Here are trees from the Hongwanji Mission on California Street. Well, all my locations were on that street. These were at the Wahiawa Fresh Water State Park. I have one other location, will have to be a separate posting.
These trees in Wahiawa are on private property, and were the nicest that we saw. Many of the flower petals on all the trees we saw were edged in a deeper pink, and all the trees had some flowers that were pale, almost white, and many that were deep pink.
Thanks for the Hawaii sakura information. I knew that Waimea and Wahiawa had sakura trees but I never saw them. The only ones (see attachments) I ever saw were the 2-3 trees near the 10th tee box at Leilehua Golf Course. Not exactly sure the type of sakura, probably the same ones as the ones in Wahiawa. I am getting interested in sakura since I try to travel to Japan in April and October/November timeframe.
Wendy, after comparing at your sakura photos with mine, I notice that on my sakura blossoms have longer pedicels and the leaves come out the same time as the blossoms. Any clues of the sakura blossoms at Leilehua Golf Course?
Now I'm finding some of the original articles I'd found. These are newspaper articles, not necessarily written by anyone with knowledge of sakura. Honolulu Star-Bulletin mentions "sites for cherry blossom viewing of the purplish blossoms of Nago, Okinawa. Among the tree sites are Leilehua High school, Wahiawa District Park, Wahiawa Fresh Water State Park and Wahiawa Ryusenji Soto Mission". The Okinawan cherries, according to The Earliest Cherry Blossom Viewing in Japan! All You Need to Know about Okinawan Sakura Events 【2016 Edition】, are Hikan-zakura. I suppose that is different from what we are calling 'Higan-zakura', a white-flowered cherry. The photos on this page show pink blossoms. Pretty in Pink: Wahiawā Celebrates Sakura mentions that other cherries in Wahiawa are from Taiwan. As mentioned above, these would be the Prunus campanulata, which is kanhi-zakura, Formosan cherry. Both the characteristics you mentioned can be affected by blooming time. The later the blooming on the same type of tree, the longer the pedicels and the more likely that the leaves will be out. Or maybe the first ones I posted are the hikan-zakura, relatives of the original Okinawan Cherry, and my second group and the ones you posted are kanhi-zakura, Taiwan Cherry/Formosan Cherry/Prunus campanulata.
Name is probably a variant on higan, I get at least one web page that equates kanhi- and hikan-zakura. Also when I insist on hikan-zakura while doing an image search I get an assortment of kinds shown. Including ones just like those on this thread - these last presumably all forms of Prunus campanulata.
Thank you, Ron! I love it when things I can't distinguish turn out to be the same thing after all. And I love it when you check in on stuff I write to correct what seems to be inaccurate.
Note that I'm assuming the Hawaii plantings shown are all P. campanulata based on general appearance, geographic location (climate area) - and not on anything more serious and precise. There are related species in existence as well as garden hybrids known or assumed to involve P. campanulata - such as the 'Pink Cloud'* that L.E. Cooke Company has kept on the west coast market into later years - but of this set I think the Taiwan cherry is by far the one most likely to have been brought to Hawaii and planted there. *Shown and discussed elsewhere on this site
That 'Pink Cloud' thread is Identification: - Prunus 'Pink Cloud' - Single pink flowers, mid-season. It seems like a cultivar that would be worth trying in Hawai'i.
A favorite for mild winter climates where other flowering cherries will not bloom http://www.lecooke.com/Images/Flowering/Cherries/Pink-Cloud-Flowering-Cherry(RGB).pdf
I am going to post this, just because Wendy has said she thinks they are 'Probably Prunus campanulata, Formosan cherry or Taiwan cherry. It's one of the few that does not need a period of freezing to produce flowers, and is the one grown on O'ahu in Wahiawa. I did a thread on those ones at https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/cherries-in-hawaii.87902/. It's one of the parents of 'Okame': Prunus 'Okame' - Plant Finder (missouribotanicalgarden.org).' -we Saw them at Kula Botanical Gardens feb 15 2024 on Maui. Kula Botanical is at 3,000 ft elevation in East Maui on the slopes of Haleakala. Cooler and more rain than lower down the slope in Kihea! -I saw lenticels on the bark, but did not take a photo of that.
Another mystery cherry from Maui. 3000 ft elevation just down the road from Kula at the Sun Yet Sen memorial park. Picture taken March 4 2025. plant Snap suggested it might be Prunus campanulata, Formosan Cherry
What I thought was an almond, but Plant Snap says it is a peach......any further brief investigation looks like plant snap is probably right. Also at Sun Yet Sen memorial park Maui, 3000 ft elevation. above Kihei. pic taken March 4 2025
I'm sure it is. That's the one planted on O'ahu in Wahiawa, where they have a festival at the end January. There aren't that many of them planted there, but it's apparently rare to grow cherries in such a warm climate, but this area gets the lowest temperatures on the island, and this cherry manages to deal with the climate. [Edited]I see the first posting says that - good job finding the thread on Prunus in Hawai'i!
and this is just for fun........in case you are missing cherries on your tropical vacation you can buy them at Foodland!! Just like we buy tulips at Safeway :)
That's a riot. I wonder if people buy them for tea or pastries. @Mariko gave Douglas Justice and me some 'Kanzan' tea one year.
