Cerasus speciosa f. idzuensis ("Shiokazezakura")

Japanese name: シオカゼザクラ （潮風桜）
Scientific name: Cerasus speciosa f. idzuensis

[Overview]
A deciduous tree up to 15 m tall.
The bark is purple-black to gray-purple, with conspicuous long, horizontal brown lenticels.
The branches spread horizontally, giving an umbrella-shaped crown.
First-year branches are hairless.
Young leaves are tinged with brown.
The leaves are obovate to obovate-elliptic, with a tail-like pointed tip and a rounded base.
Both surfaces of the leaves are glossy and hairless.
The petiole is hairless and has 2 nectar glands on its upper part.
The leaf margin has serrations whose tips extend into long awns.
The flowers open at the same time as the leaves unfold.
The flowers are borne 3–4 to a corymb arising from the leaf axils, and are pale pink with 5 petals.
The flowers are fragrant.
The petals are broadly elliptic.
The fruit is spherical and ripens to black-purple.

[History]
It was discovered at the southern tip of the Izu Peninsula by Nakai Takenoshin, and was at first published as an independent species.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed, cuttings, or grafting.
It prefers a sunny, well-drained site.
If it grows into a large tree in a 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 spreading straw around the base, for example.
Also, it is better not to cut the branches needlessly.
Pests and diseases are numerous, so care is needed.

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