Cerasus spachiana ‘Ujo-shidare’

Japanese name: エドヒガン‘雨情枝垂’
Scientific name: Cerasus spachiana ‘Ujo-shidare’

[Overview]
A cultivar of the Edo-higan group.
A small deciduous tree.
The branches are long and weeping.
The leaves are linear-elliptic to oblanceolate-elliptic, about 8 cm long and 2.5–3 cm wide, with a sharply pointed tip.
On the upper surface of the leaf, hairs grow along the midrib.
The underside is slightly tinged with white and has hairs on the veins.
The leaf margin has sharp serrations, with no double serrations mixed in.
The petiole has many upward-pointing hairs.
It flowers before the leaves unfold.
The flowers are borne in umbels in the leaf axils; they are pale pink and about 3 cm across.
There are about 20 petals, which are not twisted and open flat.
Many stamens spread out radially from the base.
The pistil projects far out of the flower.
The calyx tube is bell-shaped to urn-shaped.
The sepals are triangular and serrated.
The outside of the calyx tube and sepals is hairy.
There is almost no flower stalk, and the pedicels have many bent hairs.

[Cultivation]
Propagate by cuttings or grafting.
It prefers a sunny, well-drained location.
If it grows into a large tree in the garden and becomes a problem, restrict the space available to the roots with a fabric pot to control the size of the tree.
While it is a young tree, protect it from frost by laying straw around the base.
Also, it is better not to cut the branches needlessly if it is not necessary.
It is prone to many pests and diseases, so care is needed.

[Notes]
The Japanese name comes from the fact that it was cultivated at the residence of Noguchi Ujo in Utsunomiya.

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