Gyoiko

Prunus 'Gyoiko' 

Sato-zakura Group

[Syn: P. serrulata f. tricolor Miyoshi (1916); P. lannesiana ‘Gioiko’]. AM 1930

This unusual flowering cherry is characterised by its greenish tinged flowers, one of only two or three cultivars which show this characteristic.

Introduced 1914. The Japanese name means coloured court robes (Ko-Gyo-i); it refers to the green, white, and purple colours of women’s robes in the Imperial Court in ancient Japan.

Gyoiko is very closely related to (i.e. probably a sport of) Prunus 'Ukon' with a similar growth habit. It flowers a little later than Ukon and sometimes grows a chimerical branch which has Ukon flowers.

Blooms are double and c.3.0 - 4.0 cm (1.5") dia . They are yellowish cream in colour, broadly slashed with green, and darker than Ukon. Petal edges are faintly marked with pink .Petals are grass-green with a narrow white stripe and with an occasional pink stroke. They tend to blend in with the foliage of the tree. The outer petals are reflexed. It flowers late, in early May and is very floriferous.

 'Gyoiko' has a diploid set of chromosomes (2n = 16).

Location

• One by The Covert; square H6; tag 4342. Planted in 2022.