Dropped by UBC earlier. The Shirotae near Regent College were not as full as I hoped (for a pure white picture) but still nice. At UBC Botanical Garden, half the Taihaku are ready. Ojochin is looking good. The plants labelled as Ito-kukuri and mikuruma-gaeshi are not on the map so I'll add them in shortly in case we want them on the map. Surugadai-nioi, umineko, whitcomb, etc. have mostly finished.
I also visited the Botanical Garden parking lot 3 days ago, on a cold and rainy day. 'Tai-haku', 'Ojochin' and 'Mikurua-gaeshi' look much fuller in Yong's photos from today. 'Tai-haku' 'Ojochin' 'Mikuruma-gaeshi' 'Ichiyo' is getting ready to bloom. 'Umineko' trees still had lots of flowers. The last of the 'Pandora', 'Surugadai-nioi', 'Whitcomb' and 'Accolade' blossoms were still hanging on. 'Pandora' 'Surugadai-nioi' I couldn't smell any fragrance despite the name. Maybe because it's past peak? 'Whitcomb' 'Accolade' I found some completely intact blossoms on the ground. I picked a white-ish one up. When I put it in water about an hour later, I noticed the petals were pink. Then after 1/2 hour when I gently touched it, all the petals came apart. It was like a fast-forward version of a blossom's life. Sorry for some out-of-focus photos.
The flowers and buds of 'Ito-kukuri' at the Botanical Garden parking lot look very similar to 'Ojochin' and I couldn't tell the difference. I also found other photos of 'Ito-kukuri' blossoms clearly showing double flowers and ragged edges, but these aren't. (See posts #24, #61) The tree in the foreground is 'Ojochin' and the other is labeled 'Ito-kukuri'. Unfortunately, I couldn't get clear photos. 'Ito-kukuri' 'Ojochin'
You're not alone! Was also wondering why the Ito-kukuri labelled plant looked like Ojochin instead of the Ito-kukuri found at other places such as Lakewood and 6th.
This is what Wendy posted in another thread. https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/ornamental-cherries-at-ubcbg-2022.102134/#post-436776
I agree with myself that it's 'Ito-kukuri'. The tree was only half-open. I think it will look a little more bundled with all the flowers open. I'll add it to the map, along with the others I saw yesterday.
Here are two 'Tai-haku' next to the parking lot at Cecil Green Park. I don't know what that plant is at the top of the second photo below, but the growth from the bottom of that photo is Prunus avium. Next to the Cecil Green Park House is one 'Shirotae'. On the left as you enter the parking lot is what I think is 'Somei-yoshino', based on the ungrafted trunk, flowers remaining on the trees to age to pink and their falling as whole flowers. The strong straight limbs do seem like 'Akebono' though. Here's another I'm calling 'Somei-yoshino', off to the left of the parking lot at Mary Bollert House. This also appears ungrafted, flowers look similar to the ones just above, hairier stems than I think 'Akebono' have.
[Cecil Green Park Road] (Map ID. 15309) The same 'Ito-kukuri' tree, only a day after Wendy's photos above. It looks gorgeous!!
Other cherry trees around Cecil Green Park Road. The same 'Somei-yoshino' and 'Tai-haku' as Wendy's photos above(#282), just a day later. And some 'Kanzan'. Future "Magical Two-tone" Trees.
I just saw that map entries for these trees have no photos, and I photographed them when I was there last week, so here they are. I was surprised to find that the two 'Shiro-fugen' here were the first ones in full bloom in all of Vancouver and the surrounding area. Yet on the north side of campus, I was seeing flowers on 'Somei-yoshino' when those seem mostly gone on trees in the rest of the city. Maybe how long flowers remain doesn't correlate at all to when other flowers open, relative to the microclimate. Here is an 'Ama-no-gawa' (the tall tree), which I remember seeing on the first Talk and Walk Douglas Justice did that I attended, around 15 years ago. There are also two 'Shirotae' in the photo, the shorter trees with white flowers and green leaves. And a 'Shiro-fugen', white flowers and bronze leaves for now.
