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What is this Hedge plant?
I have been trying to work out from tree and shrub books what this plant is... to no avail. If anyone recognises it, I would be very happy to learn what it is! Photo 1 is from the summer, and next two show it has just started flowering and buds breaking into leaf. Many thanks.
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It's a variety of plum, a prunus species. Probably a tree, normally, but, obviously, that one's been kept neatly to hedge dimensions. I'll have a think re species, but by the early flower, my first thought would be prunus cerasifera, of which there are a few cultivated forms, the best known being 'Nigra' with rich purple leaves.
H-C
Last edited: 10 February 2017 14:03:25
Thank you H-C! I thought it might be a Blackthorn but the leaves looked too large. It does look like Prunus cerasifera from the pictures online. I'll look out for the small plums in Summer then! Mtp
Stem colour's wrong for blackthorn, which is much smaller leafed and the stems are quite dark (hence the name). Blackthorn flowers a bit later, usually March and the flowers are massed together, short stalked, each with a large number of stamens per flower, almost fluffy.
H-C
Looks like our Arbutus.
Yes I see what you mean about the stamens and stem colour. The stamens of Blackthorn look longer too and more fluffy as you say. Thank you for sharing your knowledge! Mtp
Thanks cornelly. Actually when i came across Arbutus unedo in our book I thought the leaves looked right. However the flowers are very different... mtp
this is often mistaken for blackthorn but always way ahead of blackthorn in flowering, here at least
In the sticks near Peterborough