Exuberant, shiny pink Taiwan cherry blossoms are a massive a part of springtime in Tallahassee. The attention-catching flowers are the earliest signal of the parade of spring blooms to come back. These spectacular small bushes maintain a particular place at Tallahassee Nurseries too. Introducing this plant to Tallahassee and conserving it in provide has been a distinctive Tallahassee Nurseries custom that connects our previous to the current.
A long time in the past, the Taiwan cherry tree was all however unknown in North Florida. Then Gene Ellis, the previous proprietor of Tallahassee nurseries, planted two bushes in his entrance yard on Mitchell Avenue. Very quickly, he noticed the worth of those particular bushes. They develop super-fast however mature at a manageable 15’-20’, they reliably bloom each spring no matter unpredictable climate, and their clouds of fuchsia pink flowers convey a cheerful class to Tallahassee gardens in January and February. He wished to supply the bushes on the market, however no person was rising them.
Luckily, Mr. Ellis was a nice gardener, and the moist fertile soil in his backyard allowed dozens of seedlings to sprout annually underneath the delicate shade of the absolutely grown cherry canopies. For years he would ship a expert worker to his home to dig up as many seedlings as they may discover and plant them in pots again on the nursery. Lots of the older Taiwan Cherry bushes in Tallahassee got here proper from Mr. Ellis’s entrance yard. Over time a few growers began to provide the bushes and that custom died out.
Sadly, after the Nice Recession many smaller growers went out of enterprise, and this area of interest crop turned arduous to search out once more. Tallahassee Nurseries went a few years with none accessible on the market. Then one fortunate day, I used to be strolling within the Waverly Neighborhood once I noticed a Taiwan Cherry tree stuffed with ripe berries! A uncommon sight, as a result of hungry birds have a tendency to wash the bushes inside a day of ripening.
I knocked on the entrance door and a barely stunned house owner agreed to let me choose as many berries as I might attain. I handed these seeds on to one in every of our native growers in Monticello, Florida and the following yr he returned them to us as beautiful three gallon bushes prepared on the market!
I’ve made it a behavior to scout bushes and acquire seeds yearly since to maintain these beautiful bushes accessible. I like the bushes for his or her worth: offering honey bees with essential meals within the winter, berries for migrating spring birds, and fast-growing shade from bushes that keep sufficiently small to pose no critical menace in hurricanes. However for all these advantages, I’m most excited to be conserving this Tallahassee Nurseries custom alive.
Watch a fast assessment for extra details about the Taiwan Cherry Tree
*This text was written by Jonathan Burns, Tallahassee Nurseries Outside Supervisor, FNGLA Licensed Horticultural Skilled, VP Massive Bend Chapter FNGLA
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