Mark your calendars for February 8th and join us as we delve into the enchanting world of London's flowering trees. From the vibrant cherry blossoms to the rare elms and fragrant magnolias, discover the beauty and history of these magnificent trees that bring life to the winter landscape. Learn about the unique characteristics of each species, their historical significance, and where to find them in London's iconic parks and gardens. Don't miss this captivating exploration of nature's early bloomers that promise to brighten your winter days!
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Tree flowers
Trees in flower last month e.g. the hybrid strawberry tree, autumn flowering cherry, Persian ironwood and various early cherries continue to flower through this month. Trees now coming more fully into flower include mimosa, yew, some willows and even red maples Acer rubrum and much awaited magnolias if the winter has been a mild one. Trees which tend to make their first appearance in February are a host of new cherries Prunus spp. the Headache tree Umbellularia californica, as well as the occasional eucalyptus.
Two other trees well known for their early flowers are elms Ulmus spp and the Cornelian cherry Cornus mas. Elms are easily distinguished this month by their small, dense crowds of crimson flowers with projecting clusters of black anthers, all of which are produced on bare branches. This makes rarer elms such as the Japanese elm Ulmus japonica in Kensington Gardens, Chinese elm U. parviflora in Hyde Park and Fluttering elm U. laevis on Tooting Common all easier to find. Cornelian cherries have similar but more open bunches of yellow flowers which are also borne on bare branches. The latter bush or tree arrived in the sixteenth century when its colour, rare in winter, would have produced far more excitement than it does today. Now these trees, which are common in London parks, especially Kennington Park, go relatively unnoticed. Their wood was used in the past to make javelins and, more recently, their fruits into jam.
Cherries
Unless it is a cold February, the streets of London come alive with early cherry blossom, most noticeably Myrobolan plum Prunus cerasifera. If the trees have white blossom they are usually P. cerasifera, if pink. P. cerasifera ‘Pissardi’, and if carmine they are likely to be the cultivar ‘Nigra’. P. cerasifera ‘Pissardi’ gets its name from a Mr. Pissard who was the Shah of Persia’s gardener. The cultivar ‘Nigra’ goes on to develop dark purple leaves and these are the small dark purple trees we see all over London. Although not eaten by Londoners they all produce edible ‘cherry plum’ fruits, although their unusual name Myrobolan refers back to a time when the fruits were made into ointments.
With the exception of almond trees P. dulcis most early cherries have small flowers. As they are so varied you might expect there to be several different species, but in fact they are often just hybrids, varieties, cultivars or clones of myrobolon plums and Japanese apricots P. mume. Both have been cultivated for centuries so there are a great variety of different colours varying from white, through pink to carmine and even to madder. Add to this singles, doubles and semi-doubles as well as a tendency for the flowers to fade into a different colour and this explains the huge variety we see. Japanese apricots, which are a favourite bonsai tree, tend to be rarer but a selection varying from white to shocking pink can be found in the woodland area at Wisley e.g. P.m. Kyokah, P.m. Kenkyo and P.m. omoimomama.
The almond tree is native to the Middle East where some specimens are thought to be over a thousand years old. Aaron’s rod and the first bishop’s crosiers were thought to have been made from its branches. They also come in a range of colours but it is the common pink flowered varieties that are tinged with blue that get noticed most. This is because the faint blue makes the pink ‘shout’ especially in the evening light. Unfortunately they are all terribly prone to disease so the white form ‘Alba plena’ and the attractive double pink form ‘Roseo plena’ are both rare. Almond trees must have been one of the brightest sights in medieval London but they now have to compete with a number of more recent introductions such as P. cerasifera ‘divaricata’, P. davidiana, P. sogdiana, P. kursar and P. microcarpa all of which can be seen at Wisley.
