When Does Plum Blossom Bloom? A Detailed Guide to the Latest Blooming Periods
Plum blossom is also known as sour plum, yellow plum, Hehan plum, white plum blossom, green calyx plum, and more. It has a cultivation history of over 3,000 years in our country. Whether grown for ornamental purposes or as a fruit tree, it has many varieties. Many types can not only be cultivated in the open field for viewing but can also be grown as potted flowers, and they have important ornamental and medicinal value. Now let us take a look at when plum blossom blooms!
When does plum blossom bloom?
Plum blossom mostly blooms first in early spring from January to February, then leafs out. However, the blooming time varies with the climate in different regions. In southwestern China, it blooms from December to January of the following year; in central China, from February to March; and in northern China, from March to April. From first bloom to full bloom takes 4 to 7 days, and to the end of blooming 15 to 20 days. The flowers are borne singly or sometimes 2 together in one bud, usually 2 to 2.5 cm in diameter, strongly fragrant, with a pedicel about 1 to 3 mm long, and petals white to pink, obovate.
Growth habits of plum blossom
Plum blossom prefers a warm climate and is not strongly cold-hardy. Except for apricot plum varieties, which can tolerate low temperatures of -25°C, it generally tolerates low temperatures of -10°C. It is relatively drought-tolerant, not waterlogging-tolerant, and long-lived, reaching up to a thousand years. It is especially sensitive to climate changes during the blooming period, prefers relatively high air humidity, but dislikes heavy rain. It tolerates high temperatures and can also grow at 40°C, and grows and develops best in areas with an annual average temperature of 16 to 23°C. It is very sensitive to temperature and blooms when the average temperature in early spring reaches -5 to 7°C. If low temperatures occur, the blooming period is delayed; if low temperatures occur during blooming, the blooming period can be extended. During the growing season, it should be placed in a sunny, well-ventilated location. If kept in a shaded environment with insufficient light, it will grow weakly and bloom sparsely.
The flower language and legend of plum blossom
The flower language of plum blossom is strength, proud spirit, and elegance. The flower language of red plum is unyielding fidelity, defying frost and snow, and being gorgeously charming. The flower language of white plum is purity and unyielding fidelity. The flower language of wintersweet is purity, strength, working quietly without seeking fame, and selfless dedication. There is also a desolate and beautiful legend about the flower language of plum blossom.
Legend has it that many years ago, in a peaceful village, there was a pair of senior and junior martial arts disciples who loved each other deeply. One day, a monster suddenly appeared and committed every evil deed, disrupting the people's quiet lives. To save the villagers, this pair of disciples carried swords on their backs and went to find the monster. After several days of fierce fighting, victory seemed near, and the senior disciple also felt his strength gradually failing. Just then, the monster thrust a sword at the senior disciple. Seeing him in danger, the junior disciple leaped forward and shielded him, and the sharp sword pierced deeply into her chest. The senior disciple was greatly shocked and, rousing himself, thrust several swords in succession at the monster.
At last, the monster was killed. The senior disciple picked up the junior disciple, whose face had already turned pale, and shouted loudly. However, due to excessive blood loss, she was soon dying. She gave him a faint smile and said: “You are very brave. I love you, and I will love you forever!” With that, she closed her beautiful eyes. The senior disciple was overcome with grief. Suddenly, a miracle happened: snow fell thickly all across the sky, and the junior disciple in his arms slowly disappeared, and a young sprout emerged in front of him.
The senior disciple knew that it was the junior disciple transformed, and he could not help but stroke the sprout in endless sorrow. His tears fell onto the sprout, and it quickly grew into a large tree. This tree had no leaves but was covered with white flowers, and a faint, delicate fragrance spread for a thousand li. This was the plum blossom. The senior disciple could not bear to leave the junior disciple, so from then on he built a house beside the plum blossom and every day recited poetry and practiced swordplay in front of it. Until the day he was about to die, he leaned against that white plum blossom and spoke all the words of love he could not finish in a lifetime, and after death he also turned into a plum blossom. The flowers it produced were bright red, which was his passionate love.