Cerasus spachiana var. spachiana f. spachiana (weeping cherry, "Itozakura")

Japanese name: イトザクラ （糸桜）
Scientific name: Cerasus spachiana var. spachiana f. spachiana

[Overview]
A deciduous tree 20 m tall, with a trunk 1 m in diameter, sometimes more than 3 m.
A type of Edo-higan with long, weeping branches.
The trunk is dark grayish brown, with irregular shallow vertical fissures.
Young branches are grayish brown and softly hairy.
The leaves are oblong to narrowly obovate, 3.3–8.8 cm long and 1.8–4.5 cm wide, with a sharply pointed tip and a broadly wedge-shaped base.
There are 2 nectar glands at the base of the leaf or at the very top of the petiole.
The upper surface of the leaf has sparse soft hairs, and the underside has dense spreading hairs along the veins.
There are many lateral veins, 10–14 pairs.
The petiole is 2–2.7 cm long and densely covered with upward-pointing hairs.
The leaf margin has shallow serrations ending in a gland.
The flowers open before the leaves unfold.
The flowers are borne 2–5 in umbels from the leaf axils; they are usually pale pink, sometimes white or reddish purple, with 5 petals, and 1.5–2 cm across.
The petals are elliptic to obovate, 10–12 mm long.
The calyx tube is 5–6 mm long and short urn-shaped, swelling into a ball at the base.
The calyx lobes have fine serrations on the margin.
The calyx tube and calyx lobes have spreading hairs.
The flower stalk is very short, and the pedicels are 1–1.4 cm long and densely covered with spreading hairs.
The fruit is spherical, 9 mm across, ripens blackish purple, and is astringent.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed, by cuttings, or by grafting.
It prefers a sunny, well-drained location.
If a garden-planted tree growing large would be a problem, it is good to limit the space for the roots with a fabric pot in order 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 it is not necessary.
Care is needed because pests and diseases are numerous.

[Notes]
Because it is vigorous and long-lived, there are famous old trees in many places.

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