Hi Daniel,

I'm not familiar with Prunus mume, but the photos do look very pretty. I don't know if you are interested in the fruit, or just flowers.

I grew an Evans Cherry for many years, just outside Rockland. I think this is similiar to a Montmorency cherry, but am not sure. It was described as "semi-sweet" in the catalogue I ordered from - McFayden's. (They are centred out of Brandon Manitoba and still have this and other cold weather varieties or fruit. You can check them online. Although it may seem odd to order from a catalogue they have things others may not. My father ordered apricots, peaches, plums and all sorts of fruit for cooler climates from them over the years. Of course he lived in zone 6, but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them if they have something you are looking for.)

Anyway, it grew quickly and usually had a nice show of flowers. Although supposed to be self fertile it didn't produce many cherries and they were actually a sour cherry. Once I found out they were sour I didn't care anyway and enjoyed the flowers.

In my area there is a problem with black knot on plums and this spreads to cherry. I would try to cut out the problem spots and it didn't seem too bothered, but the tree appeared to become diseased over time. Eventually after it reached about 12 feet and about 15 years old it became weak and died. I don't think sour cherries have a long lifespan anyway. It did send out many babies and I still have a few of these. They are perhaps 5 years old and seem unbothered by black spot.

There are actually wild plums - I think they are called Canada Plum, that grow on the edges of my property and they flower beautifully in the spring for a short time. They don't seem bothered by the black spot. My neighbour up the hill has several plum and pear trees and they do well for him with little maintenance. I think as he is on the hill he has a better air circulation and I bet his sandy soil helps because I tried unsuccessfully to grow pears several times. I'd spray and everything, whereas the old man just lets them go and gets baskets of beautiful pears and apples.

Another source for hardy and unusual is Gardens North. They have mostly seeds, but may have some plants available. I saw they had seeds for Nanking Cherry a few years ago.

Good luck

Mary

Thanks, Mary.
I've sent inquiries to the places you recommended.
We are rooting for the flower. :) It will be nice to have fruits & seeds.

We have also planted Prunus triloba multiplex (dbl. flowering almond) and Prunus tomentosa (Nanking cherry).
These cold-hardy Prunuses, although not really Prunus mume, are usually used to mimic Prunus mume in northern climates.
From online research I see that the mume-apricot hybrid (such as cultivar 'Bungo') is also cold hardy. We'll love to get a hold of it, or will settle with an apricot tree (quite similar flower to Prunus mume).