Pick up know-how for tackling diseases, pests and weeds.
Farm bill, farm marketing, agribusiness webinars, & farm policy.
Find tactics for healthy livestock and sound forages.
Scheduling and methods of irrigation.
Explore our Extension locations around the state.
Commercial row crop production in Arkansas.
Agriculture weed management resources.
Use virtual and real tools to improve critical calculations for farms and ranches.
Learn to ID forages and more.
Explore our research locations around the state.
Get the latest research results from our county agents.
Our programs include aquaculture, diagnostics, and energy conservation.
Keep our food, fiber and fuel supplies safe from disaster.
Private, Commercial & Non-commercial training and education.
Specialty crops including turfgrass, vegetables, fruits, and ornamentals.
Find educational resources and get youth engaged in agriculture.
Gaining garden smarts and sharing skills.
Timely tips for the Arkansas home gardener.
Creating beauty in and around the home.
Maintenance calendar, and best practices.
Coaxing the best produce from asparagus to zucchini.
What’s wrong with my plants? The clinic can help.
Featured trees, vines, shrubs and flowers.
Ask our experts plant, animal, or insect questions.
Enjoying the sweet fruits of your labor.
Herbs, native plants, & reference desk QA.
Growing together from youth to maturity.
Crapemyrtles, hydrangeas, hort glossary, and weed ID databases.
Get beekeeping, honey production, and class information.
Grow a pollinator-friendly garden.
Schedule these timely events on your gardening calendar.
Equipping individuals to lead organizations, communities, and regions.
Guiding communities and regions toward vibrant and sustainable futures.
Guiding entrepreneurs from concept to profit.
Position your business to compete for government contracts.
Find trends, opportunities and impacts.
Providing unbiased information to enable educated votes on critical issues.
Increase your knowledge of public issues & get involved.
Research-based connection to government and policy issues.
Support Arkansas local food initiatives.
Read about our efforts.
Preparing for and recovering from disasters.
Licensing for forestry and wildlife professionals.
Preserving water quality and quantity.
Cleaner air for healthier living.
Firewood & bioenergy resources.
Managing a complex forest ecosystem.
Read about nature across Arkansas and the U.S.
Learn to manage wildlife on your land.
Soil quality and its use here in Arkansas.
Learn to ID unwanted plant and animal visitors.
Timely updates from our specialists.
Eating right and staying healthy.
Ensuring safe meals.
Take charge of your well-being.
Cooking with Arkansas foods.
Making the most of your money.
Making sound choices for families and ourselves.
Nurturing our future.
Get tips for food, fitness, finance, and more!
Understanding aging and its effects.
Giving back to the community.
Managing safely when disaster strikes.
Listen to our latest episode!
Walking by a small flowering cherry tree on the U of A campus during the first week of February, I noticed its flower buds were almost fully extended and only weeks from being in full bloom. The tree was Okame cherry (Prunus x incam “Okame”), one of the earliest flowering of the Japanese cherries.
At least 430 species of cherries are native to the northern temperate zone of Europe, Asia and North America, where they grow as small trees or shrubs. Important fruit trees such as peaches, apricots, almonds and cherries are part of the group but a number of ornamental species are also found here, including the Japanese flowering cherries.
Okame is a small, somewhat twiggy, erect growing deciduous tree with a rounded crown that reaches 25 feet in height with a spread of less than 20 feet. As the trees age, the trunk and larger limbs take on a polished reddish-brown look with prominent horizontal lenticels. Its bark is attractive in the winter landscape. In the fall it has good bronze-orange fall color.
The flowers are a deep carmine pink and produced on pendant pedicels in a mass of somewhat downward facing flowers crowding the stems. The five-petaled, slightly fragrant flowers have a deep red calyx and appear in late winter. Here in Fayetteville, during the past four years, it has an average bloom date of the last week of February, with a range from mid-February through the first week of March. Blooming that early, fruit never form.
Okame is a hybrid between Prunus campanulate, the Taiwan flowering cherry and P. incisia, the Japanese Fuji cherry. From the Taiwanese species it inherits its pink flowers, early blooming characteristics, fast growth, and heat tolerance. From its Japanese parent it inherits its cold hardiness. The initial cross was made in 1930 in the English estate garden of Captain Collingworth “Cherry” Ingram (1880 – 1981). Okame was officially named in 1947 and is the most common of Ingram’s several introductions.
Ingram was an interesting character who developed a deep affection for Japanese cherries after seeing them in bloom in their homeland in the early years of the 20th century and then, after surviving World War I in France while working with the Royal Flying Corps adjusting compass alignment, took them up in earnest in 1919. He went on to write a book on the Japanese cherries in 1948 which served as a primary reference for many years. A detailed biography can be found on the web by searching “Cherry Ingram – Naoko Abe”.
Okame flowering cherry was awarded the Styer award (now the Gold Medal of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society) in 1988, back when recognizing plants of merit was a new thing here in the colonies. This gave this fine cherry the nudge it needed to be picked up by nurserymen and today it is recognized as one of the finest flowering ornamental cherries for USDA growing zones 6 through 8, which includes all of Arkansas.
Like all flowering cherries, this plant should be located in full sun in a fertile, well drained soil. South or west facing sites should probably be avoided because it blooms early enough as it is. Being a cherry, it is susceptible to any number of potential ailments, so don’t be surprised if it succumbs to some ailment in 25 or 30 years. But what a glorious life it will have.
For more information about horticulture or to see other Plant of the Week columns, visit Extension’s Website, www.uaex.uada.edu, or contact your county extension agent. The Cooperative Extension Service is part of the U of A Division of Agriculture.