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Photos Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival

Yesterday’s news – double white ‘Ichihara-tora-no-o’ and ‘Shogetsu’

April 30, 2023. The festival has officially ended, but one month is far too short for showing off our beautiful blossoms. As long as the Cherry Scouts keep posting them, we’ll feature them here.

The whole area has just gone pink with ‘Kanzan’ cherries, but there are still rare gems showing off. Here are two with double white blossoms.

‘Ichihara-tora-no-o’, the tiger tail from Ichihara, the fanciful name referencing the way the flowers and leaves drape along the limbs.

20230426_Icihara-tora-no-o_E57Fraser_Eng_7925
20230426_Icihara-tora-no-o_E57Fraser_Eng_7925

If there could be said to be opposites, ‘Shogetsu’ might be it – instead of slithering along the limbs and branches, this cultivar’s flowers dangle from long stems, leading to its name meaning “moonlight through pine trees”.

20230426 PantagesCardero Shogetsu Willard  IMG_3286
20230426 PantagesCardero Shogetsu Willard IMG_3286
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Shogetsu Phylloid

Shogetsu late season long pistil
Shogetsu are at the end of the blooming season. Many Shogetsu blossoms have phylloid (leafy) pistils in the centres, extending close to 2cm

 

Shogetsu late season long pistil
Some Shogetsu blossoms even have a new petal or two forming in the centre.

 

Source: Wendy Cutler, Shirofugen or Shogetsu? (UBC Forum)

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Shogetsu – end of season

Shogetsu cherry blossoms turning pink late in the season
Shogetsu cherry blossoms are turning pink, as they do when it’s the end of the season.

 

Shogetsu cherry blossoms turning pink late in the season
The green leaves have grown bigger. You can see the teeth on the edge of the leaves.

 

Shogetsu cherry blossoms turning pink late in the season
We’re approaching the end of the season for Shogetsu cherry trees in Vancouver. The petals are starting to fall and, soon, the blossoms will follow.

 

Shogetsu cherry blossoms turning pink late in the season
Shogetsu cherry blossoms are prettier when they are white, but if you find the right angle, you can still make pretty pictures of the blossoms turning pink.

 

Compare with the pictures of the freshly opened Shogetsu cherry blossoms from April 27, 2013

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End of Season

We’re nearing the end of cherry blossom viewing in Vancouver.  Let’s take a look at what’s still blooming in your neighborhood.

Amanogawa cherry blossoms
The Amanogawa cherry blossoms are turning pink and leaves are growing.

 

Shogetsu cherry blossom
The leaves of the Shogetsu cherry trees are still a bright green, but the blossoms are slowly turning pink.

 

Shirofugen red bud scales
Shirofugen cherry blossoms are turning pink. They’re the last ones to bloom in Vancouver. They’re tough and will probably be hanging there until June.

 

Let’s enjoy these late-blooming cherry blossoms.

To find out where Amanogawa, Shogetsu and Shirofugen are blooming in your neighborhood, check-out the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival cherry viewing map.

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Shogetsu versus Shirofugen

Shogetsu cherry blossom

How can you tell the different between Shogetsu and Shirofugen cherry trees?

They both have white double-flowers and they bloom at the same time in Vancouver (just about now), so how can you identify them?

I decided to put my cherry scout training in practice and try to identify a white cherry tree  blooming on my street. I quickly determined that it was Shogetsu (as opposed to a Shirofugen). Here’s why:

Shogetsu cherry blossom

Emerging leaves:  When you want to identify cherry trees, it’s important to keep field notes.

For example, I noticed a couple of weeks ago that the leaves of the tree were emerging (green) before the blossoms, which means the tree cherry was probably a Shogetsu (the leaves of Shirofugen are copper color when they emerge before turning to green then back to copper).

Shogetsu cherry blossom

The edge of the Shogetsu petals are fringed (instead of having a smooth round edge).

Wendy Cutler provided great pictures showing the difference between Shogetsu and Shirofugen cherry blossoms on the UBC forum (#6).

Shogetsu cherry blossom

Petal count:  I’ve counted about 25 petals on the blossoms. Shogetsu have 20-25 petals, but Shirofugen can have up to 40.

Shogetsu cherry blossom

Flowers: the elegant blossoms were at the end of long stalks of 4-6 corymbs. The picture I took was very similar to the photo from the book Ornamental Cherries in Vancouver, confirming my belief this was a Shogetsu.

Shogetsu cherry blossom

Color of the leaves:  no sign of copper. All the leaves are a healthy green.

Shogetsu cherry blossom

Presence of a phylloid (which is also present in Shirofugen).

Shogetsu cherry blossom

Buds: with a hint of pink, but blossoms open pure white.

I think the first four elements were the ones that really allowed to identify the tree as Shogetsu: green leaves emerging before the blossoms, fringed-edge petals, long stalks,  and 25 petals.

Are there Shogetsu cherry trees in your neighborhood? Find out on the VCBF map.