I snapped a photo of my ornamental cherry this morning (it's pouring rain right now). The leaves are starting to change color and, if it repeats what it did last year, they should finish up a deep red...and that's when it should start flowering. And this is a very special tree. Back in the 1930's Japan gifted about 500 cherry trees to the city of Vancouver. A lot of these original trees are now dead or dying so UBC and BCIT got together for a project that lasted 6 years trying to clone them - they managed about 300 clones of six varieties. These clones were then offered to residents of the City at a cost of only $20 per tree but the stipulation was that they had to stay within the city and you had to provide an address as to where they would located. I was one of the lucky ones to be able to purchase a clone. And even though I have only had the tree a few years it is actually about 100 years old as it is a genetic clone of the original tree. Cherry 'Fudan Zakura' The name means 'flower without interruption' because they will starting flowering sporadically in late fall or early winter before the "main event" in February/March.
@pmurphy, how nice to start of this thread with a winter-blooming cherry, and such pretty autumn leaves. I've been collecting photos of random cherries in the West End - now to find them all, since I didn't think to put the word cherry or Prunus in the names. Here are 'Accolade', at the minipark on Chilco at Nelson and then at the other end of the block, at Comox. The third photo is a 'Shirotae' that belongs to the condo - the others are city trees. 'Akebono' on Beach Avenue at English Bay, and what were supposed to be three of these trees on a small hockey area. The city never did remove the P. avium rootstock from the one closest to the water, which now looks ridiculous on the upper half of the crown. But it will get two periods of autumn colour - there is that. Here is another 'Akebono' group at an office building. 'Shiro-fugen' near Stanley Park. And a 'Sendai-shidare' on the same street, plus the other two 'Sendai-shidare' a couple of blocks away. 'Ichiyo' is one of my favourites - these two don't get so much notice in the lane. There are very few Korean Hill Cherries around, yet this seems to have the best colour going. It's also in a lane, getting not much attention, but it's at least visible from the nearby minipark.
Laura didn't put in the cultivar - 'Akebono', so I'm linking to a posting of them in bloom: Kensington-Cedar Cottage
@Laura Blumenthal good morning Laura, here in Southern England the Cherry trees have been quite disappointing for Autumn colour, just too warm !! Don't think you get that problem in Vancouver!!? Beautiful tree and photo. Certainly has brightened up the start of my Saturday morning.
Actually, it was quite warm here today (Friday), too. The high was about 10, I think - but it's late at night right now! I'm certainly happy to have brightened up your Saturday morning - I'm looking forward to mine. Edit: I just checked the temperatures for London - you are certainly having a warm spell - how nice!
'Royal Burgundy' stands out from the rest of the cherry trees (turning yellow) on VanDusen Garden's Great Lawn, at November 8, 2020. At this stage, the leaves looks more maroon (a mix of red and brown) instead of burgundy, a mix of red and purple).
The 'Royal Burgundy' stands out in this thread too. And it's a nicer colour than the dark summer burgundy. Here are some more variations on yellow. Prunus 'Ama-no-gawa', outside the government liquor store downtown. The first group on the south side of Alberni are more shaded, have less orange than the ones around the corner. The same cultivar on the north side of Beach Avenue. These have just gotten their nice colour. P. avium, the largest one in the West End. P. 'Kanzan', and one way to see some colour, an "event" called Lumiere at Jim Deva Plaza. Those things turn ("use your elbow to turn them") to change the colour palette. Here are some P. 'Shiro-fugen': on Bute Street, at English Bay viewed from Beach Avenue, on Beach Avenue across the street from the Aquatic Centre. These 'Shiro-fugen' are at a sort of pocket park downtown. The second photo is looking back at the street. The two trees with green leaves are Prunus 'Shogetsu'.
Here are two photos taken minutes ago of a Prunus Mount Fuji cherry. As others have rightly said. Cherry trees are colourful also.
2021 I'm not sure about cherry leaves this year - the ones that have coloured up so far have lost a lot of leaves, so they're kind-of half bare-branch photos. Others have not started to colour up yet. Here are a few from a walk this afternoon. Two views of the same 'Akebono' tree on Beach Avenue. The first photo shows its nice shape, but the second shows its location near English Bay. I was a block away from these two 'Shiro-fugen' trees when the sun came out, so I walked back to photograph them again. Each tree has a red-leaf section with green and yellow leaves on the rest of the branches. These are 'Kanzan' trees on the block east of Alexandra park. A freighter on English Bay was a little more visible in real life.
Shirotae ornamental cherries at Regent College, UBC today I copied a blossom photo from the festival map and the fall foliage colors are what I took today gorgeous!
Here's another grouping of yellow-leaved cherries, but these are 'Akebono', next to the underpass in Stanley Park, from Lost Lagoon to Coal Harbour. Well, they're almost all yellow leaves. Here are two young 'Shirotae' planted at Lost Lagoon. At Ceperley Meadow, between Lost Lagoon and English Bay, is a row of 'Snow Goose'. There are still two 'Sendai-shidare' at this building on Comox Street in the West End, but the other one has lost almost all its leaves, and it seems to have fewer branches every year. 'Takasago' trees in the West End are the only cherries so far that make more of a mahogany-coloured over-all impression.
Here is another 'Takasago', on Comox at Broughton, with some attractive leaves. I managed to snap these 'Ukon' as I was driving by the corner of Macdonald and West 1st Avenue. The smaller trees to the right are younger 'Tai-haku'.
Some sunshine on a rainy day color from a sturdy old Kanzan on the Sunshine Coast (ha!) i have included spring pix too for comparison Sunshine Coast/Gulf Islands And two days ago - yellow leaves carpeting the lane i réalise without the fluffy spring blossoms we love - I notice more of the bark and branches and overall tree shape beauty
I found it hard to get a good picture of this (likely to be) 'Amanogawa' this year, about the best so far:
Yes, we confirmed that when you posted the flowers in July at Pruning advice for columnar cherry close to house. And those look like very good pictures! Here's another 'Takasago' a few blocks from me. This cultivar still seems to have the best colour this year, unless you're into yellow. But if you look closely, you can see all the little problems so common with this cultivar.
My prunus Amanogowa nearing the end of this seasons colours. As the thread says 'Cherry leaves are ornamental too'. D
'Somei-yoshino' at Burnaby Mountain. I could be wrong about the cultivar. The shot was taken about one month ago.
Nice colour last month on those Burnaby Mountain trees. Yes on 'Somei-yoshino' - you an see photos of them in the springtime in 2016 at Burnaby.
