Cerasus hisauchiana ("Yabuzakura")

Japanese name: ヤブザクラ （藪桜）
Scientific name: Cerasus hisauchiana

[Overview]
A small deciduous tree presumed to be a hybrid of Mame-zakura and Edo-higan.
It is found in low mountains and hills.
The first-year branches are hairless.
The leaves are one size larger than those of Mame-zakura, 3–7 cm long and 1.5–3.5 cm wide, obovate to oblong-oblanceolate, with a pointed tip that sometimes extends into a tail.
The leaf margin has incised double serrations.
The upper surface of the leaf is sparsely covered with appressed hairs, and the underside is also hairy, especially along the veins.
The leaf stalk has ascending hairs, and the nectary glands are on the base of the leaf.
It flowers before the leaves unfold.
The flowers are also one size larger than those of Mame-zakura.
The flowers are borne 1–2 per umbel from the leaf axils, and are white with a slight reddish tinge, with 5 petals.
The petals are round to elliptic, 1.2–1.3 cm long, with a shallowly 2-lobed tip.
The calyx tube is 1.5 times as long as the calyx lobes, and the calyx lobes are ovate-round with serrations.
The small flower stalks are short, 1 cm, and covered with soft hairs.

[Cultivation]
Propagate by cuttings or grafting.
It prefers a sunny, well-drained site.
If it becomes a problem by growing into a large tree in a garden, it is good to limit the space in which the roots can spread by using a fabric pot, to control the size of the tree.
While it is a young tree, protect it from frost by spreading straw around the base of the plant, for example.
Also, it is better not to cut the branches needlessly unless necessary.
Pests and diseases are numerous, so care is needed.

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