Sakura

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Sakura (Latin Prunus serrulata) - an ornamental plant from the Pink family, often referred to as fine-sawn cherry. Sakura is the national symbol of Japan.

Description

Sakura is an amazingly beautiful tree, the height of which is largely determined by age. Usually it does not exceed eight meters - it is extremely rare to meet taller trees and, as a rule, their age is very, very solid. The smooth bark of trees is densely covered with a huge number of cracks of a wide variety of shades. Sakura wood is quite flexible - this is due to the very impressive resin content. And the oval sakura leaves are equipped with slightly jagged edges.

Sakura bloom starts in early spring, while the flowers begin to bloom long before the leaves appear on the trees. The incredibly attractive five-petalled double flowers boast a wide variety of colors - from snow-white and yellowish to spectacular hot pink. Each sakura brush contains from seven to nine flowers. But the cherry blossom period is very short - less than a week.

Fruits are also formed on sakura, however, in most cases they are inedible (although the fruits of some species of this culture are sometimes used in cooking) - they reach eight to ten centimeters in diameter and have a reddish or black color. But not all varieties of sakura are capable of bearing fruit.

Currently, there are a huge number of varieties of sakura - in Japan alone there are more than three hundred of its species.

The most popular cherry blossom variety is Satonishiki, which boasts impressive resistance to adverse weather conditions, including rain. The Naniye variety is no less popular, but it suffers greatly from rain - to be more precise, it quickly decays. But this variety is characterized by the largest and surprisingly tasty fruits, the weight of which can reach twelve grams.

Where grows

The homeland of sakura is the Himalayas and Japan, as well as China and Korea. And it was from these countries that it gradually began to spread to other warm regions.

Application

Sakura is mainly used as an ornamental plant - it will look very impressive in any garden. However, the fruits of some of its varieties can also be eaten. They are slightly smaller in size than our cherries, and their taste will delight you with a pleasant sourness. Such fruits make wonderful jams and aromatic wines.

Sometimes sakura leaves are also eaten. Such leaves have a very specific taste - spicy, sour or salty-sweetish. They are either salted or pickled like tomatoes or cucumbers. All kinds of Japanese national sweets are often wrapped in pickled leaves. They also make an excellent addition to rice.

In addition, sakura fruit boasts excellent expectorant and diuretic properties.

Growing and caring

Many gardeners successfully grow sakura on their plots - in central Russia, it takes root very well. The main thing is to plant these light-loving trees in areas well-lit by the sun. And the soils intended for planting them must contain an impressive amount of humus and the necessary amounts of all kinds of nutrients.

When it comes to planting time, it is best to plant sakura in spring, as soon as the weather is warm, or in late autumn. And so that the flowering is more abundant, it does not hurt to plant several different varieties at once, keeping a distance of about two meters between them. For the winter, the sakura must be covered.