Cerasus ×naganoi ("Tomoezakura")

Japanese name: トモエザクラ （巴桜）
Scientific name: Cerasus ×naganoi

[Overview]
A deciduous tree presumed to be a hybrid of Edo-higan and Kasumi-zakura.
Young branches are hairy.
The leaves are simple and alternate, ovate-elliptic, 4–10 cm long and 3–6 cm wide.
The leaf tip is tail-like and pointed, and the base is rounded to obtuse.
The entire upper surface of the leaf and the veins on the underside are hairy.
The leaf stalk is also hairy, and the nectar glands are located at the upper end of the leaf stalk.
The flowers are borne 2–3 at a time in umbels; they have 5 petals and are white or pale pink.
The petals are about 1 cm long.
The calyx tube is tubular and bell-shaped, hairy on the outer surface; the calyx lobes have a few serrations and are sparsely hairy on both sides.
There is no flower stalk, and the secondary flower stalks are about 1.5 cm long with dense spreading hairs.
The scale leaves are hairy on both sides.
The fruit is about 9 mm in diameter and ripens black.
It can be distinguished from Kasumi-zakura by the notched double serration on the leaves and the hairs from the lower part of the style to the upper part of the ovary, and from Edo-higan by the base of the calyx tube not being swollen in a jar shape and the nectar glands being located on the upper part of the leaf stalk.

[History]
It was discovered in Chichibu, Saitama.

[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, it is good to restrict the space available to the roots with a fabric pot in order to control the size of the tree.
While it is a young tree, protect it from frost by spreading straw around the base, for example.
Also, it is better not to cut the branches needlessly if there is no need.
It is prone to many pests and diseases, so care is needed.

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