2 3/4 INCH POTS $8
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Prunus (Cherries, Plums, Almond, Apricot) S\M\-30ø\Ls\B Evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs. A huge genus of well known and often used plants. Nearly all Prunus prefer full sun, well drained loose soils and moist but not wet soil in summer. Nearly all are cold hardy to -30F. When a Prunus species does not conform to this description it will be mentioned. We are interested in the flowering and ornamental species that make excellent landscape plants as well as bonsai. To simplify matters, and to make comparisons, we have grouped the Prunus species into Flowering Cherries, Flowering Plums, and Flowering Apricot followed by the other species that do not fit into these groups. In order to do this we must forego alphabetical order for Prunus.
All of our Prunus are cutting grown except for Prunus mume seedlings. Cutting grown plants means that you get plants that are ready to flower the spring following their arrival. It also eliminates the ugly grafts prevalent for Prunus species. Lastly, small cutting grown plants provide you with 'true to name' cultivars at very low prices.
Prunus is a traditional genus for bonsai. The early spring flowers on naked stems have been cherished in Asia for centuries. Most people try to make bonsai from plants that are too small. A few species will make mame bonsai such as P. subhirtella X 'Hally Jolivette', but most are suitable only for larger bonsai, which will require years of growing out and multiple trunk chops to obtain taper and movement. Most Prunus tend to grow with cylindrical trunks with little or no taper. Cutting back the trunk repeatedly over a number of years is needed to correct this.
Prunus almost universally suffer from winter and spring fungal diseases and should be treated like fruiting trees. A fixed copper dormant spray several times a winter will protect most species. Most are also subject to late spring freeze damage.
FLOWERING CHERRY
Cold hardy to -30ø, but due to severe dieback
better suited
to areas that only reach -10ø. Prune only to shape plants,
be careful to choose species that will not outgrow their site. Pruning
to control size in the landscape is an endless battle and will diminish
the number of blooms. Flowering Cherries are notorious for forming bad
graft unions that become unsightly with age and are also sources for
infection and insect infestation. To avoid this, our plants are cutting
grown whenever possible. Smaller leaf types make excellent bonsai.
Weeping forms such as 'Pendula' make
beautiful cascade bonsai. In
bonsai situations many will rebloom in the fall as a result of summer
pruning. The spectacular flowers of the larger leaf forms make them
tempting for bonsai, but they will only be suitable for larger (3 to 4
foot) bonsai.
| 7575
Prunus
campanulata x
incisa 'Okame'-10ø 25 feet x 20
feet upright vigorous tree. Dark green foliage, single pink flowers in
early spring. Purple, red and orange fall color. The small flowers and
twiggy branching of this cultivar make it very desirable for bonsai. It
also has smooth deep purple 'cherry bark'. This cultivar is quite
disease resistant. 2 3/4 INCH POTS $8 | |
7590 Prunus incisa
'Midori' (Fuji Cherry, Mame-zakura) Small shrubby tree,
almost prostrate, somewhat smaller than the species. Gray bark, small 2
inch leaves, single pink flowers in early spring, followed by small
purple black cherries. The very twiggy branching and slow growth of
this Cherry makes it excellent material for bonsai. This cultivar is
quite disease resistant.
2 3/4 INCH POTS $8
| 7600 Prunus
serrulata
'Beni Hoshi' (Pink Star) 20 feet x 20 feet with long
arching branches to form an umbrella shape. Multitudes of single pink
flowers with twisted petals hang below the branches, blooms mid-season.
Vigorous and fast growing. The leaves are about 3 inches but will
reduce somewhat in bonsai culture, still they should be used for larger
bonsai. This cultivar suffers from fungal diseases in cold wet spring
weather and must be sprayed. 2 3/4 INCH POTS $8 |  |
7650 Prunus
subhirtella
'Autumnalis' 25
foot x 25 foot open branching shrubby tree with a flattened crown.
Small pale pink to white double flowers in spring and again in the
fall, although not as profuse in autumn. Some flowers may appear during
warm winter spells. The small leaves and fine branching make this an
excellent choice for flowering bonsai. Little or no fruit.
2 3/4 INCH POTS $10
7655
Prunus subhirtella x yedoensis
'Hally Jolivette' A small rounded shrubby tree to 12
feet. Flowers are small and semi-double pink, blooms for three weeks.
The plant is densely branched and has small leaves. New stems are
reddish. One of the very best cultivars for small bonsai.
Available Again in 2009
FLOWERING
PLUM
The description above for Flowering Cherry also applies to Flowering
Plums with the additional precaution that fruits can be a problem and
that plums in general are even faster growing and more likely to
outgrow their site if not chosen carefully. Plums should be treated in
winter with dormant sprays and pruned 'inside out', that is they should
not be headed back which will only encourage their bad habit of forming
crossing branches in the center of the tree. These crossing branches
should be pruned out to open the center of the tree and create a canopy
of foliage on the outer branches. For bonsai, most are only suitable
for larger bonsai. In areas of cold wet spring weather, do not prune
until warmer, drier weather after the first leaves have hardened off to
avoid fungal diseases entering pruning cuts.
7700 Prunus 'Krauter
Vesuvius' (Purple Leaf Plum) All the purple leaf plums
require full sun to maintain the deepest purple color. 18 feet x 12
feet. This is a nice small plum with the deepest purple foliage on
upright growth. Single pink flowers in early spring. Little or no
fruit. Excellent for bonsai.
2 3/4 INCH POTS $10
FOUR INCH POTS $16
FLOWERING
APRICOT
Prunus has been
popular in China and Japan for over a thousand years and is now
becoming very popular in the U.S. It is the longest lived of the
flowering fruit species. It flowers very early in the season, January
in mild areas and Feb-March in colder areas. The flowers may be single
or double, either pink, white, or red (depending on the cultivar)and
are fragrant with spicy cinnamon scent. The flowers are borne along the
length of new green stem growth which can reach 6 feet or more in a
single season. The tree will form a multitude of apricot-like fruits
that are edible, but quite sour. The leaves are a glossy deep green. To
Keep the tree from being ungainly it should be pruned similar to peach.
That is, half of the new stems should be removed each season leaving a
6 inch stub and the remaining half of the stems should be reduced to
the 6 inch stub the following season. Sort of a rotation of new growth
as is practiced in roses. This pruning may take place while the tree is
in bloom and the branches brought into the house. The tree will
ultimately reach 20 feet and will eventually develop an ancient rugged
character. Grafts are problematic, our plants are seedlings. Seedlings
bloom when about five to seven years old.
A traditional bonsai tree. You should plan on growing out mume for
large trunks, they do not make very good small bonsai. Fortunately they
grow very quickly. You can obtain a four to six inch trunk in as many
years if you plant them in the ground. For more information on
obtaining large trunks for bonsai see the article on Developing Large Trunks for Bonsai.
| 7740
Prunus
mume
[seedlings] These seedlings should have some interesting flowers, but
we don't know the source of the seed. The flowers may be pink or white.
They will take three to five years to flower from their current size.
This is a very economical way of obtaining excellent bonsai stock at
low cost. These are nice large field grown plants. FOUR INCH POTS $12 SORRY SOLD OUT |
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