Species and varieties in the National Collection of Flowering Cherries at
Keele University
Prunus 'Shujaku'
Sato-zakura Group
[Syn: P. serrulata f. campuloides; P. lannesiana ‘Shujacku’; ‘Sujacku’]
Named after the deity - the deity or firebird - which guarded the south. The South gate of the Imperial Palace of Kyoto is the Shujaku Gate. It is associated with the sun and hence the colour red. The cherry is named for the colour of its blossoms. It was first recorded in the 1830s. It was offered for export in the 1930s by the Hakoneya Nursery.
Small tree 4-5 m high and wide, vase-shaped with ascending branches. Flowers semi-double of a strikingly delicate shell pink (RHS 62-B) in pendant clusters of 3-5 flowers, somewhat bell-shaped, 3.5-4 cm dia. and 5-12 petals. Buds are deep pink opening flat to a delicate shell-pink. Flowers in mid- to late-April in Tokyo, just before 'Kanzan'.
Young foliage is light green with a bronze cast (RHS 144-A, 152-A), singly serrated.
Location
- One between Church Plantation and Running Track; tag 4051; square H6. Planted in 2008.