April 3, 2023. In the previous posting, we have featured single white blossoms that can be seen around town now, or coming soon. You can find the most recent posting at Yesterday’s news – single white flowers – Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival (vcbf.ca). Today we feature two similar weeping trees, one a white one not shown yesterday, and the other the same species but a pink cultivar that we have featured here before. Thanks to Shirley Willard for both photos.
Both these trees with a pendulous (weeping) shape have the botanical name Prunus itosakura Pendula Group. This does not seem to be a registered cultivar, so we are calling it ito-zakura, meaning thread cherry, as it is known in Japan. It is not all that common in the wild, but it is available from landscaping suppliers in white or light pink.
Much more widely planted is the Prunus itosakura cultivar ‘Beni-shidare’, also called ‘Pendula Rosea’, with its showy deep-pink flowers.
