Prunus x incamp ‘Okame’ – Okame Flowering Cherry Tree

Botanical Name: Prunus x incamp ‘Okame’

Alternate Name: Taiwan Cherry

The Okame Flowering Cherry (Prunus x incamp ‘Okame’) is cold hardy and one of the earliest and longest blooming ornamental cherry trees. This cherry tree is also popular for its bright red, shining bark. It is a small deciduous tree that develops an upright and rounded crown. This tree grows to a height of 15-25 feet with a spread of 15-20 feet.

The Okame cultivar was selected by Englishman Captain Collingwood Ingram. He crossed Prunus incisa (Fuji Cherry) and Prunus campanulata (Taiwan Flowering Cherry), seeking to make a more cold hardy ornamental cherry tree with the bright pink flowers of Prunus campanulata.

The leaves of the Okame Cherry tree are dark green, 1 to 1.5 inches long, and lance shaped with serrate margins. The foliage turns beautiful shades of yellow, orange, and yellow in the fall, giving a great display, particularly in colder climates.

The bright pink blooms of the ‘Okame’ appear early in the spring. They are slightly fragrant, single flowers with 5 petals and have an attractive red calyx and flower stalk. This ornamental cherry tree does produce inconspicuous rounded fruit that does not attract wildlife.

The Okame Flowering Cherry tree likes to grow in full sun but can benefit from some afternoon shade in hot locations.