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Commercial Horticulture - Fruits and Nuts
Ornamental Prunus
The plant genus Prunus is in the rose family, and many plants in this
genus have great beauty and use as ornamentals. Prunus contains our
common peach and nectarine, in addition to cherry, plum, almond, and apricot.
Within this genus is a wide range of plant forms, or variations in plant
architecture. The combination of the beauty of spring flowers with unique and
attractive plant architecture is spectacular in this genus. Ornamental Prunus
are quite common in landscapes, and most commonly found is the redleaf plum.
However other Prunus options now exist for landscape consideration.
The University of Arkansas has conducted fruit breeding activities since the
mid-1960s, and a component of that program has been the improvement of peach
rootstocks. In hybridizations among a range of Prunus species and
varieties, a number of ornamental seedlings were produced as byproducts of the
rootstock program crosses. These were selected for their ornamental, rather than
rootstock or fruit characteristics.
Major criteria in the selection of these ornamental Prunus were flower
color and petal number, and growth habit. Resulting varieties include standard
and "double" (many more petals) flowered types of both the standard
peach-colored pink flowers in addition to crimson. Plant forms included
brachytic dwarf types and weeping types.
Dwarf Prunus Varieties
Weeping Prunus Varieties
Licensed Propagators
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