What is the difference between plum blossoms and peach blossoms? A quick guide to telling them apart

Flowers & Gardening Jan 1, 1970 0 views

Plum blossoms come in many colors, including red, yellow and white. They bloom first and then grow leaves, so no leaves are present when they flower. The tree is relatively short, with branches generally around five to six meters, and the color is mostly light gray. Plum blossoms usually open in the colder depths of winter and early spring, and their petals sit tightly together, fairly dense and thick. Peach blossoms have richer, heavier colors, mostly pink. Leaves accompany the flowers when they bloom. The tree can reach 6 to 8 meters in height, and its branches are rough and dark brown. It usually blooms in the relatively warm month of March, and the flowers are thinner and more sparse.

1. Color

The range of colors in plum blossoms is fairly complex, with red, yellow and white all appearing, while peach blossoms are brighter in color but more limited in variety, mostly pink and very rarely pale white.

2. Check whether there are leaves when blooming

Plum blossoms are characterized by blooming first and then growing leaves, so anything showing a sea of flowers with no leaves is certainly plum blossom; peach blossoms have flowers and leaves coexisting, so from a distance anything with flowers and leaves setting each other off is definitely not plum blossom, but peach blossom.

3. Judge by the tree's growth height

The plum tree is somewhat shorter, generally five to six meters tall, and its trunk is mostly light gray; the peach tree is even taller than the maximum height of the plum tree, able to grow to 6 to 8 meters, and its trunk is mostly rather rough and mainly grayish brown.

4. Judge by blooming time

Plum blossoms and peach blossoms bloom at different times. Plum blossoms generally open in the cold winter and the low-temperature early spring, that is, the period from the twelfth lunar month to the second lunar month; peach blossoms generally open in the warm third lunar month, blooming when it is relatively warm. However, the climate varies in some places, so the blooming time is not necessarily very precise.

5. Look at how dense the petals are

Although the petals of plum blossoms and peach blossoms look more or less alike, plum blossom petals are denser and thicker than those of peach blossoms, with smaller gaps between the petals and richer color; peach blossom petals are more sparse and thin.