Cerasus apetala var. pilosa f. multipetala ("Kikuzakiokuchojizakura")

Japanese name: キクザキオクチョウジザクラ （菊咲奥丁字桜）
Scientific name: Cerasus apetala var. pilosa f. multipetala

[Overview]
A deciduous small tree about 3 m tall.
The trunk branches from the base, giving an umbrella-shaped crown.
The leaves are obovate to obovate-elliptic, 2.5–7.5 cm long and 1.5–3.5 cm wide, with a tail-like pointed tip and a rounded to obtuse base.
The leaf margin has double serrations with a globular gland at the tip, rounded to obtuse in shape.
The upper surface of the leaf has sparse appressed hairs, and the veins on the underside are densely covered with spreading hairs.
The petiole has long, slightly curled spreading hairs.
Two nectaries are borne on the upper part of the petiole.
It flowers at the same time as the leaves unfold, or slightly earlier.
The flowers hang downward, 1–3 in an umbel arising from the leaf axils, and are pale pink and double-layered.
There can be as many as 200 petals, and the inner petals open after the outer petals have opened.
The calyx tube is narrowly cylindrical to tubular-bell-shaped, slightly swollen at the base, and sparsely hairy or hairless.
The calyx lobes are triangular-ovate with entire margins.
The flower stalk is very short, and the pedicels have sparse spreading hairs.

[History]
The original tree is at Yahiko Shrine in Yahiko Village, Niigata.

[Cultivation]
Propagate by cuttings or grafting.
It prefers a sunny, well-drained site.
If it becomes troublesome by growing into a large tree in a garden, limit the space available to the roots with a fabric pot to control the size of the tree.
While it is still a young tree, protect it from frost by spreading straw around the base, for example.
Also, it is better not to cut branches needlessly if there is no need.
It is prone to many pests and diseases, so care is needed.

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