Prunus mume has been in cultivation in East Asia for over 3,000 years.
Flowering in late winter and early spring, especially in Korea, it is highly regarded as a very positive seasonal symbol and people will gather under street and park plantations to be showered in the pretty pink blossoms when the breeze blows.
The tree itself is quite frost tolerant - but the beautifully fragrant, pink cup-shaped flowers do not like them at all. However with a prolonged flowering time if the first flush are killed off by intense cold then more may well follow.
Flowers are generally pink but can be reddish through to white.
The leaves then emerge after the blossoms are over.
It is a fast growing and has weeping green leaves throughout summer which turn to orange and golden yellow in autumn before falling.
Harvest time is mid to late summer, though the fruits are not great eating when picked fresh but best used in jams and preserves.