Plum
Location: Campus
Approximate blooming period: late winter
Japanese flowering apricot, Prunus mume
Origin: China, Japan
Habitat: Hardy to USDA Zone 6
Height and Form: Deciduous, bushy, rounded tree up to 15-30 ft
Foliage and Bark: glabrous green branches
Flowers, Fruit and Seeds: Flowers are pale pink and fragrant turning into fruit that is yellow to orange-red, fuzzy-skinned, sour to bitter
Name: translated as "plum blossom" (梅花)
Culture: Sun or partial shade, well-drained soil. It is tougher and more trouble-free than other flowering fruit trees.
Cultivars/Varieties: "Considered the most important tree in the gardens of China, strongly associated with Chinese culture and long cultivated there. In Japan, it is grown extensively and there are several hundred named cultivars, the fruit is picked green and pickled (Jacobson, 1996)."