I'm determined to get markers on our map for the cherries at Nitobe Memorial Garden. We have 11 markers now, but there are more trees than that. I'll post what I photographed today so that I can add markers and links for the ones I know. Right now, NOW, is a wonderful time to visit Nitobe. Trees that should have lost their flowers weeks ago still have enough to help figure out what they are, and all the late bloomers are open and look perfect. I'll repeat the link to the map on the UBCBG Nitobe site: Nitobe map colour for web.indd (ubc.ca) The 'Taki-nioi' has been posted very many times, for good reason. It is so beautiful and looks so perfect now, and it is so fragrant. We've been told enough times not to walk on the lawn that I didn't feel I could get blossom close-ups, but fortunately, Taki-nioi, Jr. is across the lake. Backing up just a bit, right before the big 'Taki-nioi' ("before" meaning you come to it first when walking clockwise, the wrong way, around the garden) is a very graceful 'Shogetsu'. Continuing walking clockwise, after the 'Taki-nioi' is 'Washi-no-o', a little hard to identify because its leaves are entirely pink now. This tree is near the marriage lantern, so I must now be heading toward the 11-plank flat bridge.
[Edited and (re-edited)] Something here is really wrong, and it's either in this posting or the next, maybe both. That 7-story pagoda is at the end of the line of young trees, and I turned right to start posting the young trees, but the Nitobe map shows the 7-story pagoda to the left after crossing the 77-log bridge. If I was over at the 11-plank flat bridge (yes, I was), what trees that I said were near the 77-log bridge are really at the 11-plank bridge? (Yes, they are at the 11-plank bridge). ... Is the 7-story pagoda in the wrong place on the Nitobe map?? (No, the 7-story pagoda is at the end of the 77-log bridge, as shown on the map). Taking a right turn to cross the 77-log bridge (no, I was crossing the 11-plank bridge), I think there is this 'Shiro-fugen' on the left, across from an old 'Shiro-fugen' next to the Family Viewing Pavilion. (There are two old 'Shiro-fugen'; the one with S-f Jr. across the path is at the 11-plank bridge.) I'm sure that this is 'Shiro-fugen', Jr., but I'm not really certain of the location (got it now, next bridge). First the old tree, on the right as you pass the viewing pavilion (the one at the 77-log bridge). Now 'Shiro-fugen', Jr., (across the path from the S-f at the next bridge). This might be wrong. Or else I saw the 'Shiro-fugen' trees and then back tracked to carry on to the 11-plank bridge (yes). I think next are an unidentified tree ('Ojochin') and a 'Tai-haku' on the right, with just enough flowers to figure out the ID. If I'm right about this, before having to turn one way or the other, on the left is a middle-aged 'Somei-yoshino'. (Right about the location, wrong about the ID - at last year's walk, Douglas Justice told us it's 'Akebono'; oops, back to 'Somei-yoshino').
Now I am turning right, to the far side of the lake, where there is a row of quite young trees. First up is 'Takasago'. Then the 'Taki-nioi' that I included in posting #287. There are two 'Shirotae', one one each side of the path. The fourth photo shows a bit of each of them relative to the 7-story pagoda. Then on my list from a previous posting should be a young 'Shiro-fugen', but first is a tall upright tree, with hardly any remaining flowers that I can't get near enough to, some of which seem double and others much larger and single. Eidted: I have been told this is 'Akebono'. Then near the water is the 'Shiro-fugen'. That's all I did in this garden today.
