What is the latest information on plum blossoms? A complete guide in one article

The plum blossom is a deciduous tree of the genus Prunus in the rose family (Rosaceae), native to China, and sometimes also refers to its fruit (the plum) or flower (the plum blossom). It usually blooms in winter and spring, and thanks to its cold tolerance it has become the flower representing winter. In Chinese culture there is a saying of spring orchid, summer lotus, autumn chrysanthemum and winter plum. It was later introduced to Korea and Japan, and it has important ornamental and medicinal value. Let us now take a look at what information there is about the plum blossom!

Morphological characteristics

The plum blossom is a small tree, rarely a shrub, 4-10 m tall, with bark that is light gray or tinged with green and green branchlets. The leaves are ovate or elliptic, with a caudate-acuminate apex and a broadly cuneate to rounded base, and the leaf margins usually bear small sharp serrations. The flowers are solitary or sometimes 2 borne together in one bud, strongly fragrant, opening before the leaves; the pedicel is short, the calyx is usually reddish brown, the calyx tube is broadly campanulate, the sepals are ovate or nearly round, and the petals are obovate and white to pink. The fruit is nearly spherical, sour, with the flesh adhering to the stone; the stone is elliptic. The flowering period is winter and spring, and the fruiting period is May to June (in North China the fruiting period extends to July to August).

Growth habits

The plum blossom likes a warm climate and is not strongly cold-hardy. Apart from varieties of the apricot plum group, which can withstand low temperatures of -25°C, it generally tolerates -10°C. It is relatively drought-tolerant and not tolerant of waterlogging, and it is long-lived, able to reach a thousand years. Its flowering period is especially sensitive to climate change. It likes relatively high air humidity but dislikes torrential rain. It tolerates high temperatures and can still grow at 40°C, and it grows and develops best in areas with an annual average temperature of 16-23°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, flowering is delayed, and if low temperatures occur during flowering, the flowering period can be prolonged. During the growing season it should be placed in a sunny, well-ventilated spot; in a shaded environment with insufficient light it grows weak and spindly and blooms sparsely. In winter it should not be brought indoors too early; bringing it indoors in late November is advisable, so that flower bud differentiation can fully go through the vernalization stage. In winter it should be placed in a sunny spot indoors, and a temperature of about 5°C is sufficient.

Origin and distribution

The plum blossom is a specialty of our country. Our country is the world center of wild distribution of the plum blossom and also the world center of its cultivation. It originated in the provinces of southwest China, Sichuan, Hubei and Guangxi, blooms in early spring, and is cultivated throughout the country, but most abundantly in the provinces south of the Yangtze River basin. There are also a few varieties in northern Jiangsu and southern Henan, and some varieties have been successfully introduced to North China. It also occurs in Japan and Korea.

Cultivation value

The plum blossom has a cultivation history of more than three thousand years in our country, and whether grown for ornament or as a fruit tree it has many varieties. Many types are not only cultivated in the open ground for ornament, but can also be grown as potted flowers and trained into plum bonsai. The fresh flowers can be used to extract essence, and the flowers, leaves, roots and seed kernels can all be used as medicine. The fruit can be eaten, salted, dried, or smoked into dark plum for medicinal use, and has the effects of relieving cough, stopping diarrhea, promoting fluid production and quenching thirst. Because the plum tree can resist root-knot nematode damage, it can be used as a rootstock for stone fruit trees.

Plant culture

The plum blossom, together with the orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum, is listed among the “Four Gentlemen”, and together with the pine and bamboo it is also called one of the “Three Friends of Winter”. It still blooms unyieldingly in the cold winter, and the precious qualities of our nation - unyielding, tenacious striving and fearing no hardship - are all well embodied in it. As early as ancient times we had poets chanting poems in praise of the plum blossom: “A few branches of plum by the corner of the wall, blooming alone in the cold. From afar I know it is not snow, for a subtle fragrance comes.” It is also regarded as the flower species with the greatest integrity. In addition, although the plum blossom grows in harsh environments, it still blooms joyfully, expressing an optimistic character that welcomes hope.