Ornamental and Fruiting Plum, Pear Cherry and Apricot Trees
Prunus are a large group of trees that include a number of fruiting trees as well as many flowering ornamental types widely grown in the garden as feature trees.
The ornamental varieties are widely grown in Australian gardens and are suited to different landscaping applications.
Fruiting varieties are growm both in home gardens and commercially.
Prunus varieties vary in growth habit from the low growing Prunus elvins which will reach around 3m in height and is excellent for smaller gardens with its masses of pale pink flowers spring and good red autumn colour.
Prunus yedoensis yoshino is one of the larger varieties reach around 8m in height. Upright vase shape and white flowers in spring.
All are moderate in growth rate and all are frost hardy. Best in full sun. Some varieties such as Prunus subhirtella are available as weeping forms, commonly as grafted standards.
Flowering or Fruiting
Two types of Prunus persica have been developed, the fruiting types and the flowering types.
So the flowering types do not produce good fruit, however the flowers are very good and they flower in early spring. The fruiting types have the wonderful edible fruit, however have not been developed to produce as good flowers.
Flowering Types include:
- Prunus persica ‘Alboplena’
- Prunus persica ‘Versicolour’
- Prunus persica ‘Roseoplena’
- Prunus persica ‘Klara Mayer’
- Prunus persica ‘Magnifica’
Prunus Varieties include
- P. domestica – Common Plum Tree
- P. salicina – Japanese plum
- P. cerasus – Cherry Trees
- P. persica – Peach Trees and Nectarine Trees
- P. armeniaca – Apricots.
- P. dulcis – Almond Trees.
- Prunus glandulosa – Chinese bush cherry or Dwarf flowering almond
- Prunus lusitanica – The Portuguese laurel.
- Prunus cerasifera nigra Fastigiata – Upright Flowering Plum
- Prunus Shirotae – Japanese flowering cherry
- Prunus Elvins – Flowering Plum
- Prunus spinosa – Blackthorn or Sloe,