Cerasus pseudocerasus ("Karamizakura")

Japanese name: カラミザクラ （唐実桜）
Scientific name: Cerasus pseudocerasus

[Overview]
A deciduous small tree about 3 m tall.
The trunks grow in clusters, and aerial roots emerge from the branching points.
The leaves are simple and alternate, elliptic, 4–10 cm long, with doubly serrate margins.
The undersides of the leaves have hairs along the midrib.
There are 2 nectar glands on the upper part of the petiole.
It flowers before the leaves unfold.
The flowers are borne 2–4 at a time in umbels arising from the leaf axils, and are 5-petaled, white to pale pink.
The stamens are long and numerous.
The calyx tube is bell-shaped to urn-shaped and densely hairy, and the calyx lobes do not curl back.
The fruit is 1–1.5 cm in diameter and ripens red, with sweet-sour flesh.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed, cuttings, or grafting.
It prefers a sunny, well-drained location.
While the plant is a young tree, protect it from frost by laying straw around the base, for example.
Also, it is better not to cut the branches needlessly unless necessary.
Because it is prone to many pests and diseases, care is needed.
To protect the fruit from wild birds, cover the plant with netting, for example.
Also, the fruit may split if it is exposed to rain at harvest time, so protection from rain is necessary.

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