Sorbus hupehensis 'Pink Pagoda'

Could you please forward me information on the above-mentioned UBC introduced tree? Could you also forward photos?

Thank you!

 

Lovely plant

I have looked for this plant as well and have never found it for sale anywhere. Does anyone know where to find it? They're looking great in the Botanical Gardens right now!

 

Sorbus 'Pink Pagoda' is a beautiful Chinese mountain ash. For a number of years, it was propagated locally, but sales were not inspiring, so I guess propagators gave up on it. It is evidently selling well in Australia, however.

The tree itself is an apomictic species; that is, apomicts produce fertile seed without fertilization, so all individuals of an apomictic species are clones. That means that seedlings of Pink Pagoda will be identical to Pink Pagoda.

 

Fruit of 'Pink Pagoda'

 

A habit shot in the winter.

 

Re: Lovely plant

I believe one can be had at a nursery on Wayn road in Saanich, not Russell nursery but the other one which I don't know its name. I too am smitten with this tree and will be looking into getting one myself.

 

Eight retail sources--including two in BC--listed by THE PLANT LOCATOR - WESTERN REGION sourcebook.

 

For anyone still looking.... the Pink Pagoda is in stock at Dinter's Nursery in Duncan. They have a great website...

 

I stopped looking years ago, but maybe I should take a trip to the Island!

 

Sorbus hupehensis has a reputation for being more susceptible to fireblight than many other rowans. Might not be a good one to plant if you're in an area where fireblight is common.

 

Fireblight shouldn't be a significant factor in Vancouver - it isn't in Seattle. Needs warm spring days to develop. According to a British nurseryman I discussed this with it occurs in cool and damp UK because the requisite warm spring days do happen to be a feature there. Over here it is the generally hot areas where it is found, rather than the cool and humid ones.

I think during 1990 'Pink Pagoda' froze on at least one site (Center for Urban Horticulture) in Seattle. Afterward the Lam Garden curator told me the 1990 cold front blew around the Garden site, this may explain why the clone persisted there while failing elsewhere.

 

Fireblight isn't a problem in most of Britain, only the southeast, and I guessed it wouldn't be too bad in the UBC area either. But I figured the warning was worth having anyway, as these forums have a vastly wider readership . . . thus my caveat "if you're in an area where fireblight is common" ;-)

 

Is there any info on Sorbus Hupehensis "Pink Pagoda " only producing flowers and fruit every other year.
Our tree, about 15 years old has done this for the last 8 years and before that produced very little flower or fruit. Nevertheless it is well worth having if only for the autumn colour

 

That's fairly normal in my experience, particularly with younger trees.

 

Propagations seen here flower and fruit well before then, often in nursery sizes.

 

A lovely tree! We have been admiring our neighbours for over a year now. We called around and finally located 3 at Arrowsmith Nursery in Coombs, Vancouver Island.

Question: I am interested in the sex of this tree. Is it Male or Female? I need to know if it is a pollinator (we have allergies and are trying to garden with appropriate selections).

Thanks!

 

Both: its flowers are perfect. In addition, Sorbus may be apomictic, fruiting without pollination. You will not have to plant other kinds of Sorbus to get plenty of fruit.

 

Wonderful. Thank you for the information.

We've just picked up 3 and look forward to seeing the birds which will hopefully come to feed on them.

 

Here's one of the birds that'll feed on it: varied thrush

 

As an aside, now split off as Sorbus oligodonta 'Pink Pagoda' (Kite-leaf Rowan). It is a tetraploid apomictic plant, unlike S. hupehensis which is diploid and not apomictic.

Another related tetraploid apomictic species is Sorbus glabrescens (White-fruited Rowan), which differs in (as in its English name) in having white, not pink, fruit (here, with autumn leaf colour, in late November):

 

S. glabrescens has also been grown as S. hupehensis in western gardens.

 

The berries must ferment over the wintertime and springtime brings with it the Varied Thrushes. At my old place, I was rescuing more than a handful of drunken thrushes each season which had hit the house. At the sound of a bang, I would run out with an old sweater or towel and scoop them up so to keep them warm and place them out of harms way (from cats, etc.) till they got their wits back and could fly away on their own steam. A beautiful bird for sure.

 

Is it true the botanical name of this tree is now Sorbus pseudohupehensis ("pseudo" has been added to "hupehensis"?)

 

Yes, that's correct, a recent change only published in the last year or so. It turned out that 'Pink Pagoda' is not the same species as either Sorbus hupehensis or Sorbus oligodonta, so it had to be described as a new species.

Same applies to the plants cultivated as Sorbus glabrescens (mentioned above, post #20), these proved not to be the same as the original description of that species, and are now re-named as Sorbus glabriuscula.

These white-fruited rowans are a complex set! See New Trees (Grimshaw & Bayton, IDS/Kew 2009) for more detail.

 

Re: Sorbus pseudohupehensis 'Pink Pagoda'

i'm z.5, Boston Mass. area of U.S. My specimen, 4 yrs in the ground here, now 20'H, has never berried. I have read all the entries on this thread. Anyone other than the British poster have an experience where their Pink Pagoda did not fruit for many yrs? Is there likely anything I could do to quicken that process (aside from hitting it w/ a baseball bat, like w/ my wisteria?)!!? Thanks for your help.