Common Name: flowering almond
Type: Deciduous shrub
Family: Rosaceae
Zone: 3 to 7
Height: 10.00 to 15.00 feet
Spread: 10.00 to 15.00 feet
Bloom Time: April
Bloom Description: Pink
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Medium
Suggested Use: Hedge, Flowering Tree
Flower: Showy
Attracts: Birds, Butterflies
Fruit: Showy
Culture
Best grown in moist, fertile, well-drained loams in full sun to part shade. Best flowering in full sun. Needs regular pruning to remove dead wood and to maintain attractive form.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Prunus triloba, commonly called flowering almond, is a dense, rounded, deciduous, multi-stemmed shrub that typically grows 10-15’ tall and as wide. It is sometimes grown as a small tree. Pink, five-petaled flowers appear in a profuse early spring bloom (April in St. Louis). Flowers may be followed by globose red fruit (1/2" diameter). Fruit is attractive to squirrels. Coarse, double-toothed, broad-ovate, medium green leaves (to 2.5” long) are often three lobed, hence the specific epithet. Foliage turns yellow in fall. Species plants are native to China, but may no longer exist in the wild. ‘Simplex’ is a single-flowered form that may be identical to the species.
Genus name from Latin means plum or cherry tree.
Specific epithet means three-lobed.
‘Multiplex’ is a popular double-flowered form that does not produce fruit.
Problems
Early spring flowers are susceptible to damage from frosts. It is susceptible to a large number of insect and disease problems. Potential diseases include leaf spot, die back, powdery mildew, cankers, black knot and verticillium wilt. Potential insects include aphids, scale, borers, caterpillars, tent caterpillars and Japanese beetles. Spider mites may also be troublesome.
Uses
Ornamental flowering shrub or small tree. Specimen or small group. Effective near patios. May be trained as a standard.