I went back to Nitobe Memorial Garden today to put these trees on a Nitobe map and to get some photos I was missing so I can place the markers on the VCBF map. Here is the link again to the map Nina shared with us: Nitobe map colour for web.indd (ubc.ca). The current map does not name the lanterns and other placemarks. Here is my annotated map from today. This is the second large 'Shiro-fugen' that I came to the other day, at the flat bridge, with a 'Shiro-fugen', Jr. across the path (re-re-edited, yes it is), and the 'Akebono' at the end of the path. The second and third photos show both large 'Shiro-fugen', the one on the left at the viewing pavilion at the 77-log bridge, and the other farther back, down at the 7-plank flat bridge. Here are more photos of the 'Akebono' (edited, no; keep reading). This tree is breaking all my 'Akebono' rules - flowers are quite pink now, and the flower stems are as fuzzy as what I thought were representative of 'Somei-yoshino'. [Edited]: from Douglas Justice, this is 'Somei-yoshino'. My ID rules are intact. Here is a very sparsely-flowered 'Kanzan' across the path from the marriage lantern, at the entrance to the path that crosses the 7-plank bridge. And a photo from two days ago. I was a little put-off by the tree dead centre here that was in the way when I tried to photograph the large 'Taki-nioi. But did I think to photograph it or wonder what it was two days ago? I can see in photos from last year that it's roughly where a 'Shogetsu' used to be. Last year there was nothing there. This looks like 'Kiku-zakura', though I'm not sure what's going on with the tree shape. Did I think to photograph it today? No, so here's a photo from my last visit, cropped to feature this tree. For the map, I need to mention that at the right margin is a 'Kanzan'.
the 3 'Shiro-fugen' down at Spanish banks East. Looking beautiful in the late eve sun (yes sun) on Wednesday eve. I do see the elephants trunk in at least one of the photos!
'Shogetsu', Moonlight on the pines- I still get this tree mixed up with the 'Taki-Nioi' (fra grant waterfall) in behind it because their branches intermingle as you approach. I love the form of the 'Taki-Nioi' trunk and branches, but I am attracted to the flowers of 'Shogetsu'. I have an out of focus pic of the flower, but you get a bit of a feel for the pine needle like imagery of the flower stalks......or at least I do ;) Photo take 2 Fridays ago April 28
Nice photo! To the right of that, in the photo, between that and the 'Taki-nioi' is a 'Kiku-zakura', in bloom now, though we're not supposed to walk on the grass to get up to the flowers.
I tried to get better 'Kanzan' photos and missing photos today. In the process, I have added a 'Kanzan'. It's too bad there are so few flowers left on these trees now. I've numbered these. Again, walking clockwise instead of the proper counter-clockwise, this is 'Kanzan'-1. It's after you pass the 'Washi-no-o'. 'Kanzan'-2 is the very sparsely-flowered 'Kanzan' across the path from the marriage lantern, at the entrance to the path that crosses the 7-plank bridge. 'Kanzan'-3 is across the path from that, on the right before you come to the large 'Shiro-fugen' at the 7-plank bridge. 'Kanzan'-4 is a new discovery, to the right of the Nitobe Family Crest Lantern. In the first photo, it's the slim tree on the right going off around 1 o'clock. In the third photo, it's the cherry in the foreground. It looks like 'Kanzan'-5 is across from the 'Taki-nioi', and -4 is across from the 'Takasago', or a bit before it. 'Kanzan'-5 is what we thought was the only 'Kanzan' at this location. The first photo shows both trees appearing as one tree from across the lake, -4 on the left and -5 on the right. I didn't photograph 'Kanzan'-6, the most beautiful 'Kanzan' in the city - there are already good photos of it in this thread. I'll do 'Kanzan-7 in the next posting, though it's pretty hard to see with no flowers.
Here is the 'Somei-yoshino' to the right of the garden entrance, from outside and inside the wall. And the 'Kanzan' a little farther along. This will be more convincing next year. For some reason the 'Akebono' has grown its leaves and was easy to see today, though there are no flowers remaining at all.
I am attaching a map of the cherry trees at Nitobe Memorial Garden, drawn up by Douglas Justice at UBCBG, in consultation with Ryo Sugiyama, Nitobe’s main curator and horticulturist since 2010, with a little input from me. There is one 'Kanzan' that escaped my notice until after the final version was done, but it's close enough to one that is on the map that they form one canopy. Please remember when visiting that we're to stay on the paths.
At first glance the pair of ‘Okame’ look pretty good -showing some colour. But the closer you get, the more damaged they look. Disease and brown buds.
