PRUNUS ‘Tai-haku’

Description

The Plant

PRUNUS ‘Tai-Haku’ is the Great White Cherry with an extraordinary history (see “History and Origin” below). In its native country, Japan, it was long considered extinct. Only ancestral drawings recalled its former existence.

This cherry tree develops exceptionally large, immaculate white flowers reaching up to 60 mm in diameter. These are likely the largest flowers of all cherry trees.

Furthermore, this small tree does not grow much in height, but mainly in width. It has a rather spreading silhouette. This makes it an important structural element for a garden, even in winter.

Then, in autumn, it comes to the fore again with its foliage taking on flamboyant colors ranging from intense yellow to crimson red (see photos). It then becomes a true source of light.

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History and Origin

In Japan, PRUNUS ‘Tai-Haku’ was thought to be extinct. Old prints, several centuries old, held traces of this unusual plant.

Then, in 1923, Collingwood Ingram, nicknamed “Cherry Ingram,” a great connoisseur of cherry trees, (re)discovered it in an amateur’s garden in Sussex, UK. He was attracted by its unusually large flowers.

However, it was only in 1926, during a visit to Japan, that he showed a picture of the flowers of this mysterious tree to Japanese experts. They then revealed to him an illustrated logbook from the 18th century depicting exactly the same flower: the “Tai-haku” (which means “Great White”).

Realizing that this was very likely the last living specimen in the world, Ingram took cuttings to send back to Japan. The first attempts failed (from 1926 to 1930) because the cuttings had dried out. The long boat journeys through very hot areas put them to the test.

In 1932, on his fifth attempt, he finally succeeded in sending living cuttings by sticking them into potatoes. C. Ingram then sent them via the Trans-Siberian Railway to avoid the intense heat. A commemorative plaque recalls this story at the Kyoto-Gyoen temple where the descendants of these “traveling” cuttings still bloom every spring.

All PRUNUS ‘Tai-Haku’ you find today come from this fabulous discovery.

How to plant and care for PRUNUS ‘Tai-Haku’?

Planting

We can generally say that this flowering cherry is a resistant and easy-to-care-for plant. To give it the best chances, respect the following points:

1. Find it a place in full sun or partial shade. However, prefer full sun to promote flowering.
2. Choose a fairly open location as it grows wider than it is tall.
3. The location can be cool to moist, moderately moist or dry.
4. It grows in light, normal or heavy soil with an acidic, neutral or calcareous pH.
5. For good preparation of the planting hole, we have designed specific instructions available here.

Care

As with any newly planted plant, provide regular watering for the first two years, especially during dry periods. Also read our tips on how to water properly and save water here.

IMPORTANT: Avoid any pruning on flowering cherry trees. They cannot tolerate it. Pruning generally condemns the plant in the long run.