Tree health assessment of Cerasus species during the flowering season: a case study of Japanese mountain cherry (Cerasus jamasakura (Siebold ex Koidz.) H. Ohba var. jamasakura) in Yoshinoyama, Nara Prefecture, Japan

Abstract

Flowering cherries are widely planted and highly appreciated in Japan. However, the method to assess their health in the flowering season is not established. We studied Japanese mountain cherry in Yoshinoyama, Nara to clarify effectiveness of four viewpoints. As a result, bud number, and ratio of leaf buds to flower buds on a terminal shoot in the top of canopy were associated with vegetative growth and appropriate for the assessment. However, flower number from one bud was inappropriate for a group that includes various growth stages. Flower amount of a full-blown tree was unsuitable for the assessment.