More scope for prunus

Press, 1 July 1983, Page 8

More scope for prunus

GARDENING

by

M. Lusty

Prunus is a large genus with almost 200 species of trees and shrubs. Most of them are in cultivation, and yet from such a large group of garden worthy plants there are not as many as one would expect in wide use. Among the earliest of the better known kinds to flower are the various forms of Japanese apricots, flowering peaches, and flowering almonds. Prunus triloba, belongs in the category of almonds. It flowers a little later. It was once widely grown, at least in its double flowered form Mulitiplex, more commonly known here as Flora pleno. The single flowered species as well as the double form were introduced to Europe by Robert Fortune, in 1855, from China. The plant makes a large

suckering shrub or on a single stem, even a small tree, 3 to 4 metres high. Garden specimens are smaller, particularly if pruned on an annual basis. The leaves are small, oval and taper at both ends, and have a coarsely toothed margin. Some leaves, especially those on strong growing shoots, can be lobed but such a condition is rarely common enough to warrant the specific epithet triloba. Flowers are large, fully double, rosette-like, of a rose-pink colour with somewhat paler centres. These are produced singly or in pairs in great profusion at the nodes on bare, one-year-old stems in spring time. Then it provides a most beautiful sight. Propagation is usually by cuttings taken in summer when the base of the new shoots are beginning to firm. These can be rooted in a cold frame or in pots in a glasshouse. Hardwood cuttings are more difficult to strike for some reason and these, 200 mm in length, are taken in winter from strong previous season’s growth and lined out in open ground.

When grown as a bush, suckering is not unusual, and the rooted layers can be detached for planting. It is best to train a well-spaced framework on a short leg. After flowering all shoots

can be cut back to one to three buds of the established framework. Following on from pruning, established shrubs should be given 0.5Ikg of a general fertiliser and this should be spread to

the limits of the branch drip line. Hard pruning with regular feeding will produce long arching branches that are well clothed with flowers.