Cherry 'Okame' #15

'Okame' was developed by Captain Collingwood Ingram of England using Prunus incisa as the female parent and Prunus campanulata as the male parent. His goal was to create a cherry that had the hot pink to carmine red flowers of P. campanulata but without its sensitivity to cold. 'Okame' is a small deciduous tree with an upright, rounded crown. It has 1 to 2.5 in. long, alternate, simple leaves that turn bronzy red to bright orange to red in fall in the colder zones of its range. Its polished reddish brown bark has prominent horizontal lenticels. Blooming earlier than other cherries, its mildly fragrant, 5-petaled, rosy pink flowers with red calyces and reddish flower stalks may be harmed by a late freeze. It grows 15 to 25 ft. tall and 15 to 20 ft. wide. 'Okame' is sometimes known as P. incamp 'Okame' (created by combining the species names of its parents).