Are the Plums Flowering In Japan This Spring?

Purple-leaf plum trees (Prunus cerasifera) are having their finest moment here in the Northwest. Dressed out in gauzy pink, they're so much prettier now than when their dark shadowy cloak of leaves comes on in a week or two. The delicate, pale pink flowers are a stark contrast to the dark branches popping with swells of tiny, deep purple leaf buds.

Cherry blossoms are showier, but plums bloom earliest and after being color-and-blossom deprived all winter, it was glorious to cut branches of flowering plum to bring indoors....

There's an allee of purple leaf plums - maybe 8-10 trees on each side of a narrow road, going into the little town of Langley on Whidbey Island....I walked back and forth beneath the row of trees this weekend, their pink be-decked branches nearly meeting overhead, enjoying the flowers blowing off and fluttering down to the ground. I hope and pray the plum trees are blooming in Japan this spring despite the devastation....

 

 

Comments

[Chris]

I just came in from cutting some stems from our plum trees that line our driveway to put in a vase and low and behold, what do I see on your blog??? :) I hope mine look that pretty when they pop their buds! And yes, I do too hope that the plums and cherries are blooming in Japan to at least give them something beautiful to look at after all they've been through!

[Nike Shox]

Very interesting topic and useful post. It really help me. THANK YOU!!!

[geraldine carey]

i just got some black mondo grass from a friend in oklahoma. it looked fantastic in her yard as ground cover, spreading to cover quite a bit of bare soil. it grew in clumps of about 2 inches tall and 2-3 inches in diameter. will it do as well here in the northwest? i live on the east side of cougar mountain and have mid-day sun and loose direct sunlight by 3 pm. i have nice soil that dries out fairly quick.

[valerie Easton]

Hi Geraldine,
Mondo grass does well in the Northwest, but it's always a slow, steady spreader so don't expect any fireworks. It does best in at least partial shade and give it plenty of water to get it well established....

Good luck with it. Once you get mondo grass going in your garden, it's easy to divide, move around, transplant into pots...
Valerie