Burnt Ridge and One Green World. Burnt Ridge is a grower, so at least one of the others may be getting their stock from them.

Bungo is a group name, if you bought whichever cultivar is being sold here recently does it look hybrid?

"'Bungo' type of Mume cultivars, which are in fact Mume x Ansu hybrids, possess low resistance to blossom blight, except the cv. 'Takadaume'."

Here is a link that might be useful: RESISTANCE IN SOME PRUNUS SPECIES IN JAPAN AGAINST BLOSSOM BLIGHT, CAUSED BY MONILINIA LAXA (EHR.): PRUNUS ARMENIACA VAR. ANSU MAXIM., PRUNUS ARMENIACA L., PRUNUS MUME SIEB. ET ZUCC. AND INTERSPECIFIC HYBRIDS AMONG PRUNUS SPECIES

BBoy;

I kinda knew in the back of my mind that Bungo was a hybrid. If you pick up ume at a grocery store, you will find larger ones at times and sometimes they are labelled "Bungo".

"Does it look hybrid", wow, not sure. I have both of the varieties I mentioned above and the Bungo branches are darker. I have only ones Spring to judge this by, but the Bungo blooms first and will outlast the Kanko Bai. I have been told (and can't confirm this) that the older varieties are white and that the different colors we see now in the blooms have been through breeding.

Keeping this real.... Ume is broken up into two groups, "haraume" or flower ume and "miume" or fruit ume. Just around the corner, it is used in the Japanese New Year decoration, sho-chiku-bai (pine-bamboo-apricot) which signifies good fortune, strength, and bravery respectively.

Sho-Chiku-Bai is also a brand of popular sake.....

Michael

The original (wild) flower color of P. mume is said to be pale pink. Native to China, Korea and Taiwan.

Hi all

Micheal: you have missspeled . hara > stomach,abdomen , hana> flower.nose. if it is showing kanji then you will know either nose or flower.
you did not mentioned ume shu and umeboshi .Heh heh heh
Since I am the one make lot's of misspseling , I should be quiet. Do you need good instruction to make umeshu/plum wine ?
By the way bungo is yabai/ wild plum, good for grafting.
Bungo is name of place in kyushu where had contact with Chinese and korean traders and coltuers before Buddhism came to Japan.
I have copy of old reserch paper of ume , done by Japanese resercher at Taiwan reserch center/ at the time, Japan occupied Taiwan in 1930's .

I do not rember everything and not for 100% sure . This is my guess.
Kan= cold. kobai = red plum ( color of flower )

Have safe and happy hoilydays................. mike

Of course: 'Kan-kobai' instead of 'Kanko-bai'. Various selections have been sold in North America as 'Kobai', because as you (sort of) say here (and has been pointed out on this site before) it's just a collective name for forms with red or reddish flowers.

BBOy
please do not take my previous post as charenge nor something else. It was to Micheal. We know each other for
awhile.
Often nuseries in this county missinform name of plants habit of plants from Japan. I could send e mail to him to infom about it. but other reader of of this post may benefit if I posted here. Rest of miss informations about bungo or kankobai will be buried . ........ I have no intention to up set to anyone................. mike

Shimpai Nai Yama-Sensei, that is how I learn. BBoy showed me my conception of the original mume was incorrect. You showed me that ume is not good for stomachs but is good to make hootch...j/k.

Michael