Cherry blossom trees to mark UK links with Japan

15 hours ago

Cameron WeldonSouth West

The Eden Project said the 50 Sakura trees would be situated in the Japanese Garden behind the Core building

The Eden Project Two women planting a Japanese cherry blossom tree at the Eden Project in Cornwall. They are both wearing green Eden branded jumpers. One is holding the tree while the other is holding a shovel digging a hole. — The Eden Project said the 50 Sakura trees would be situated in the Japanese Garden behind the Core building

Dozens of Japanese cherry blossom trees have been planted at the Eden Project in Cornwall.

The Eden Project said it had planted 50 of the trees in its Japanese Garden as part of the Sakura Cherry Tree Project, launched in 2017 to celebrate the friendship between Japan and the UK.

The charity said the samplings included three varieties of cherry trees, each with distinct seasonal colours.

Julie Kendall, Eden's outdoor horticulture manager said the trees would "serve as a living reminder of the enduring friendship between Japan and the UK for generations to come", but also "tells the story of our dependence on plants and their rich cultural and historical symbolism".

The cherry blossom, known as Sakura, is the national flower of Japan

Reuters A branch from a Japanese cherry bloom tree. It has lots of bright pink petals. The sky is bright blue in the background. — The cherry blossom, known as Sakura, is the national flower of Japan

The charity said the cherry blossoms held deep cultural significance in Japan and would take between three and five years to establish.

It said the first to blossom, the Prunus x yedoensis (Yoshino cherry) is the most commonly planted cherry in Japan and would produce "lightly fragrant, pale pink flowers that fade to pure white blossoms in late March".

Eden said both the Prunus 'Tai-haku' (great white cherry) and the Prunus 'Beni-yutaka' were rarer types of cherry blossom, typically only found in speciality collections.

The charity said the great white cherry was rescued from extinction by a single tree found in Sussex and reintroduced to Japan in 1932 while the Prunus 'Beni-yutaka' blooms a soft pink in mid-to-late April.