NJNLA PLANT OF THE MONTH - April

Prunus x incam 'Okame'
Okame Cherry

Contributed by Patrick J. Cullina, The Rutgers Gardens, New Brunswick, NJ

This beautiful cherry, a hybrid of Prunus incisa, the hardy Fuji Cherry, and Prunus campanulata, the tender Formosan Cherry (incam is the grex name given to the results of crosses between these two species), is one of the first flowering trees to bloom each spring. Medium pink blossoms that emerge from deep pink buds stand in bright contrast to the red calyces that support them, as the tree usually reaches peak bloom in New Jersey during the first week of April. It is a striking tree in any season, as its ornamental features also include a columnar to broad oval habit, glossy copper-brown bark and dark green foliage that turns to a stunning gold, orange and/or bronze in the fall. It is hardy to USDA zone 5.

First distributed in the west by Collingwood Ingram in England, the Okame Cherry was introduced in the United States by the Morris Arboretum in the 1940's. A Pennsylvania Horticulture Society award winner, it can achieve a width of 20'-25' and a height of 25'- 30.' There are three large, beautiful specimens on display in the Rutgers Gardens at Rutgers University. In 1999, the U.S. National Arboretum released 'Dream Catcher,' an open-pollinated seedling of 'Okame' originally selected by Don Egolf. It is has a vase-shaped habit and flowers that emerge a week later than 'Okame.'