Prunus Sato-zakura Group Japanese flowering cherries

‘Mt. Fuji’ cherry blossoms in the Quad’s Oregon Courtyard. Sairus Patel, 23 Mar 2021

A simple timetable for cherry blossom season

In the Quad’s Oregon Courtyard, Mt. Fuji cherries, past peak bloom, leaf out rapidly at the start of spring quarter. Blossoms on the taller columnar ‘Amanogawa’ behind them are just emerging. Sairus Patel, 31 Mar 2017

On April 16, 2020, the newly landscaped southeast courtyard of the Outer Quad was dedicated as the Oregon Courtyard, in honor of alumni and friends from Oregon who contributed to the restoration of the Language Corner buildings following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. The courtyard landscape’s design mirrored the layout of the Thomas Church courtyard at the Geology Corner, but used early-flowering ‘Mt. Fuji’ (‘Shirotae’) cherry trees as the canopy trees around the central area and columnar ‘Amanogawa’ cherries on the periphery. (The Thomas Church courtyard uses Chinese fringe tree for canopy and a mix of waxleaf privet topiary and citrus at the edges.) The cherry trees were a gift of the Gifu Cherry Blossom Association, several dozen members of which attended the dedication in their bright fuchsia happi coats.

The Japanese flowering cherries have long been considered in the West to be cultivars of P. serrulata. Given that they are mostly hybrids of P. speciosa, or selections thereof, they are designated here as members of the Sato-zakura (village or cultivated cherries) Group. Our ‘Amanogawa’ bloom a couple of weeks later than the ‘Mt. Fuji’; thus around mid to late April you will see the former ramping up towards full bloom while the latter leafing out, their flowers fast fading.

Popular cultivar ‘Kwanzan’ (‘Kanzan’) has deep pink, voluptuously ruffled blossoms and blooms the last of them all, holding its flowers for the longest. It can be seen on the right of Ventura Hall, in the center of the relocated Amy Blue Memorial Garden behind Building 60, and in the History Corner at Building 20. A row is on the left of 780 Welch Road.

‘Shogetsu’ had been planted in the original location of the Amy Blue Memorial Garden in the old Serra Complex which was replaced by the Knight Management Center.

Members of the Gifu Cherry Blossoms Group at the dedication of the newly landscaped Oregon Courtyard. Cathy Blake, 16 Apr 2000

Newly landscaped Oregon Courtyard on the day of its dedication, with Amanogawa cherry in bloom on the right. Cathy Blake, 16 Apr 2000

Prunus serrulata ‘Mt. Fuji’ in the Oregon Courtyard. John Rawlings, 16 Apr 2004

Prunus ‘Kwanzan’, rear of Memorial Church, behind Building 60, before the Amy Blue Memorial Garden was relocated to that spot. John Rawlings, 7 Dec 2003