Good grief, Wendy, but you've hexed the walk date: it's SUNDAY, MARCH 15. Good thing I noticed before making the notice for VanDusen.
Along VanDusen's outside boundary with Oak Street, at March 14, 2015, a new Snow Goose is in bloom beside the two Sargentii Hybrids, and further north on Oak, the established Akebono.
The Schmitt cherry tree in bloom at VanDusen's Autumn Stroll, March 21, 2015. The recurved sepals are visible in the last photo.
I have noticed this tree for many springs as I drive home from work. It is on the south side at Maple and King Ed just after you pass Arbutus. It has a lovely horizontalish branching pattern, nice white flowers that seem to hang down with soft green new leaves. I am guessing it is Shirotae. It has nice semi double flowers, some petaloids. The eye is a dark pink on the older flowers, especially the one that I picked up from the ground! Douglas's book mentions a "noticeably long hair-tipped marginal teeth" for part of the leaf description and I think that is what I see on one of the photos of the leaf. The sepals were quite long. Disappointly I did not detect an almond scent for this one though, which Shirotae can have.
Van Dusen Autumn stroll, down at the most North East section of the garden close to the Gardeners building. This 'Ukon' is in full bloom. [VD tag Prunus (Sato-Zakura group) 'Ukon' 1979-1420-107T] Again you notice the slight green colour of the flowers as you walk by. Semi double, centres are fading to pink. Some petaloids, and the sepals are a nice star shape with red at their base. There are some branches that are quite pendulous and as you walk underneath it you feel like you are entering a cherry house!
Van Dusen Autumn Stroll, North east corner of the garden closet to the Gardeners building. This is an older Kanzan at VD. accession tag 1979-1429-107t so it dates from 1979. Full double, bright pink, long narrow sepals. You can see some of the twisted petals Douglas mentions in his ID book. I'm not sure what is going on in the centre of the flower as some of the stamens look rather fat and elongated. Are some of these the "phylloid styles" that is also mentioned in the ID book? Flowers look a bit like little ballerinas tutu's. The new leaves emerge bronze.
VD Next to Gardeners buildings North East corner of the garden. VD accession tag 2008-0087;60T. Prunus (Sato-zakura group) 'Shirotoe'. These Shirotae are semi double white, fading to dark pink eye as the blooms get older. Some petaloids seen on the flowers at the centres. The leaves are a nice fresh green as they emerge with lots of hairs and bristles they almost look like a venus fly trap!
Those are the pistils or styles that are fat and elongated. They look sort-of leaf-like, which is what "phylloid" means.
By being a little behind its only sister on the RCMP grounds (first photo, Jo-nioi at RCMP site, southside W33/east Ash. South Cambie neighbourhood (http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/forums/showpost.php?p=336364&postcount=64), Jo-nioi wil make it for Sakura Days at VanDusen this year. Ignored by the frenzied Easter egg-hunters on Easter Sunday, Jo-nioi starts its bloom and fragrance on the Rhododendron Walk, April 5, 2015.
More from VanDusen on Saturday. This one from the plant labelled Umineko VD accession number 1973-0865-73. This tree is along the rhododendron walk, halfway up in the north bed on the inner path. One of the taller trees dating from 1973. Single pink with a dark eye. it seems to be finishing up. The name Umineko means Seagull. The petals appear notched, Sepals appear toothed or slightly hairy, and the leaf margins are very toothy with largish gaps between the teeth. Quite an interesting leaf margin! Unfortunately the root stock on this tree leaves a bit to be desired as it does with most of the older cherry specimens in this bed.
Van Dusen, a last gasp of Beni Shidare. VD label Prunus subhirtella var pendula 'Beni Shidare' accession number 1983-0273;70. The main ones on either side of the path coming down the great lawn still have some blossom, but not that much just a slight cloud of pink. There are a few small trees that border the perennial garden that may have a few more blossoms lower down on the branches. Nice small delicate flower, single pink.
Van Dusen still on Saturday. This very young Ama-no-gawa (accession number 2012-0031:103) in the David Lam Grove on the great lawn where some of the Sakura day festivities will happen next weekend. This is a very upright tree and even the flowers are upright! Like a candelabra. Flowers are a nice soft delicate pink, semi double, pink fading to white. There are hairs on the pedicel (flower stock) and lots of hairs on the leafy bits at the base of the flower stocks (Bract or bracteolate I think is what it is called). I think I see some hair, or fine teeth on some of the sepals too. This upright columnar cherry should prove popular for home gardeners and as a street tree due to its very upright form! No truck pruning of pendulous branches......
