Stanley Park, Sunday , Apr 12/26 always have to pay our respects at the memorial —- the tree bolt gives a whole new meaning to grafted (I know it’s not grafted —- just quite impressive this century-old tree)
Here is the 'Gyoiko' in Stanley Park, at the south end of the Azalea path, south of the service yard entrance. Some of the flowers are looking very green, but others, not so much. I have cropped the photos but not adjusted the brightness. I was trying here to show the considerable amount of witches' broom in this tree. Nearby is the 'Shujaku', still looking very showy. Here are the two 'Shirotae' north of the service yard entrance. They are about the same size as the 'Gyoiko'.
Here is a tall, lanky 'Kanzan' in a front yard. I suppose if limbs had not been pruned off, it might just be a normal-looking very large tree, but the low grafting (or maybe it's on its own roots?) makes the healthy-looking trunk a lovely support for this shapely tree. At the end of Barclay are two large 'Kanzan' trees, one younger but either bottom-grafted or on its own roots, and the same size as its neighbour. Here's a nice scene on Pendrell Street approaching Denman from the West. It would have been a nicer scene if all the 'Kanzan' had managed to hold onto their identity. Here is the 1600 block of Davie Street, looking east.
This newish building blocking my view has a row of eight 'Ama-no-gawa' along the side of the building. The ones at the lane in back, where they get some sun, are much fuller and more floriferous. The lone Prunus avium 'Plena' on the 1700 block of Pendrell is in bloom now, but its flowers are so high up, it's hard to notice them unless you know to look. It seems to have itself a little following, for its trunk.
Double pink flower day! For this 'Kiku-zakura' on Robson just west of Gilford, I was particularly focused on second-story flowers - new flowers complete with sepals emerging from the flower centres. This is something we've also seen in 'Pink Perfection' and at times on 'Shiro-fugen'. 'Pink Perfection' and 'Kiku-zakura' are not the only cultivars to have a lot of colour variation in their pink with white flowers. 'Kanzan' flowers as they age can become almost white, with still flowers on the tree in bud and in their vibrant dark pink hues. This graceful low-grafted tree at Barclay and Gilford has a lot of colour interest right now. I'm not sure the growth in the last photo is cherry, though it does appear to be coming from the root.
I have to post this Prunus avium 'Plena' at Sunset Beach for @Willard, who saw it as we were passing by in her car. I wasn't convinced that it was the right tree, but it was. She can usually distinguish P. avium and P. avium 'Plena' from a distance, and I cannot. She says 'Plena' branches are more droopy. @Willard posted photos of these two 'Shiro-fugen' on Nicola at Beach Ave from April 11. These photos from April 27 are not exactly current. Here are some Beach Avenue 'Shiro-fugen' photos, also from April 27. One old tree remains, and two of the young replacements are still there, along the seawall. This tree on the corner of Beach and Thurlow is right across the street from the next group, so it's a good corner to visit.
I thought the other day of posting my photo from the bus of the ten or so 'Shiro-fugen' near the east side of Burrard near the corner at Pacific. But I went past there today, so here are real photos. Today I got close to the seawall 'Shiro-fugen' that I photographed from the street yesterday.
I'm still collecting pink 'Shiro-fugen' flower photos, so here are a few from the grove in Stanley Park, across the path from the Japanese Memorial with the 'Ojochin' tree. The one you can't see is completely surrounded by Prunus emarginata (and some other stuff).
The 'Kiku-zakura' on Robson near Gilford is still densely covered in flowers, and the ground below is also densely covered in flowers. The two-story flowers are still on the trees - I didn't see any of those on the ground. They're the ones with white petals in the centre. In the interest of science, I tried to pull a flower apart to show the second-story calyx. I don't think I'm fooling anyone about being a scientist. The two 'Takasago' along the far path at the upper rose garden have of course finished blooming several weeks ago. I'm just reporting that they are still there. Here is the one closest to Pipeline Road. This tree is close to where Rose Garden Lane curves to the north. Maybe we'll get some new limbs. I saw a fruit on it. I was surprised by how double-serrated the leaves seem, and also how I didn't seem to capture many hairs. Photos from previous years do show characteristics that were more convincing for this ID.
