O-yama-zakura (Prunus sargentii). The “big mountain cherry” is a robust, cold-hardy species native to northern Japan. Seedlings typically produce narrow, upright stems in youth, but with age, the crown eventually broadens to form a spreading, rounded canopy of branches. Flower buds are conspicuously sticky and burst open in late March or early April with small umbels of light pink to bright salmon pink flowers. The comparatively broad leaves unfold bronze-purple after flowering, becoming dark green above and noticeably lighter below. Autumn colour is orange or red. Few specimens of O-yama-zakura are grown outside of large parks or botanical gardens locally.