More from Van Dusen on Saturday. Weeping tree labelled Kiki-Shidare-Zakura, the weeping chrysanthemum cherry. VD accession 2008-0042-103. You can see the very double flowers resemblance to a chrysanthemum flower. Nice hairs/glands on the flower stock (pedicel), leaves have long hairs on the teeth. There may be an extra sepal on one of the flowers? The frilly petals again remind me of a ballerina's tutu.
More at Van Dusen Saturday, plant labelled Tai Haku, the Great White Cherry. There are 3 trees of this cultivar in the David Lam Grove on the Great Lawn. VD accession number 2008-0041;103. This does have a very large white single flower. Older ones are fading to a pink centre. Beautiful veination in the petals and hook like hairs or teeth on the leaf edges. Nice glands on the bud scales and the surfaces of the bud scales seem to have slight hairs too. The sepals also have bristles/hairs along their edges. This is the cherry that Collingwood Ingram propagated from an acquaintance's garden in Surrey England and then reintroduced it back to Japan. It had been lost to cultivation from where it grew in Kyoto when Ingram was visiting there in 1926. He was there at the invitation of the "cherry club" or Sakura Kwai. He felt odd to be speaking to such a learned group of people about a plant that they had been admiring and cultivating for hundreds of years.
Van Dusen Saturday. Plant labelled Ichiyo. VD accession number 2008-123:103. this is a beautiful double, shell pink flower, darker pink in bud fading to light shell pink. The petals overlap each other in bud like delicate tissue paper and you can see some nice pink veins in the petals. There are some petaloids in the centres of the flowers and some of the styles are doing that leaf thing...phylloids, so a nice contrast. Some fine hairs along the edges of the leaf. Apparently Ichiyo means one leaf and refers to that style at the centre of the flower doing the leaf thing (phylloid), this per Douglas's ID book. There are 2 trees at VD and one seemed to have smaller flowers, but it was only those at the bottom of the tree that were small, as you looked up the flowers were the same size as those on the other tree.
At VanDusen Garden's Autumn Stroll, Prunus avium 'Plena', the double-flowered Sweet Cherry, is in bloom on April 10, 2015. Kanzan and Ukon trees flowering in the background.
More from Van Dusen. Shogutsu VD accession number 2008-0045-73 These were in bud last Saturday and are now starting to open. Nice double white. Note the green 'phylloid styles' at the center of the flowers. Lovely pink stain to bud. The pedicels are very long on these, perhaps even longer this year due to that nice warm weather we had earlier in the week???. Nice frilly edges to the petals, the base of the flower stock (pedicel) has a bit of a hairy edge to the bracteolate (leaf at base of flower stock). There may be a slight bit of serration to the sepals, barely noticeable on the flower in bud. The name Shogetsu means "midnight on the pine leaves" (Kuitert) . I just read that the flower is like a ballerina's tutu with the phylloid carpels, 2 of which can be found, like the ballerina's legs although they are green! (Kuitert's book)
More at VanDusen. This one labelled Shiro-fugan VD accession number 2008-0047:73. This one too was in bud last Saturday and is now opening. Pink in bud, nice red sepals, although I have read they should have serrations on it (kuitert) and i can't seen that on these pictures, maybe that will develop later?? I have read this one will be pink in bud, white in flower then it goes to a nice deep pink as it ages. I will have to check on it next week to see next weeks color! Bronze new foliage, the sepals have a nice rich red color to them. You can see the hairs on the bracts, base of the leaf, with the tip of them having the drop of sap? or sugar? again looks a bit like a sundew. The phylloid pistals on these ones are suppose to look like an elephants trunk. Again from Kuitert's book "Fugunzo" means Fugen elephant. This is a white elephant ridden by Saint Fugen (Buddhist saint). "Shiro" means white so this is the white white elephant trunk cherry!
Lisa, I like how different your blossom photos look for 'Shiro-fugen' and 'Shogetsu'. Maybe your second 'Shiro-fugen' photo, the sepal at 10:00, has one serration? I think some just do it more than others, and I don't know that the serration for this cultivar distinguishes it from anything we would confuse it with.
Thanks for the nice photos, Gerry. I'm going to comment that I see they were taken on March 28; it's helpful to say if photos are posted late so people know not to rush out to see the blossoms.
Jo-nioi at VanDuesen is looking mighty fine near the end of bloom. Disappointing, though, as I could not detect any fragrance.
I took a look at two of the Birch Bark Cherry trees at VanDusen. The first younger looking one is near the Rhododendron walk (first two photos) The older tree is located on the Sino-Himalayan walk (last five photos) Very few blossoms left on either tree.
